Art and Design at Family Learning Program

This spring session of Family Learning Program I've been fortunate to lead three art and design classes serving a whole range of different ages, styles and interests! As summer approaches with a finish to these energy-charged classes, I want to share some highlights from our learning experiences.

Interactive social games remind kids of the basics while strengthening classroom relationships.

Then, we're ready to get serious with some advanced painting studies. Many students would stop nowhere short of the "fancy" color wheel this session. I was continually amazed at their level of focus and dedication.

Even my youngest artists, with support from their parents, were fascinated to study the behavior of paint under various conditions.

 

I've noticed amazing collaborative exchanges among these artist teams.

 

Whether studying watercolor techniques, printmaking methods, or mixed media construction, we agreed that creativity is something important to ourselves, our families and our community. 

 

Mixed media experiments with the older kids included ink drawings on a clear sheet to create sun-print images.

Many of the kids enjoyed drawing and then painting over their drawings. 

 

This basic illustration technique is incredibly versatile.

When classroom dynamics got a little complicated, I brainstormed up a set of worksheets to give students an additional way to interact with complex drawing instructions. It was difficult to put aside fears that worksheets might stifle their creativity, but I forged ahead while encouraging students to honor their own unique ways to draw.

I was relieved and overjoyed to find that the results were as wildly varied as the kids are!

Big Words for a Big Idea

Gearing up for my final session at the TATLab, a teaching artist training lab that may well turn out to be a life changing experience for this teaching artist, I'm still trying to get comfortable crafting a Teaching Artist's Big Idea. How about this version:

"Engaging in the Visual Arts activates metacognition, empowering students to make integrative connections."

It's a mouthful.

Photo by Youth in Focus

Words like "activate" and "empower" easily roll off the tongue, but who says "metacognition" in an elevator speech?

"Integrative connections" are where I try to elaborate: in art and in life, connections within and between systems, across diverse disciplines, is what I want my students to find the power to enact.

What better place to foster this synergy besides an arts rich learning environment? Where tools and training are readily at hand, and a spirit of inclusiveness clears a path to creativity and collaboration?

 

The Whole Story

The Whole Story

A unique, holistic and inclusive history and her-story class. Find your voice with writing, art, storytelling and collaboration while exploring patterns and threads of culture, communication, identity, civilization, trade, geography, basic human needs, abstract thinking, and technology.

About the Instructor
Sarah Browning delights in stories about personal transformation, positive role models, hilarious irony, and following your heart. A West Seattle home schooling parent, she has taught classes at the Village Green Perennial Nursery, Alki Community Center and Bathhouse, and the Children's Museum of Seattle. Visit her at www.sarahbrowning.com.

Class Goals
Basic: Learn, Share, Grow, Think, Participate, Ask Questions, Be a Good Listener.
Challenge: Build a Shared Vocabulary, Find Your Voice and Articulate Your Own Story, Be an Ambassador of Your Own Personal Culture, Learn About People: How We Are the Same and How We Are Different, Practice Empathizing With Someone Who Seems Really Different From You.

Lesson Plans
Sessions have a group activity and a personal activity. The instructor will introduce maps, timelines, stories, and activities with a guided but flexible structure.

Currently offered through the Family Learning Program at Southwest Community Center.

Registration Options:

Online: Go to SPARC online registration system, and enter course number where it says "Search for programs by barcode", then click the magnifying glass. Have password and credit card ready.

Click this link to request a password or new account.

By phone: Call Southwest Community Center at 206-684-7438, have credit card ready.

In person: Southwest Community Center, 2801 SW Thistle St., Seattle, 98126, or at any City of Seattle Community Center; cash, check, or credit card accepted.