Organisations & getting involved.

The first visit at the school was to try to get us familiar with the environment. We started to discuss what they wanted and what we wanted from them. For myself I wanted the experience of what it would be like in a primary school and I wanted to start familiarising the children with the idea of art and textiles and what it is like for myself. I wanted more opportunities opened for them. The teacher of a year 3 class was discussing what they would like from us, which was something interactive for their playground as it seemed dull and they wanted something to brighten it up. We were told that we were going to work with year 3 children, although I wanted to work with the older years, I felt comfortable as she reassured us that the children were a bright bunch and loved art. As a group and with the teacher we reviewed that it would be better to stick with the same children each week as it would give us a chance to get to know them properly and it was a way for myself to see how they would develop over the weeks. It was also a chance to see how I developed, I felt if we kept on changing groups I would not be stable and wouldn’t find it comfortable to work in because I do not know how each set of children would react. From this I can see whether I would like to continue working with this age group, if not it gives me a chance to explore the older groups.

We decided that it would be better to work as a group, which i thought was a good idea. It was a way of working as a team but you were still able to give your own input. We had ideas of maybe one person leading and the rest assisting so that we could have a chance of taking the lead and to see how it felt. I felt i had a strong group as we co operated efficiently without any problems. We all agreed with the plans from the school.

We planned for the following week we would each create a workshop telling the kids about we specialised in. I decided to create a workshop on textiles and textures. From a shell sample that I had stitched, I wanted them to imitate it using the materials I had provided which would be coloured sticks, assorted paper and beads. Thinking about the timing that we had, I decided to draw the shell and for them to decorate it. I did not want them to waste time producing a perfect shell. I wanted them to think about shells in a different context, to think about what they feel, the colour and shape. I was anxious about introducing the task because I was scared they might not enjoy or understand it. I feared that some children may get off topic and distract others and how I would cope. All these questions were withering in my mind. It was because I have never been in such an environment before.

Initially as a group we discussed our theme for the playground would be tropical rainforest because the outdoors is related to nature and the colours in the forest were bright and hopefully would liven up the playground. However discussing more in depth, we changed our minds and came up with the idea of space. From this theme, we could create more workshops for upcoming weeks that would be useful for the interactive piece we would be producing.

Thinking about an interactive piece on this wall

From the beginning of the course till now I feel I have the relevant skills and gained more, which will be useful for this organisation and my practice. The workshops have helped massively and have improved my confidence and given me more ideas. I felt when I came into unit x, I thought I had ideas but the workshops have been amazing and allowed myself to think more creatively and imaginatively. From this, I hope I can share my skills to this school and allow the children to open their minds and think outside the box. Also I hope I can gain more knowledge of what happens in the school and what it is like to teach.