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Growth Mindset & Creativity

A growth mindset

when people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.

A fixed mindset in this scenario is convincing yourself that you can’t make them happy or that things won’t go well for you at all. A growth mindset example for this is having the confidence that you’ll make it through. Sure, it’s possible that you will make mistakes, but it’s an opportunity for you to learn.

Growth Mindset

As an educator.. I see many new initiatives and programs coming in that are changing how things are done. I have had the opportunity of being under the leadership of both types of people. Those who only follow the system, and those who take risks to try new things for the benefit of developing a growth mindset in our students. The difference between the two is that one group has not developed a growth mindset.  

Most people have not developed a sense of self around creativity, which does not allow them to be able to stand confident in the role as a leader and educator of a new reality where creativity is the answer.  

When there is a new initiative for restorative practices, arts integration or mindfulness… the teachers that have not developed a growth mindset are usually the first to give pushback. The thoughts of having too much to do already, make them feel like they wouldn’t ever be able to handle anything else. That’s because they will have to first LEARN something new for themselves. But in reality, if you begin with a growth mindset, then the other things fall into place exactly how they need to.

KNOWLEDGE of SELF is key for both students AND EDUCATORS! We all are first humans… we all are first on a journey of self awareness. True education comes first from the awareness of self. Once on that journey we become aware that we ARE CREATORS!

Having a growth mindset allows us to begin the journey standing in our power, knowing the universe works with us to receive what is ours by divine right. Even though tough times and challenges… we are constantly growing. Just like an artist painting a picture, we paint and edit and continue to paint some more until the painting becomes a picture into our mindset.

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Summer art camp experience during COVID19

This summer I took an art camp job, in person at The New Century School in Fells Point MD, during COVID19.

The New Century School is a small multi-lingual charter school in Baltimore City. Art camp runs from now until August 21st, 2020.

Two weeks down, and we’ve been having a wonderful time creating!

With 12 students a week, we have navigated this COVID paradigm with unconditional understanding and grace amidst of the unknown. Working for this school has shown me there are a lot of differences between public county schools and charter schools in the city.

The first week of camp the theme was Mythical, Magical Creatures.

We made dragons, unicorns, imaginary worlds, fairies, mermaids and more!

The second week of camp the theme was Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies!

We zentangled birds and butterflies, made styrofoam stamps of bugs, build birds from model magic and pipe cleaners!

Art helping us through COVID19

The students are having a wonderful time, even with having to wear masks all day, and having to stay at their own table 6 feet from other students. It has been a little challenging to get the kids to remember to keep their mask up or not to get to close to other students. But overall the experience has been fun.

Everything is better with ART!

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Watercolor Exploration

Usually I am the teacher, but sometimes my daughter Element wants to teach as well! She made the beautiful painting featured in this blog, and showed me how she did it!

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RMS after Quarantine

Today I went into my classroom to grab a few things.

It was like the twilight zone.

I felt like the kids would walk in any minute!

It felt so familiar, yet students working in the classroom is such a distant memory.

I took pictures of some unfinished artwork; that really had me feeling disappointed and sad. The students were doing so well and created so many amazing things that they just had to leave behind.

It felt like I’m living in two realities at once.

Such amazing artwork… So much to look forward to. My only hope is that the time we had together taught them how to be creative no matter how good they thought they were at “art”.

I miss my students and my classroom.

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2019 – 2020 School year

Yesterday we found out that all Maryland schools will be closed for the remained of the 2019-2020 school year. We have been out since the end of the day on Friday March 13th.

Friday the 13th was the last day I saw my students before being quarantined.  Friday the 13th was the last “normal” school day of my career.  Things are so different , and will be from now on.

Virtual learning is the name of the game.  A few years ago, I had the idea things would be digital sooner or later… but never did I imagine it happening like this.

Today was my first day meeting with my students after learning we aren’t going back to school. The students will be receiving a pass/fail grade for 3rd and 4th marking period, as well as for their final grades for the year. As of right now, we do not know how we are going to assess them and decide who passes or fails. I couldn’t imagine any students failing in this crazy unsettling time. There are so many students who do not have the support they need to succeed during this crisis.I have so many questions, I can only imagine how my students are feeling inside. How will we go on? How will this affect us in the long run? What will happen in August and September? These questions run through my mind, without any sure answers in place.

