Notes from the Art Teacher
Who is the K-4th grade Art teacher?
I'm Tracy Nichols and have been teaching Art at Liberty for about seven years. My husband is an IB Art and Theory of Knowledge teacher at Poudre High School. We moved to Fort Collins after teaching at Seoul Foreign School in S. Korea for 10 years. I was a 3rd Grade Classroom Teacher for half our time in Korea and a Middle School Art Teacher for the other half. Here at Liberty I teach five different grades with 17 different groups of students I see a couple times a week.

Using index cards for a team architecture building project.

4th Grade Clay mask relief sculptures.

Chinese Brush Painting Chinese Art.

Clay clay demonstration.

What is Mrs. Nichols' K-4th grade Art class like?
Some people ask me if I just make up the Art lessons. Yes and No. No, because there is a Core Knowledge Art Curriculum just like there is a CK Language Arts, Science, Music, and History Curriculum. It's really excellent, extensive and I love following it. 

Like the rest of the Core Knowledge Curriculum, the writers defined what most scholars agree are some of the most important and big game changing things that a well-educated person needs to know in a subject area. Then they divided it up into the age appropriate K-8 grade levels. 

And then yes, because I get to choose what projects to do that best present the CK curriculum. Our normal Art Class is pretty directed. I see my time with the students as kind of like a piano lesson. A student doesn't go to their lesson to play around on their instrument but they learn how to focus on specific skills. Student's time in Art class is pretty short so we focus on specific goals.

What is a Guest Artist?
This idea was inspired by adults telling me that they didn't like art class when they were kids because they had to do what the Art teacher assigned and they were frustrated by not being able to take their ideas in different directions. I've also had a few students like that. Well, that's a bit of a slippery slope. In the short classroom time, students need to do the assignment to practice the skill and demonstrate the criteria like in any other subject area. But I tell students that they have lots of time outside of class at home to experiment. So I encourage them to take their very cool ideas in their own directions at home and bring it in to share it with me or the class as a Guest Artist. (I even offer materials if they need it.) 

Guest Artist is a quick Show and Tell. It needs to be something that they made outside of school that they've worked on at least an hour or more. The Guest Artist sits on the front and describes three important things:

What is Free Art Day?
To give some free choice in Art class throughout the year and as a behavior incentive, I have a Free Art Day each quarter. I set up each table with different art supplies, paints, clay, oil pastels, drawing and sketchbooks, marshmallows and toothpicks, pipe cleaners, scented markers, tapestry needlework, beading, planks, straws and connectors, stacking index cards, etc. I tell the students that Free Art Day is not Art recess, but they are FREE to choose what kind of art they want to build and make on this day. It's awesome to see what the students make!
Reading in Art class?
I love to read aloud while my art students are settled into their work. To reinforce the CK curriculum and tie into their classroom learning, we read from the What Every nth Grader Needs to Know, or books from the school Library; Fables, Idioms, Myths, Poetry, Biographies related to the topics they're learning in their school year.
Sometimes we listen to music. I really like Mozart because it tends toward the rhythms of our resting heart rate. This is a really good thing in Art Class.
The focus for Core Knowledge is Literacy and this is a great way to 'kill two birds with one stone'. And who doesn't love a good story or a good idiom?

These are a couple of my oil paintings and paper cuttings.

This is my Art History Timeline.

Let's Wrap this up.
From teaching the Core Knowledge Curriculum and its inspiring way of teaching the scope of history starting in 1st grade, I designed and published an Art History Timeline Staircase poster last year that I use every day with my classes and share with people all over. I also love to do my own art; plein air (outside) landscape oil painting (in the summers) and papercuttings (in the winters).
I love teaching Art and working with your children here at Liberty. They are so bright, hardworking, and bursting with curiosity! I get to end each day with a line of Kindergartners giving me hugs and fist bumps. Think about volunteering in Art class next year! Look for the Art Room sign up at the start of the year. It's a lot of fun!

Students arriving through this exchange program (EF) cover all personal expenses, are fully insured and speak excellent English.  Host families provide a loving home, meals and a bed to sleep in. There are tax deductions for hosting exchange students.  To learn more, please contact program coordinator Melissa Gardner by email, or by phone at 303-847-8165  as soon as possible.

Summer Programs.  If you haven't decided how to spend your summer, you may want to think about the possibility of participating in a summer program.  CLICK HERE for the list of summer programs compiled by LCHS. The list includes fee-based programs, volunteer opportunities, paid internships and highly selective programs.  If you do not see a program that interests you, there's no need to worry. There are hundreds of summer programs offered each year at colleges all over the country. No matter what your interests are, chances are there's a program offered at a nearby college.

 

While summer experiences are an important part of the college admission process, it is important to pursue programs in which you are genuinely interested. Summer is the perfect time to challenge yourself, master new skills, gain a broader global perspective, volunteer, earn money, and prepare for college and the workplace.