Legacy Childrens Foundation

Nikki Anderson
jonik@cableone.net

Nikki Anderson is currently working with Mary Jean Dehne who started the Legacy Childrens
Foundation. They work primarily with students who are considered at risk and provide
structured after school activities for them. We meet in Madison Elementary so we have an art
classroom to ourselves! Its great. Mrs. Anderson is an art educator who is currently working at
the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity so she often will bring supplies, but
anything extra we need is located in the room. The only downfall is that the room is carpeted so
any spills can be a big deal.

My responsibilities while working with Mrs. Anderson are to set up and clean up, assist her in
the lesson, help create examples, walk around the room and interact with the students and
answer questions about supplies or projects. We work with students from 5th grade on doing a
variety of projects which they can take home with them. Ive had a chance to work with
students who challenge me and encourage me to be reflective on my teaching practices.
Sometimes I have to develop strategies to motivate them and encourage them to participate.


March 4
th

Shatter drawings- 3 hours

Today Mrs. Anderson planned a lesson that involved graphite and shading. Drawing is
always tricky because students can easily get frustrated with pencils and shading. The lesson
Mrs. Anderson created involved drawing a subject; it could be something as simple as a few
shapes, or more complex like a butterfly. The students would then draw lines throughout the
picture plane shattering their original image. Once the picture was divided they were
encouraged to shade the newly created individual shapes
The students needed a lot of help dividing up their picture plane. I drew multiple
examples of differing types of shatter lines and had to encourage the students to do their
drawings themselves. We discussed shading as well and the idea of placing dark values next to
light values to make a drawing more interesting. The students liked this project but I had a few
who didnt really want to participate and had bad attitudes. By the end of the lesson, however,
they were engaged in their projects and being kinder to one another. I would consider that a
success. What I would do differently is to make sure the students only sat 4 per table. More
than that creates distractions and gets too noisy.


April 15
th

Watercolor and wax resist- 3 Hours

Watercolor is always a blast for students. Mrs. Anderson planned a lesson where the
kids were supposed to use crayons to create a wax resist and fill in blocks using water color. I
had a chance to create an example, as well as the three other examples created by the other
teachers. When the students came in they all sat around one table and Mrs. Anderson lead
them in a discussion about the artwork and showed them pictures in a book on abstract art
utilizing color. The students guessed which work of art belonged to with teacher and they got it
right. We then discussed how art can be a reflection of the person who created it. This was a
part of the lesson that went so well. I quickly stored that away to incorporate that in my future
art classes.
The students enjoyed the watercolor lesson. They were all very involved. My example
used white crayon and many of the students enjoyed using this technique because as you start
painting the watercolor washes the image and lines magically appear. This lesson taught me a
lot about effective starting procedures. I really enjoyed the small group meeting at the
beginning to discuss and gain inspiration.











April 29th
Abstract room paintings- 3 Hours

Today Mrs. Anderson led the students in a project where we visualized one of our
favorite places. We watched her as she created the example by creating the shapes that she
would see in her living room if she were looking from a birds eye view. She encouraged the kids
to remember that the shapes were an abstraction and wouldnt be an exact replica of their
rooms. I was able to walk around the room and distribute paint and paint brushes. I always
asked the students to explain their spaces to me before they could start painting. They were
supposed to utilize the primary colors and fill in their rooms. Mrs. Anderson discussed the
importance of composition and how triangles, or sets of three, are aesthetically pleasing.
This lesson could have gone better. I had a student who drew a large red x through her
painting and had a chance to witness how one students attitude toward a project can affect
another students perception. Some of the work turned out well but I think I would have liked
to have a clearer example of what the teacher was looking for and more works to show as
inspiration. I also think it is important to let the students know why the project is good,
important, relevant, etc. so they know it is not just busy work.







