Artistic Ways to Demonstrate Learning

Funded May 21, 2019

I wish you could have seen the gigantic smiles on the faces of my students when I told them we were going to paint. They looked at the pile of brand-new paint brushes, still in their packages, and squealed with excitement. "People really bought those for us?" one student asked. A dozen others shook their heads in disbelief. They felt so incredibly special and valued.

They watched with eagle-eyes as I plopped paint from the shiny tubes onto the metal trays. Their full focus was on me as I showed them how to mix the paint colors to make their own shade and how different amounts of water changed the transparency of the paint. They could tell that opening their very own package of brand-new paint brushes was an incredibly sacred moment. As their brushes dipped into the paint and their creations began appearing on their real watercolor paper, their pride was an undeniable feeling in the room.

To say the art supplies were a hit would be a vast understatement. Each time another box of supplies arrived they were already making plans for their creations. The students are begging for their next art day. I am so excited for all of the projects that tie into what we are learning that we will be able to enhance with our newly-found painting techniques. Next week, we will be painting pictures of our next set of vocabulary words on animal adaptations. I am so humbled and thankful for your donation and what you have made possible for my class.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Long