Finding the Fine Arts in the Generalist Teaching World

Teaching PE this year has thrown me for a bit of a loop. Most of my experience is in teaching Art, Music and Humanities, so developing a Physical Education program has been an ongoing endeavor for the last few months. My latest unit was an invention of mine, created using resources such as "Ready-to-Use PE Activities", "SPARK Physical Education" and "BOKS". Going through our equipment room, I realized much of it goes unused through the years, save a few days during our Mission Impossible challenge (this is a complicated obstacle course where students must strategically climb/crawl/walk/jump from section to section without touching the hardwood of the gym floor). So I pulled out the following equipment: Bean Bags Scarves Large Parachute Hula Hoops Scooters Skipping Ropes The activities were great. Each week, a new piece of equipment was introduced. Throughout the week there was a mix of specific skill building and fun games to utilized ...

Join us in Kananaskis! Our conference is looking spectacular this year!! Some examples of our 48 sessions this year: Viking Knit, or Trichinopoly Chain Buttons Buttons Buttons! Stomp! Intro to Voicestra Community Mural Project Fabric Art Directing the School Play Innovating Story Book at the Delta Lodge Kananaskis under our  special hotel rate - code FAC1 or call 403-591-7711 . Remember we have have both  1 and 2 day registration rates available . All meals included as well as snacks! Get your PD funding approved and head out to the Kananaskis! https://local38.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/Documents/SDF%20Individual%20Application%202016%202017.pdf More info and registration at: fac.teachers.ab.ca/Pages/Home.aspx If you know someone that would like to be added to this regular update, please forward their email to  jrherman@cbe.ab.ca ! Please reply if you wish to no longer be sent updates.

Join us in Kananaskis! The annual Fine Arts Council Conference is being held in beautiful Kananaskis Alberta from October 20-22, 2016. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of ATA PD funding in the Fall! Out theme this year is "Journey With The Fine Arts: Creating Your Story". We have another great line up of sessions in all subjects areas, including Greek Theatre, Viking Knit, Voicestra and Story Through Dance just to name a few! As well, we are honored to hear stories and song from this year's keynote speaker, Jeff Stockton, award winning recording artist and accomplished celtic harp musician, storyteller and speaker. Please make your hotel booking at the Delta Lodge At Kananaskis through ATA code ATAFAC16. Registration for sessions will be up and running within the next week. Stay tuned on the Fine Arts Council website for more information to come! CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO REGISTRATION SITE.

Well what a year! Things are wrapping up around Elbow Park School with a plethora of celebrations of learning. I was privileged to help the grade 5/6s with their parent evening and museum exhibits, as they shared their garage band spoken word songs, bird of flight art and macro photography. Please let me know if you are interested in a sample of these Garage Band compositions and I will fire a few out to you as well as complete lesson plans! Any advice you need on using the Garage Band program, and I am happy to help! Grade 3/4 had a lively afternoon as parents strolled the hallways looking at photo journals, plaster cast petroglyphs and listening to a variety of interesting sound compositions, such as "In The Attic", "Medieval Battle" and "A Day At The Beach". These sound compositions are also available to anyone interested in hearing more about this project and complete lesson plans. Grade 1/2 just had their celebration of learning this afte...

Have you every noticed those wooden fish lashed to a chain link fence? Well, the project comes from a very environmentally aware program called Stream of Dreams. Stream of Dreams Program is one in which schools can bring watershed awareness to their school community. Stream of Dreams is an environmental art project that aims to change behavior and teach how we affect our watersheds. Children attend a 45 minute science workshop, followed by a 45 minute art workshop. The Science portion talks about rivers and streams and their connection to storm drains. The art portion is woodworking and painting colorful 'dream' fish to contribute to a mural. The fee is $10 per student and free for staff, with materials you need to get organize and started, though some volunteers will be required to prepare the fish for painting and mounting. You will need a woodworking volunteer for this project! They recommend a minimum of 100 fish in order for the mural to resemble a stream. For m...

Thank you to everyone who attended the CARFAC Fine Arts Workshop Day! I myself presented a session on Artist Trading Cards, which had a lot of laughs, a lot of fun and many new creative ideas shared. After the Human Service session, we snacked on their artistic and themed health platters, before making our way to a dance or drama essentials session. We are always looking for a greater turnout, and at $25 for 2 sessions, snacks and coffee it's a heck of deal! Chestermere is a beautiful community, and if you're in the area, make sure to take advantage of these great opportunities to develop your fine arts abilities! Thanks again everyone and enjoy the rainy days :)

Please join fellow art-enthusiasts on April 23rd! The Calgary and Regional Fine Arts Council is offering a half-day fine arts workshop series on Saturday, April 23rd, 2016. We are offering sessions for all areas of fine arts, including hands-on art projects, useful ideas for drama in the classroom as well as the art of human service, just to name a few. Bring a friend or colleague and enjoy 2 sessions as well as snacks and beverages included! For more information, please see the attached poster. Register by clicking  http://fac.teachers.ab.ca/Pages/Home.aspx . Thanks and looking forward to seeing you there!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first official Fine Arts Council Meeting! It was a great meeting new people and connecting on so many levels. I knew the biggest challenge about this meeting would be actually getting people to come out! Many people have shown interest in wanting to be a part of a fine arts community in Alberta, it's finding that platform that will entice people to gather at the same time. In truth, there are many different platforms going on. CBE Julie B. (Specialist, Off-Campus Fine Arts) sends regular emails to advertise fine arts programs for teachers and students. Creative Calgary Congress has a focus on arts-centered learning. Learning Through the Arts is in the midst of several pilot projects with CBE schools. Is it a matter of advertising these different platforms for educators to be able to choose which one is the most effective for them? The other platform I came across was ninjaplans.com. This is an educators' resources sharing website...

Grade 1/2 students have been building and decorating their very own eggs shakers! This may seem like a crafty little activity. And for sure, students are excited to get into the paint and get their hands dirty as they try to manage holding and painting a 3D object. But not only is this a great fine-motor activity, it began as a scientific experiment in making predictions. Students were shown a variety of different materials and asked to make a hypothesis about what material would make the best sound inside a shaker. They were then given the materials to test and make observations, which became a language arts lesson in itself. Finally, students made their conclusions and began the construction of their egg. To see the pride, and to listen to their plans of how they will use them is exciting. At one point handing out the materials, the students had a full on shaker dance session as they grabbed paint brushes and paper towels. One group of girls has already planned a get tog...

In February, students were in for a treat! January finished off well with our drumming unit, grade 1/2's telling stories through drum and sound effect, grade 3/4's playing a multitude of games, and grade 5/6's applying their knowledge of new rhythms to create their own jam session in small groups. This coming month, students in grade 5/6 will connect directly with the Air and Aerodynamics and Flight units in Science as they explore classical music and the connection to birds of flight . They will apply their knowledge of themed musical composition to a piece they will compile on Garage Band. I say good luck to them, and good luck to me! as this the Garage Band program for some reason makes me the most nervous of any. Don't get me wrong, I have been to my fair share of Garage Band workshops, but with the server issues and student lack of solid technology experience, I have tended to shy away from it. But not anymore! Let me break down this new musical end...