Building rapport with our students offers a valuable opportunity to begin the school year on a positive note. Teaching early learners makes this aspect especially easy because young children love to share; in fact, it’s a challenge to keep them from sharing! Rather than fight it, I spend the first ten minutes of each class letting students share and catch up, allowing them to explore whatever is on their minds—a playdate, a birthday, a trip, or a weekend event. Children offer details and bits and pieces of themselves through speaking, drawings, clothing choices, and even behavior.
Art teachers get to know students while creating opportunities for connection and community. Early learners build foundational art-making skills as they share stories from their summer; elementary students put their own unique twist on famous artworks; middle-school students create artist trading cards in a project that grows into a schoolwide art-making experience; and high-school students sculpt clay vessels inspired by cherished family heirlooms.
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