Churches United for the Homeless

Jen Enquist
Community Center and Member Relations Director
1901 1
st
Avenue North
Moorhead, MN 56560
jengquist@churches-united.org
218.236.0372

This site was not my original practicum site. Jen Enquist isnt necessarily my supervisor
or leader in anyway, she is the only contact I could think of. Churches United for the Homeless
is a local homeless shelter that houses single men and women, as well as one or two parent
families. Its located in a building north of main in Moorhead and I had never noticed it before.
They have a community living space of chairs and couches in the main room and they have a
dining area as well. Half of the main floor is separated to house families. Each family has a
room. The upper floor houses single men and there is a room for single women. Downstairs
there is a thrift store and a space full of donated items where volunteers sort through the
donations.

The space where I conduct Art Club is in the dining room because there is a sink nearby
and nice windows for light. It is my responsibility to plan the lesson for the club and bring the
supplies needed. I arrived early to set up and stayed after to make sure the dining room was
clean before lunch began. The kids I work with differ from each other greatly. The age range
on some weeks can be up to 13 year differences, but that was when I somehow had a 2 year-
old join us. I have worked with preschool age children planning very simple lessons up to
teenage students who are particularly interested in learning to draw people. I had a chance to
adapt my lessons to children who were English language learners as well, which was a
challenging and rewarding experience!


January 4th-
Life Size self portraits

Today we did life size self-portraits. I had the kids help each other out. What we did
was trace ourselves on a large roll of brown paper. I had them pair up and then help them cut
their pieces. They had to run around the room and find objects to hold down the corners of
their paper. After they all had their outline on the paper I discussed what shapes and patterns
were and showed my example. I then instructed the younger kids to create patterns and shapes
within the outline using the markers and chalk pastels I had brought. There were three older
kids who I asked to draw faces. We discussed how to create a face and what the proportions
usually look like and they drew faces on their outlines.
I think the ability for the kids to move around helped with attention a lot. They also had
fun working together. There was a lot of laughing when people would trace fingers and reveal
some strange misshapen blobs when the person stood up. I think something that could have
gone better was making a lesson that fit more easily into the time constraints. They probably
could have helped each other with one instead of doing one each. That is so much space to
cover.

January 11
th

Snowy winter landscapes

Last Tuesday I met a family who just moved here from Somalia. The kids are all very
little and still trying to learn English. I decided today would be a great day to read through a
book and do a lesson based on the book. We read a book about winter and it didnt go as well
as planned. The children who I was trying most to reach didnt speak any english so their father
tried to hurry me along so we could just look at pictures. I ended up shortening the book quite
a bit. After this I tried to quickly transition to our project. We used chalk pastels and I
emphasized our horizon lines. They could use either a cool color or a warm color for the sky
and then white chalk for the snow. We used black pastel to add in winter trees and then dots
of white acrylic paint for the snow.
When the project was underway they students had a lot of fun. It worked really well for
the youngest of my students and the older ones were able to add more details in order to make
the project more fun for them. I had to reflect on better ways to incorparater reading into my
lesson plans and today was the day when I realized that I needed to develop better strategies
for my English Language Learners.


January 18
th

Gesture drawing and Animal Drawings

This lesson was pretty frustrating for some of my students. I had never taught anything
involving realism until today and it is pretty challenging. We discussed how to look at photos
and break down the picture plane into shapes that are simple for us to draw. Then we moved
to gesture drawings and the kids took turns modeling for us. I was reminded how much they
enjoy moving around and collaborating with each other.
Looking back I should have done more research on teaching these specific techniques
and how to adjust them to students who are frustrated.

January 25
th

Clay coil pots

Today I brought clay. The kids loved it. Its a great activity for the whole age range and I
love when they can all participate and become involved. I showed them the coil technique and
how to build up a pot or sculpture. I brought air dry clay because I dont have the ability to
utilize fire clay because I would not be able to bring it all to msum and get it done in a
reasonable time. Some of the students wanted to make cups but I didnt do any research on
how to seal them so they would be food safe so I didnt advise it. Clay seemed to be a good
medium for them. Some of the younger kids branched off and started to make whatever suited
their fancy, which was fine by me. We ended up with some really beautiful vases and pots as
well as some adorable monsters and one pinch pot heart shaped dish.
I discovered the kids love of clay today. I think this give them a unique experience to
manipulate a 3-dimensional material and they loved it. In the future I would like to cover the
tables and I think working with terra cotta or stoneware would be better than air dry.




