Today we reflected on what we are grateful for, using this time to remember that even in the face of uncertainty… there is still always something we can find to be grateful for.

On a brighter note, this week is teacher appreciation week… some of my students sent me messages and really pulled at my heartstrings.

 

 

In all of this uncertainty, one thing that’s for sure… is how much I love and miss my students, my classroom, and our school community.  Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I truly hope I am able to see everyone again and show them how much they mean to me.

If I can give one piece of advice in this time, its to KEEP CREATING!

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Quarantine Art Series: Waterfalls in the woods

The sound of water flowing always brings me back to center. Helping me to let go of all my thoughts and feelings in the moment. Showing me how quickly things change, and how no matter what… life still goes on.

Sitting in the woods at Burns Valley Herbals and Retreat has really given me a deeper realization of how important being in nature is for our being. The sounds of the earth fill my mind and heart, allowing me to be present in each breath. From birds flying overhead, to cows in the valley and peepers in the pond… the sounds of spring help wash away the cold winter.

Spending time in the woods with gratitude for each moment. Being able to see how the brown dead leaves make way for new green growth on the side of the mountain. Water rushing over the mossy rocks. Every now and then finding a back up of leaves and branches that need clearing.  Just like our lives… every now and then, seeing how there is a build up of emotion or attachment to things that no longer serve our highest good.

I have been drawn to jump right into the water to clear away what is holding it back from flowing freely. Using this analogy as a reminder to keep my own energy flowing freely. Every now and then, jumping in the water to release, and to celebrate what we’ve let go of and what we have to look forward to.

Moving debris, and rearranging rocks to create a bank where we want to the water to flow. Such is life.  Water is life.

 

 

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Remote Education

Wow. Yesterday was tiring.

Between doing my own work, and getting Landyn and Element to do their work…. whoa. Element was more interested in the magic she found from dangling her pen from a strand of hair, then creating a word math problem. We took a few breaks, made rice crispy treats! Their work is to complete online packets, sent by their teachers through Google classroom. They go to school in SYCSD in Pennsylvania. It’s interesting to see the different between the two school systems approaches. I had to stop and take some deep breaths a few times.

Overall, the professional development BCPS created for us was easy enough. There were a few things I had to figure out on my own that could’ve been described better, however it wasn’t that difficult just a little time consuming.

The county has created a streamlined remote learning template for all BCPS teachers to use on their class pages. We were asked to put all of our previous materials in a folder labeled “Previous Q1 Q2 Q3”, and then create a few new pages and folders to reflect the BCPS default layout. Once those folders and pages were created in one class, I was able to easily copy each of them to my 9 other courses. There’s a weird glitch in Schoology when I try to copy folders to all of my other courses at once, some of the courses don’t receive the folder so I have to go in and copy it again individually.

All of my classes have been set up to the default template, and I am awaiting our art teacher meeting on Wednesday so I can see what lessons we have available to upload. The Visual Arts office and a team of awesome art educators have created lessons for us to use, so if we do not have the ability to create our own we do not have to. What’s nice is that we have the ability to alter or create our own if we want to!

I just finished setting up and creating my first Google Meet so that I can meet with my students!! I am so excited to see them, I’m going to send out an email to all of them to see if they want to meet up to say hi!!

I have to say this morning was a lot smoother than yesterday.

At 1pm today we had our first virtual faculty meeting! We used Microsoft teams. It was a good meeting, learned a lot about the expectations we have as teachers…

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  • Upload 2 mini-lessons by 8am on Monday morning, with a due date set for that Friday by midnight. Each lesson should be about 20-25 mins in length,
  • Have a live virtual meetup for 30 mins with each class… I will only be teaching my students on Thursday and Friday mornings between 9-11:30.
  • Maintain 2 hrs per day of office hours for student and parent questions and concerns.
  • Provide students with feedback at least once a week.

This all feels a little better now that I know the expectations!

Happy day 2!

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4 more weeks

Wow so much has happened in a week….yet so little at the same time!

This time last week I was writing about how it felt after 3 days of being off of work.

