TAI Preview Day

Teaching artists presented their newly developed residencies for feedback from their teaching partners and master teachers at Seven Oaks Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. 

TAI Visual artist David Cuningham conducting his test residency.

Master Teaching Artist Maria Barbosa and my teaching partner Mary Beth Bauernschub are pictured creating a circle composition during David's presentation.

Seven Oaks Elementary School

Some of the teaching artists set up their wares before the TAI (Teaching Artist Institute) preview of our new residencies. Pictured is a teacher at Oakland Terrace in Silver Spring and two students behind a set up of my children's books.

Day 2 Savoy Paste Paper

Students learned how to make paste paper in today's residency. These papers will later be used to make a artists book form. Students also learned that line, texture and color are art elements that artists use to create compositions.

Demonstrating how to mix paste using flour in paste paper. 

The Gift of Words

I read my illustrated book "Destiny's Gift" to a classroom of students at Sharpe Health's Read Aloud Day. Many persons in the community volunteered. The students were delighted to hear about a student who loved books in this engaging story by Natasha Tarpley.

Day 1 Introduction to residency

On the first day of my residency at Savoy, I talked about my art, my stories and what we will do together over the next9 sessions. We will explore painting, bookmaking, collage and creative writing.

Day One Savoy Elementary

Student drawing a picture of herself in her favorite season.

I have two third grade classes at Savoy Elementary School in SE Washington this fall through the Kennedy Center. Savoy is one of President Obama's Turn Around Arts Schools across the nation. 

Success For All Learners

I gave a presentation to teachers and paraprofessionals at Sharpe Health School in Washington, DC to address the question of how to adapt instruction to accommodate the needs of diverse learners, especially utilizing technology. It turned out to be a wonderful collaborative session. I talked about my existing Kennedy Center Art and Writing Residency and we brainstormed ways that activities such as painting, reading and collage can be made more accessible to students with disabilities. 

I shared some of my published emergent readers and we searched the publishers web site for lesson plans. Focusing on the book "Everybody Wears Braids" we explored the lesson plan online and investigated ways that students with hearing, sight and motor challenges, for example, can be successful. The solutions the teachers can up with were both creative and insightful. I look forward to more dialogue with Sharpe Health in the future about how we can address the diverse needs of their students.

Meet Your Teacher

Kennedy Center Teaching Artists met with their collaborating teachers at an orientation meeting at the Washington Opera Studios in Washington, DC.

I met with Ms. Tatum, a fifth grade teacher at Brightwood Elementary School in D.C.
I will be instructing her students during my residency this Spring season.