Planning Workshops

The first workshop session was nerve racking, the minute I set foot into the classroom, I could feel the pressure on myself. We spilt the children into six groups and had 15 mins with each group.I introduced my group to my workshop. I was nervous and stuttered a bit because I felt under pressure and did not know how to interact with them. However, the children made me feel comfortable by asking questions and then soon I became relaxed with them. By the end of the session, my confidence was growing with each different group. I noticed commenting on the child’s work made them more confident and comfortable with me. They would ask me questions if they should do this and that. I noticed how some of the children would copy each other, I think they felt it should look in a certain way but I did encourage them to personalise it in their own way because there is no right or wrong in art. 

examples of the shells

By the end of the school day, there was tissue paper and other material on the floor. I hadn’t realised that using these materials would make such a mess. I should have realised I was working with children and they don’t realise when they make mess. This was something to consider for when I create a workshop. However, it was a good experience, as I enjoyed myself and so did the children. Some of the children mentioned if they could take their pieces home, I liked this, it showed they felt they achieved something.

The next workshops were based around the idea of space. We wanted the children to be a part of the final outcome that we were going to create. We wanted them to feel like they gave their input and it wasn’t just our idea.  It was something for them so we had to make sure they liked it. We invented a game to create aliens. From previous workshops we noticed some children copied each other, so to get a variety of different aliens we decided to play a card game which initiated how many eyes, legs, faces etc the alien had. This would stop them from coping and allow them to bring in their own ideas out. I felt like this workshop was a success and the kids enjoyed themselves. They produced amazing quality work, which would look brilliant on the interactive board

From my workshops, I realised how the mind of a child is very different from my mind, everything has to be broken so it is easy for them to understand. When preparing my first workshop, I was thinking about using materials like needles and stitch, then realising that they are only children aged 7-8, things like that may be difficult and safety issues as well. I realised things have to be simplified to the simplest form. As they are children, you want to encourage them to interact so making the activity fun but educational was vital, I wanted them to learn something from it but also have fun. I had to realise they were not the same age as me so they think differently.

I adapted my own practice to my new organisation by trying to think in similar ways of the children and by breaking down aspects by using suitable materials, thinking about the timing and how they will utilise the time. The children were quite quick on their activities so we always needed a backup plan or we would try to make the activity longer.

Continuing with the workshops, as a group we decided some of us wanted to shadow and do workshops while the other half would work out costing’s for the interactive piece and buy the equipment. I thought about what I had come out to get from this in beginning and decided that I should shadow, as I wanted to see what happens in the classroom and how the curriculum subjects are taught. It made sense that I should choose this because this may be my future ambition. As a group we decided that we wanted to follow on from the space and focus on planets. We wanted to bring in the idea of working in a group because we were doing that, we wanted them to experience that too. Them working as a group worked really well, although some took over charge and the quieter ones were left behind. However as we were assisting we made sure everyone got involved. There was much to take on when shadowing, the teacher taught 3 subjects English, maths and science. I felt like my perspective of teaching changed from this and made me more aware of aspects that were similar to my own practice.When looking at it from a kids perspective it may seem easy and fun but it has made me realise how much has to be done and the ways it has to be done. Organisation and planning is key in this organisation and it has made me realise I need to be more aware of organising. In my own practice, organisation is vital and meeting deadlines, this is similar to the primary school, which is why I could relate to the teacher, however I feel there is more pressure in the school.