Page 95 - The Decorative Painter Winter 2016

tFeacher's corner Teacher’s Tips - Part 4
GO!
Donna Roskamp, Member of the Education Committee
or this part you really need to have a plan. You are projects ready to go when the parents arrive to pick them about to have 15-20 young children come in ex- up. I try to tell the parents briefly what the children learn cited, full of energy and loose with wet paint! If you while painting the purple dinosaur so they are impressed don’t have a plan you will have chaos and a mess. and want their children to return next year.
The parents and children will arrive early the first day. I immediately set up for the next class, i.e. clean water,
Sometimes very early. Be set up and ready. Have a list of all the children’s names so you can check off who paid their supply fee and brought their T-shirts. In the camp descrip- tion I state they must bring a T-shirt to paint the first day. I know there will be parents that will not bring them so
I really have it scheduled for the second day. Greet each child first instead of the parent to show you are interested in them. Then go ahead and talk to the parents.
Parents like to see that you are organized and ready when they get there. Try to have each space set up and ready to start on time.
Be sure to introduce yourself before the first project be- gins. Let the children know how the day will run and what you expect of them up-front. Keep the expectations simple.
These are my class expectations:
• Only paint or draw on the project. Never on furniture or people.
• Do not shred the table covering. (For some reason children like to shred the table covers as fast as I can put them on!)
• If I am talking they need to be listening to hear all the directions for the project.
• The most important expectation is to have fun!
This is how the class will run:
• Two projects each day.
• They may bring a snack (no nuts) and a drink.
• They will take their projects home each day.
• Bathroom breaks are at snack time. If they need to go
before or after snack time they need to let me know. Letting the children know what to expect helps ease any
anxiety they may be having. This is especially true for the younger children.
STANDARD CAMP SCHEDULE FOR EITHER AGE GROUP
Camp runs from 10 a.m.-noon for 5-7 year-olds and
1-3 p.m. for 8 and up, Monday-Thursday. Two projects are completed each day. Each project is approximately one hour. There is a brief snack time between projects which allows me a few minutes to get the next project ready. Children always help with clean up since that is an important part of the art process. The goal is to have the children and their finished
new paper towel, brushes, project surfaces in each space. I even do this at the end of the day. That way all I have to do is walk in and put out paint, etc., in the morning.
The first day of camp the children will barely make a peep. By Thursday they will be loud and it will be hard to keep their attention. There is always a problem child or two in each group. I have found it works better to make those children my buddies instead of showing my frustration. I make them feel special by asking for their help. I try to sit near them instead of making them sit by me. They usually just want some attention or have extra energy. Try to build a bond with your challenging children.
The advanced camp runs the same way. The only differ- ence is the difficulty level of the projects. I typically choose projects I have taught to adults throughout the year. I try to include the things that are trending in the art world. We use things like texture paste, stencils, faux techniques, etc. The number of students in these camps is always lower, which is fine because the projects are a bit more compli- cated. I usually have 10-12 students.
THE LAST DAY OF CAMP
The last day of class is arguably as important as the first day. You want both the parents and the children to leave happy with the camp experience. I save the best project
of the week for the last day. I also send home a brief note thanking the parents for allowing me to spend the week exploring art with their child. I recap some of the things the children learned so they realize the value of the camp. This is also the time to give a list of all the other classes and locations you offer for the rest of the year. Invite the parents to join the email list for future events.
PREPARING FOR NEXT YEAR
Keep notes of any changes you want to make for next year. Make a note of any supplies you need to replace while it is fresh in your mind. Be sure to add all the email addresses you received to your list. About a month before it is time for parents to start registering their children for camps send out an email about your upcoming camps.
If you have questions please feel free to contact me
by email: Donna Roskamp, justa_vessel@yahoo.com; artistic-attitudes.com; or Facebook: Artistic Attitudes.
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The Decorative Painter • ISSUE NO. 4, 2016 93
In the Teacher’s Corner