The art program at Moretown Elementary School has evolved over the years to incorporate a variety of artistic media and themes with which to encourage and instruct children in the field of visual art. As an Art Educator I work to instill an appreciation, understanding and a respect for visual art in the children. Lessons are designed to build upon artistic skill attainment with the intent to progress in a chronological sequence to nurture children’s cognitive and creative development. Art lessons are provided for students in grades k-6, once a week with alternating Studio Art sessions. Studio Art sessions are designed to incorporate curriculum topics from the general classroom curriculum (i.e. social studies, math, language arts).

This year we have worked hard (myself and the other specialist teachers) to re-design our report card format. The report card format now embraces the recently developed Vermont Grade Expectations; the GE’s reflect upon the Vermont Framework of Standards to identify the cognitive and creative skills in content areas of our Vermont students’ curriculum in the fine arts. These teaching tools work to enable the educator to accurately design meaningful teaching lessons and also meaningful assessment methodologies. Accompanying the report card this year is also the class curriculum updates; the intent here is to guide the parents through our lessons and to best understand the concepts and skills that their child has been assessed on during the marking period.

The Moretown art program encompasses a variety of art media and artistic themes. Many of our lessons are designed to teach and develop the elements and principles of design through a variety of drawing, painting, collage, multi-media and ceramic work. As a child’s skills progress, so too do the artistic challenges incorporated into the lesson; in this manner the lessons are "scope & sequence" based in design. As noted in the curriculum updates, this means that each lesson over the years will build upon previously acquired skills and will grow in depth of comprehension of the material at hand and the concepts presented. It is in this effort that I hope to best prepare our elementary students for art classes at Harwood Middle and High School. Over the course of my career we have had a number of students pursue careers in fine art and art education upon graduation from high school.

As Moretown’s art teacher I take great pride in my work and just as the students grow over the years in their skills and content knowledge, I too strive to grow professionally. In 2002 I earned my Masters of Education degree. Currently in conjunction with my two days of teaching here at Moretown I am also working in the fall semesters as an Adjunct Professor in Art Education for the University of Vermont. The course I teach for U.V.M. is a methods and practices course for Art Ed. majors; it is a wonderful opportunity to share with future art teachers my 22 years of knowledge and experience in the field.

I believe that it is important for an art teacher to stay active in practicing his or her own artwork. Currently I have been painting on a regular basis; some of my paintings with an educational concept are displayed in our school (cafeteria & nurse’s office). The children enjoy seeing my work and I hope that it inspires and motivates them to further pursue their own artwork at home in addition to school.

If you have a child (or children) at home who particularly enjoys making artwork, there are a few steps that you can take to enhance their learning at home. First and foremost is to simply provide the space for your child to create within. This does not have to be a huge effort or to be costly. A simple level tabletop or child size easel will do along with age appropriate art materials (always check for non-toxic certified labels). A basic supply list might be: a versatile 70-80 lb. weight white paper (so as to be able to hold wet paint in addition to dry work), wax crayons, a variety of paint brushes, watercolor paints (pan not tubes), tempera paints, an assortment of recycled scrap materials, white glue (never rubber cement-very toxic), a collection of varied scrap papers & construction paper and child size safety scissors. As a child my Mother was my first art teacher who nurtured my art skills by providing a painting easel in the kitchen and the ever present option to paint; not only did I paint as an "at home" activity but my artwork was displayed on a bulletin board in the kitchen, what encouragement!

Remember as the parent you do not have to be an artist to encourage and nurture your child’s creative development, simply by providing the materials, space and time, your young child will embrace art time as an integral part of their day.

Over the course of the year I hope to add to the art web page, so please visit this site again to keep abreast of any pertinent art class notes and ideas!