As the end of the year gets closer, we at Hartford Performs
are as busy as ever. We are continuing
to provide arts experiences to our 26 Hartford Public Schools while taking on
new challenges. My name is Lisa Rizzo
and I have been the Arts Literacy Intern at Harford Performs since May of
2013. I am also a student in my final
semester at UMASS Amherst where I will be receiving a BA in Communication. In my time here at Hartford Performs I have
worked on Summer Arts Literacy, the 4th Annual Arts Integration
Conference, in-school program selection and much more. My latest project is not just new for me, but
for all of us at Hartford Performs.
In mid-October I began a residency at Hartford
Pre-Kindergarten Magnet School to bring more art programs to the students. Once a week I teach various art activities
and games to 3 different classes of PK 4 students. Having a Hartford Performs intern jump into
the classroom to provide programming is a new endeavor for us. So I was excited to get into the classroom
and bring my love of the arts to the students.
There have been some bumps along the way but so far it’s been a great
experience.
Growing up, I never felt like I shined in my academic
classes. I was not a bad student but I
never felt special in the classroom.
Until I started music class and performing clubs. These classes gave me a creative outlet in
school that I never had before. Music
taught me that I could create something beautiful with only my voice. To this day, singing remains one of my
favorite activities and my voice is something I am very proud of. I thrived with the arts and sought it out at
every opportunity. I was involved in
choir, dance, musicals, drama clubs, visual art classes and my personal
favorite comedy improv classes. I believe that all students should have an
opportunity to participate in the arts and see themselves in a way they haven’t
before.
On a typical day at Pre-K Magnet each class will start with
a good morning song. Then the students
(or “friends” as I call them) and I stretch our bodies and transition into a
warm-up game. After we are all warmed up
we get started with our activities for the day.
Every day we do 2-3 brand new activities that connect to our theme for
the week. Even though we follow this structure every day, every classroom at Pre-K
Magnet is a different and unique experience.
I am happy to say that I have seen these students grow week
after week. When I started venturing into the classroom I had three things that
I hoped the students would take away from our activities in the arts and I’ve
been fortunate to see examples of all three:
Enthusiasm for the Arts:
We played an energy game called “Oh le le” at the beginning
of a class as a warm-up. It’s a call and
response game with movement and as you continue to play the game you say the
words in silly voices and as different characters. The students put so much effort and energy
into this game. They laughed, waved
their arms, and made all the silly voices especially the dinosaur voices which
were a class favorite. It was great to see them all so excited and ready to
participate in the game.
Seeing Things in New
Ways:
One week our theme was shapes. After making shapes with our hands and bodies
the classes each had a chance to see how objects can be made using only shapes
with nothing but a dry erase board and marker. The students and I built houses, fish, robots
and more with only shapes. Then the
students named shapes at random and we put them all together to make a new
shape. Although I saw it as a clown,
each class saw something completely different even though the drawing was
basically the same each time. What was a
clown to the first class was a scarecrow to the second, and a snowman to the
third. The students are encouraged to
see things through their own eyes.
Self-Confidence:
One of my favorite moments from this experience was on the
very first day. After learning
everyone’s name I wanted to introduce the students to theater. Introduction and applause is a very simple
activity and it’s exactly what it sounds like.
One at a time each student goes to the front of the classroom and says
his or her name nice and loud for the “audience.” Then they take a big bow and the audience
claps and cheers in applause. This game
requires no materials and very little explanation but the impact is anything
but little. As each student took their
turn their smiles went from ear to ear as they heard the applause from their
peers and teachers. In my 3 classes
there is a total of about 50 students and only 3 students did not end up doing a
solo bow. But even the students who were too shy or nervous to go alone were
smiling and laughing when we took a big group bow at the end.
Enthusiasm, seeing things in new ways, and self-confidence
are all lessons that I learned from the arts that positively shaped who I am
today. Being able to bring these
positive messages to the students has been an incredible and inspiring
experience. I believe that the arts have
a way of bringing out the best in who we are. In the arts we’re allowed to be our most
creative, happy, proud, and vulnerable selves.
When a student is able to jump up and sing without self-consciousness,
look at a group of shapes and see something new, and take a bow like the whole
world is applauding I can say that the hours of lesson planning were 100% worth
the effort. Although these wonderful four year-olds have
occasional tears and tantrums, the positive impact of arts in the classroom
remains evident, and I feel incredibly lucky to have shared these experiences
with the students.
With only a week left before winter vacation, my time at
Hartford Performs and Pre-K Magnet is coming to a close. But I am incredibly thankful to Hartford
Performs for all the opportunities and experiences I’ve had these last 8
months. Being in the office and in the
classroom I have seen the positive effects of the arts and even though my
internship will be ending I plan to continue supporting the arts and arts
education in both my personal and professional life.
No comments:
Post a Comment