Exploring the Arts

Would you like to be a part of your child's creative learning?

All supplies, curriculum, resources and planning are done.

We just need YOU!

This is a volunteer program for parents between October - April (except December). We teach a 45-1 hour lesson in the classroom 1 day a week. Volunteers are asked to sign up for a month at a time to begin and end a new concept, artist, period or technique.

Each grade does:

Master Project
Name Plate
Self Portrait
Curriculum Based Project

At the end of the year we host a Gala to exhibit all the children's artwork!

Exploring the Arts Blog has everything you need:

Committee Chair Contact information
Volunteer sign-up spreadsheet
Teacher schedule
Art Curriculum instructions by grade/month/week

Exploring the Arts Blog

Volunteers:

Thank you for volunteering!

Every year the teachers have sign-up sheets at the school open house. If you missed it, don't worry, you can still sign-up on the "Volunteers" spreadsheet found on the sidebar of the blog.

We then have a Kickoff meeting in September to explain how everything works! Contact the committee to find out when this is if you have not already been contacted.

Each class will need an Art Coordinator. This person helps to schedule parents and send out reminders to parents that have volunteered when their month comes.
It works best if there are 2 parent volunteers in the classroom each week. So grab another parent, buddy or grandparent to bring with you.
Please leave your little ones at home (unless you have made other arrangements with your teacher), they can distract you and the students.

How it works:

Read through the lessons for the month in advance on Exploring the Arts Blog.

Use the tabs at the top to find your Grade and Month.

Be There or arrange a substitute:

Teachers count on us to cover this time in their classrooms.
Schedule - the schedule is always on the website. Most classrooms have art on Mondays, but a few are on different days.
Please come 15 minutes early to sign in at the office, get your box of supplies in the art room and be ready in the class ready to start at the designated time.
We usually need 2 parents per time - 1 to give the lesson (lead), 1 to pass out supplies, circulate, etc.
If you can’t come, arrange for another parent from your child’s class to take your place - see volunteer list on website.
If it’s a last minute emergency, call and let the teacher know.

Lesson Plans - by Grade, Month and Week are on the Blog:

It helps to teach for a whole month since the lessons introduce a new concept each month, do a practice project and then a final project. Most months have 4 lessons but some have 3. This varies by grade because different months have different numbers of art days - depending on how many days are in the month, whether there are holidays, etc. If you’ve looked at the website, you can decide to take a little longer for a big project, skip a practice project, skip an art day, etc. It’s pretty easy to adapt.
It’s so helpful to know what you are covering and to see the entire project - occasionally your class will breeze through one lesson and you’ll want to start on the next or you’ll need to finish a lesson the next week, etc
Most lessons don’t, but some require advance coordination with teachers - asking them to get a slideshow downloaded, scheduling a little extra time for clay projects, etc.
Power Points - you can’t access these directly at the school because of their firewall rules. Ask the teachers to download it - or bring a zip drive
Sound systems available in each classroom, just ask teacher to use while you are there.

Get your Supplies

Room #103 - this is where you will find your "Art Box" and additional supplies.

In the classroom:

Pencils, erasers, scissors, crayons, colored pencils and Elmer’s glue are all in the classroom. These items may be in the students’ desks or in another area of the room so check with the teacher.
Brushes and water cups are in the classrooms so that after they are used they can be left out to dry and so that teachers can use them for other projects.
Tempera paints are found in each classroom….a little paint goes a long way...you can always pour more if necessary.
Watercolors- left open to dry after use - wash if necessary.
5th and 6th only have complete classroom sets of oil pastels.

Items in each art volunteer box include:

Lesson plans - printed from the website. All of the pictures are printed and placed in page protectors so you can hold them up or post them. You will need to take things out of the binders as you teach the lessons but PLEASE put them back in the binder in the correct order.
Supplies - markers, paint, clay, project paper or practice paper, etc. Enough for your whole class for the whole month.
If a supply has not been stocked in the box contact the Committee.
Occasionally 2 classes may need to share supplies (glazes/clay supplies), if so this will be indicated on the silver section of the art box.
Posters and samples - color charts, samples you can post during your lesson
A larger box will be under the normal box if extra large paper (12x18 is used)
Please check to be sure the oil pastels are returned to their color coded area. If a pastel has no paper cover, leave it on the art room table in the “pastel hospital” or tape a small piece of paper towel around it. If markers no longer work place in the “marker hospital' on the art room table.
Self portrait mirrors-are glass so handle with care and use the stands with crossbars.
Do not take the samples off of the bulletin board in the Art Supply room.
Please note any supply problems or notes for the next volunteer on the front of your box with a wet erase marker (3 are hanging on the metal art racks from yellow duct tape)
Supplies are stocked on a monthly basis. If you do not finish a project and need another week, write it on the box. We may stock another box for the next month and tell you where it is.

Communicate with your Teacher / Art coordinators

Teachers need to know who is coming and whether you need them to have something ready. Talk to them regularly to be sure they feel informed and to get feedback - we want to be helpful to them.
Occasionally teachers will want to do their own project during art time - if so, and you are scheduled to be there, help out if you can.
There are no art projects in December or May, but teachers may still request for parents to come and help with holiday projects during those months. Please coordinate with your teachers.
The most important projects throughout the year are the self -portrait and the master project. Please make sure your class completes both.
All final projects need to be SAVED in the classroom throughout the year. The teachers know this and will find a place for the artwork. Please DO NOT send any of the final projects home with the students. They will all be displayed at the end-of-year Art Gala.

Have fun with the kids!

Lots of praise and encouragement!
Let kids do as much as they can on their own!
Pictures, pictures, pictures...take them often and email them to us for the gala!
Help them learn techniques, principles and artists, and have fun!
Brief walk-through of sample lesson
Check your art box to be sure everything is there before leaving the art room
Teach the principle - practice projects will help illustrate them
Teach about the masters - real people and how they innovated
Use the lesson as an outline
Add something great that you found if you like
Remember that the project is important, but learning about art and themselves along the way is the goal.

Support the ART GALA!

In April, there is not a traditional lesson, but art volunteers are still scheduled for that month. Instead, we do 4 things in the classroom
Nameplates (except K done in Nov, and 4th done in February)
Finish projects not finished during the year
complete a small “theme” project for the gala
mount final projects for each student on large black paper
Hang the posters for your class in the hallways
Help hang master’s projects by grade