Adventuring

Last week was the introduction of Sand Art. We covered symbols, colors, and the students began making their own symbols. Today, we began the adventure of creating Sand Art.
I began today's lesson by reviewing what we had talked about last week. I reminded them of their symbols and let them know what we were going to be doing today. Before I let them start working with the glue and "sand" (it was really salt with food coloring), I wanted them to show me a rough draft of what they were planning on drawing with "sand".
I showed them a diagram of what their art should look like, the idea was to mimic the Sand Art of the Navajo Indians. To mimic their style, I reviewed the layout of the Sand Art. The symbols needed to point towards the cardinal directions of north, east, south, and west. I showed them a quick example on the board and then let them get to work on their rough drafts.
The rough drafts needed to be passed off so that I could make sure that they weren't creating designs that would not work using the Sand Art process. For instance, their symbols needed to be draw large enough that you could still tell what it was once they used the glue and "sand".
Once the roughs were passed off, the students were able to move to the glue and "sand" stations. There happened to be a few parent helpers that were able to help set up the station with and direct the students as I passed off roughs and gave them help with their projects.
The students were very energetic and excited to get up and work. They also did a great job of being careful as they worked to not get "sand" on the floors and share with their classmates. Before any of them worked with the "sand" I had also demonstrated how the process worked so that they could be successful in their art making. Glue was provided as well as toothpicks to help spread the glue over large areas. Mrs. Black had prepared the "sand" beforehand and there were several cups with different colors for the students to choose from.
Everyone worked hard and had a good time. Even the student that had had difficulty last week, was able to come up with a good design and nice symbols. I also made sure to praise his efforts with specific examples of what I liked about his work. It was a good turn around for him and I feel that he enjoyed the art project. In fact, I think all of the students enjoyed the art project. There were a few students that I was informed were a little slower in other areas, but really excelled in the art making process. It was a great way for them to see that they are good students and very capable.
As I am still getting a handle on logistics and classroom management, I did notice that there was one area that I could have improved in. That is, when students finished their art, I needed to let them know what activities were appropriate for them to do and how they needed to turn in their artwork. It was a little hectic near the end when all but a few students were done with their art. Next time, I will make sure that I inform the students the procedure for turning in their art and what they can or should do while everyone else finished with their art.
After the students left for recess, I helped clean up. Clean up was fairly easy since we had put down butcher paper on the tables so that the excess "sand" could be taken off by removing the butcher paper. I am excite to come back next week.