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photo credit: Kay Harris

When I am not painting in my studio, I am developing curriculum or teaching at my tiny little art school in Minneapolis.

I get such a charge out of designing curriculum.  Since I have been specifically teaching art for approximately six years, I am beginning to collect a wealth of great lessons.  I still prefer to create and teach new curriculum.  I love sitting down and figuring out how to puzzle piece together at least two of the following: artist studies, art making methods, children's books and museum visits.  More often than not, I find a common thread between three or four.

My class sizes are small.  I teach an average of ten students per session between the ages of 4 and 10 years.  I have found this number of students allows for a more individual, open ended curriculum which is the most important quality for me.   I want students to always feel the freedom to improvise, make adaptions and experiment while having the support they need to do this.

Having been a Montessori teacher for many years, I am a firm believer that there be a significant age range in each class.  One element of my curriculum design involves creating variations within each lesson so that all students will feel challenged and engaged.  Under this paradigm, students have the  ability to absorb the layers and complexities involved in making art.

I am just about to wrap up another summer of art camps.  I have one more camp at the end of August that I am really excited about.  This week, I will be working on designing my curriculum for my Sunday afternoon classes and Weekday Workshops scheduled through the end of this calendar year (September through December).  Wish me luck!

p.s. I'd also like to give painting the portraits of Emily Dickinson and Barbara Kingsolver a whirl.

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