February 1
st

Faux stained glass windows and Alexander Calder wire mobile

Today I brought sheet protectors (the clear kind) and sharpie markers. I had the
students sit down at one table and look through photos of stained glass with me. I discovered
today that having them all start at one place, i.e. one table, helps us all get into gear for our
lesson.
We discussed how stained glass was made and looked at examples from churches to
contemporary windows and sculptures. Each student then drew a design on a white piece of
paper. I encouraged them to create bold patterns and make sure their image had enough
shapes so they would be able to fill them up with color. Once their initial drawing was done we
talked about them and placed them in the sheet protectors. The students then used Sharpie
markers to fill in the shapes. After that they used black puffy paint to create the metal lines
between the glass shapes. They turned out beautifully.
Again, I am forever learning, there are things I would have changed. The puffy paint did
not come off of the tables in some places. The lesson learned from that is to cover the tables
when working with material that can damage property.






February 8
th

Calabash cat design animals

We read the Calabash Cat today. This is a lesson was geared toward the students who
were learning English. We read the book with depicts a highly stylized cat adventuring around
the world. We discussed patterns and repetition. I gave the students the option of drawing
their own animal contour or using the ones I had printed out ahead of time. All of them chose
the printed animal pages. They did a great job creating patterns on their animals and they had
a lot of fun. We did have a little setback today because two of the children got into a fight. We
had to have a discussion about what I expect from them in the future and why they cannot be
treating each other like that.
I realized today how important it is to lay out expectations before you start classes. I had
to think about how I would ensure that all of the students knew what I wanted my art club to
look like and how I wanted them to treat each other. Also, I like the idea of incorporating more
books into the curriculum of art club.

February 15
th

Piet Mondrian paintings and Jackson Pollock action painting

I realized today that we didnt talk about artists that much. I thought it would be good
for them to see some art and to discuss the artists behind the work. The older kids and I
embarked on the adventure of learning about Jackson Pollock and his abstract expressionist art.
We discussed the scale of his work by comparing his painting to how many of us could lay next
to them. We also talked about how Pollock utilized his body in his art by using expressive
motions while applying paint. We covered the ground with large sheets of brown paper and
then each student had a large sheet of posterboard. The students spread out and placed their
white posterboard on the paper protecting the floor. We used mostly tempera paint, with
acrylic white and black, to mix individual colors and the splatter, drips, and pour paint onto our
surfaces. They loved this. I had so much fun watching them use expressive and exaggerated
motions and they made their art.
The younger kids and I made painting that were inspired by Piet Mondrian. We look at
Mondrians work and talked about who he was. The kids used black electrical tape to divide up
their paper and then used the primary colors to fill in the shapes. They eventually broke me
down and I gave them green and taught them how to mix purple because they are just too cute
and really want those colors.
I feel like today was a success. I felt prepared and they had fun and learned a lot. We
also displayed their art on the cabinets next to the dining tables and they love to see their art
up where everyone can see it.



February 22
nd

Clay Pinch pots

Clay reemerged on the scene by popular demand. We created pinch pots today with
and used tools around us to make designs and patterns by stamping. For the younger kids this
turned into more of a free for all. The pinch pots were a little harder with the air dry clay so
some of the students gave up quickly and created their own designs. I think its important for
me to let them branch out because I want this art club to be a place where they have some
control over their choices and the outcomes and results.
This lesson was less defined than it should have been. I learned that I needed to have a
more specific ending routine during our time today because many of the children just leave and
their project is unmarked and their space is not clean. In the future I need to make sure to tell
the kids where they should be putting their projects when they are done with them.

