Today, my son's teacher called to tell me she had some artwork of my son's I might want to pick up. I was super excited because I knew it was the artwork from the art show they had a couple of weeks ago at school. As they get older and school becomes more about learning to read, write, do multiplication, and understand social studies and science, there's not as much of the fun stuff that comes home for keepsakes of their childhood, so I always look forward to seeing what "Art Mama" as she is fondly called by the kids, has in store for them each year. Unfortunately, the "specials" teachers often get forgotten in the midst of the more essential "academic" skills the parents tend to focus on their children mastering as they grow, but I love that my children have art, music, PE, and computers class in addition to their regular work because it makes them more well-rounded, and it gives them much needed breaks from the norm and time to become a little more cultured and refined in a small island world that doesn't provide them many other opportunities for that. There's no operas or orchestras to go see, no marching bands at football games, no museums or art shows to visit, except for Art Mama's shows, like the one two weeks ago that I neglected to mention in the midst of tennis lessons, Tsunamis, and my son's journey on the airplane in the heart of the storm brewing, but that I didn't want to leave out entirely because it's too important!
Art Mama explores a different theme for the artwork produced by the kids each year. This time around, she focused on "Wonders of the World," ranging from "Nessy" the Loch Ness Monster, to the St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia and the wonder of a geode found in an ordinary rock. The show itself is put on in one of the open meeting rooms at the elementary school called the Coconut Room. One week it's for the K-3rd grades to show off their work, and the next for the 4th-6th graders. There are tables, walls, and this time, even a cabinet full of artwork to "ooh" and "ahh" over, and it helps fulfill my longing to wander the halls of a art museum as I check out all the fascinating and beautiful interpretations of the wonders of the world that artists I know have personally created. My 1st and 3rd grader each had about three pieces of artwork in the show. I have them all nicely tucked away in my rosewood trunk upstairs in my room where I am saving all their treasures for later years to come, but the ones that stood out most to me are the "Abominable Snowman" drawing the three graders did. So many had this fluffy perception of the snowman playing with kids in the snow. It was just fabulous! The geode pinch pots the 1st graders made were stunning as they glittered in the lights of the room. The watercolor and shiny papers of the "St. Basil's Cathedral" collages really turned out nicely, and the carefully cut out chalked and waxed construction paper butterflies made me smile broadly (especially at the fact that the art teacher considers "butterflies" a wonder of the world because I do too!) It was a wonderful show as usual and packed the whole time I was there with not only beaming parents, but also plenty of kids, happy to show off their work to each other. So, this blog is in tribute to "Art Mama" and all the "specials" teachers in the world for not only being brave enough to follow your passion and do what you love for a career, but for also choosing to teach and share this passion and your awesome skills with children and the communities where you live! I hope your contributions to the school are never "budgeted out" because we need you and our children's education would suffer gravely without you!
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