I feel different than I did last week, that’s for sure. Still a little uneasy, however I feel like this has strengthened my center so I might be more balanced in all things.

So we found out on Wednesday that all Maryland schools will be closed until April 24th. We will find out more about how we are going to implement online learning, sometime next week. I am excited about this new adventure and the opportunity to flip my classroom and lead the way into this digital age! I’ve messaged my students to ask them what type of things they would like to learn about so I can start making some videos. Friday we had our first Zoom faculty meet up! It was nice seeing everyone’s faces!

It’s almost time to get out of my comfy clothes!

Tomorrow starts a week of online professional development about how e-learning will go with my students. Anxious to find out what I am going to have to do so I can start preparing!

I have been messaging my students on Schoology for the past two weeks. A few students have emailed me and sent pictures of their artwork! Check some out below:

<3 Be well

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Mother to Teacher

While being off of work we are getting into a totally new schedule. This whole time has been about transitioning and adapting… changing old ways of doing things so they are effective for the now. Or sometimes letting go of things completely to make room for something totally new, like with the online learning!

Not only is a new chapter beginning in my teaching career, but also in my role as mother.  Previously, as mother I would come home and spend time playing and doing fun things with the kids. Also making them do their chores and holding them accountable for completing the work their teachers gave them.

My previous role description no longer suits the current situation. Now more than ever I am fulfilling my role as a leader and a teacher. I feel right now we are all being called to step up, knowing ourselves deeper and sharing our gifts as they serve us in this moment in time.

Having a career as a teacher gives me a slight advantage over this home e-learning business, however it is also proving to be challenging. There is a HUGE difference between teaching students in school every other day, and teaching your own children in your home, while being with them all day every day, 24/7.  I am feeling for those parents who are not natural educators. If you are charting the new territory of teaching, here are few tips:

  1. Breathe, what’s important is not necessarily what you are teaching, but that you are getting your kids to think!
  2. Learning can happen in all ways, not just in a school type setting where kids sit still at a desk and do their work. Think of different ways to incorporate learning into the things you are already doing.
  3. Create a schedule or structure that you and your kids can agree upon. My kids aren’t waking up by an alarm, we have let them wake up on their own, but once they are up they get themselves ready for the day and then begin their school work for the day.
  4. Be flexible and adapt!
  5. Don’t take things personally.
  6. Let most things go!
  7. Remember to smile <3
  8. Give lots of hugs!
  9. Take a break.
  10. Remember to breathe

<3 Be well

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3 days in…

The first 3 days off of work because of the coronavirus came and went.

On Sunday I thought about how I would handle the next day. Was I going to get up, business as usual… or was I going to take the well needed rest.

I decided to take it one day at a time. So on Monday, I woke up without my alarm, around 6:30 am. I decided that it was the perfect day for me to start with yoga. I love being awake before everyone else, and watching my Sara Beth yoga on youtube! I really enjoy her flow.

After yoga, I had some coffee and read a book. It was nice to be able to sit still and quiet for a little while. However there has been this underlying unease… a type of energy that is constantly on… buzzing underneath it all.

When my kids woke up we did school work, and made art!

Two weeks off of work, for social distancing purposes. So I stayed in the house, finished reading the Alchemist, and am working on finishing Mitakuya Oyasin. I am also working on Braiding Sweetgrass.

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I worked on a few paintings, did printmaking with my daughter, and cleaned and organized the house.

We also went for a run on the trail, and a hike in the woods.

The grocery stores have been hit or miss. In Pennsylvania the Giant wasn’t too bad… but when I went down to Maryland and their Giant was empty! It’s very interesting to hear how different areas have different reactions to the quarantine.

I have been taking it one moment at a time, trying not to over schedule anything, but also not just sitting around doing nothing. Though sometimes I catch myself sitting and staring. Thinking about what’s going on with the world!

What if we don’t go back to school in 2 weeks? There are rumors of more quarantine, of longer time off of school, if not the rest of the school year… there is so much to process.

Today I emailed all of my students… letting them know they can message me any time. I miss them. I can’t imagine not going back to school for the rest of the year!

Day 3 in the books… 11 more to go… as of today.

Be well.

<3