March 1
st

Duct Tape Flowers and Paper Beads

Duct tape is always fun to work with because the kids have a lot of options of fun, bright
colors to choose from. Which, of course, they love. Today many of the children were gone so
we had a very small group. It was so fun to be able to work more intently with the students
there. I gave them the option between creating paper beads or duct tape flowers. We had an
opening discussion about how artists often use materials or mediums that are very different
from the object they are making. For example, jewelry made out of paper, or flowers made out
of duct tape. They all decided on duct tape flowers and they turned out really well! Its a long
process because you have to place each petal on individually and slowly the flower begins to
grow.
There were no younger kids today so I postponed their painting lesson in the hope that
some would be around next week. This lesson was great because the students each had a
chance to take something really cool back to their room. Sometimes its great for them to have
something to do that looks great and they can feel a sense of accomplishment.






March 8
th

Scrap Wood Sculptures and large scale paintings

This lesson plan was inspired from a chat I had with Nikki Anderson. She was talking
about how she used to get scrap pieces of wood and have her students glue them into
sculptures. I thought this was a great idea so I found some scraps of wood in the woodshop at
MSUM and brought in a few backs of varied wood pieces. This lesson went really well. We
began by discussing sculpture and then I had them collect some pieces they found interesting in
a tin pan. The then used wood glue and tape to hold their sculptures together. I was really
pleased because I had been working with student who was really distracted during lessons and
disruptive and this was the first time I had seen him this engaged in a lesson.
This lesson was really fun and gave the students a chance to create structural designs.
We discussed architecture and what architects do. Exposing the students to different vocations
seems like an important component of the curriculum. I didnt learn from earlier lessons and
had a hard time cleaning the tables afterwards because wood glue can be very stubborn.


March 29
th

Spring time pastel and watercolor drawings

The director of the shelter asked me if we would create drawings that they could use in
an upcoming fundraiser. So today we devoted our time to creating drawings that could be
utilized on mothers and fathers day cards. I asked the kids to create drawings using either soft
pastels or watercolors and make a picture using the theme of Spring. I noticed today that a lot
of my students enjoy using words in their art. I found this really interesting. Many of them
wanted to write words that reminded them of spring instead of drawing pictures that reminded
them of spring. I couldnt decide if this was because it seemed easier to them or if it was
because they liked using written language.
This lesson didnt end up being structured enough for them. I didnt do a very good job
giving them examples to work from and they didnt have a direction to really go in. I tried to
discuss their ideas with them before they started their ideas and give them examples of what I
thought of when I imagined Spring. I also realized that I need to work on encouraging them to
finish the drawings and paintings they start. I have one student who is particularily quick to
give up and restart projects and she goes through a lot of paper and does not end up with
anything she is satisfied with. Today I tried to help her keep adding to a picture and eventually
she agreed to try and continue with one piece. I looked over a minute later and she had
already grabbed a new one.

April 5
th

Batik and Glue Pendants

When I arrived today I was told we couldnt do art club in the dining area because the
dishwasher had broken and flooded a large portion of the kitchen and dining area. This was
particularly problematic because I was hoping we would have water readily available. Earlier in
the semester I had tried to establish a routine that older students would come first and I would
get them started on their lesson and then the younger kids could come once the older students
were working. This had pretty much disitigrated at this point, so all of the kids and I went
downstairs to do batik on paper and make marbled glue pendants.
Today was a bit of a struggle to keep the students quiet. We had a new family move in
with 5 kids and they are also from Somalia. Their English language skills were more advanced
than the first family but they would often start talking amongst themselves when I was trying to
show what the lesson was. What I did first was have them sit all around a table and introduce
themselves to each other. This is something I hadnt been doing and I realize I should have
been. I was opporating under the assumption that the kids knew each other because they all
lived at the shelter but that isnt the case. These kids interact with so many people each day it
was naive of me to assume they would get to know the other kids.
After the introduction we completely covered construction paper with crayon designs
and then I showed them how we were going to crumple our designs so we could put watered
down paint in the cracks to create the batik look. I showed them some examples and told them
what batik was. I then started crumpling my piece and they were mad at me! They asked me
why I would do that so I had to re-explain what batik was and how the cracks in the design were
part of the art. After that they understood but not all of them were completely amused by the
process.
We also did these really simple glue pendants by pouring glue into plastic cups and using
food coloring to swirl a marbled pattern into them. I had to learn about adapting lessons when
things dont go as planned. It was an added challenge to be in that new space, especially since
they were surrounded by toys and book and we didnt have running water.

























April 12th- Optical Illusions

This lesson plan was inspired by one of my friends who is currently student teaching.
She does an optical illusion lesson plan and today I decided we needed to do a project that was
less strenuous and intensive than some of the previous ones. This lesson only required paper,
markers, and pencils. This made it easy on me as I carried in all the supplies. The students
loved these lessons though. We did one where we traced our hand and then utilized repeated
lines to create an illusion by curving the line inside our hand contour and leaving it straight in
the negative space. The other one was a bubbled curtain looking design that my friend creates
a lot.
They thought this was a cool lesson. I was encouraged because I had a student who had
been getting progressively less productive. She is the same student who has a hard time
finishing projects and often wants me to do her art for her. Today she made 5 pictures and was
interconnecting them. She was also avidly showing them off to anyone who happened to
wander past us. I was so impressed! Sometimes lessons Im not that impressed by are things
that intrigue my students. I think it will be important in the future to ask them some things
they might like to do.






April 19
th

Printmaking

Today I attempted to do printmaking. We used Styrofoam sheets to create our prints
and I brought old sheet music and brightly patterned paper to print on. I was excited today
because I had everyone circle up and watch the process and they did a great job. I explained to
them what a brayer was and was burnishing was. The listened intently as I told them to listen
for that sticky sound that the ink should make when there is just enough on your plate. I
showed them on you create lines in your print by using a pencil and the I showed them how to
roll ink onto your print. They oohd audibly and I chuckled and told them that it wasnt done
yet. I chose a piece of sheet music to print on and they were so impressed when I pulled the
paper off and had the finished print. They loved this lesson but thankfully Steve Grineski was
there to help because he gave the suggestion of paint shirts and I was so thankful. It was a very
messy process but for the most part the students did a great job following directions and doing
the steps correctly.
I still need to figure out how to effectively merge all of the age groups or how to
effectively plan and execute two separate lessons. I also need to try and talk with parents
about very little kids joining us because many times I dont have the capacity to watch two year
olds while trying to instruct the older kids.

















April 26th- Painting wooden figures

Today was an easy day for planning. Someone had donated a box of wooden boats, cars
and planes. We just used acrylic paint to add color to them. All of the kids put on paint shirts
(see I am learning) and decorated their vehicles. They loved this. One thing I thought I executed
well is we drew numbers to decide who got to be the first to pick out their chosen toy. They
were very patient as I distributed paint because I told them they needed to be politely seated
before they could receive paint. We had a lot of fun and I discovered an effective way to turn
in projects is to have the students write their name on a piece of construction paper and place
their object on that.


May 3
rd

Paper Mache

This week I braved the dangers of paper mache and it was so worth it. I brought in a
lesson plan that utilized both newspaper and colored tissue paper to create a paper mache egg
using a balloon as the base structure. I brought in my example and the kids (and an adult
resident who happened to be in the room) thought it was so interesting. Many of them had
never done paper mache before, which surprised me. I showed them how to begin the process
and again utilized the procedure of having them all sit at the same table as I explained. We
passed around my example and I had one of the more eager students, who had already blown
up her balloon, help me by being my example. They really enjoyed creating paper mache
balloons and it is always great to use tissue paper so you dont have to paint them once they
dry.
One thing was solidified today. I need to figure out a way to either separate the age
groups or plan to have some sort of co-teacher. I held a one year old for a large amount of time
today in order to keep him from eating tissue paper and it gets a little difficult. Dr. Grineski
helped again today which was so great.