The Positively Perfect Purple Pencil - Art Education and Gallery

google1c4efd28865da50d.html

Welcome back!

8/16/2016

I am excited to be back in my favorite place! I hope everyone had a great summer - it seemed a little short to me :)! Our school was renovated over the summer and the Art Room got a face lift. We only had two days to unpack and pull everything out so I am still decorating! But, the supplies are out and we are ready to MAKE ART! I will post photos soon.

Now let me introduce you to Mrs. Stowers! She will be teaching at Medlock on Wednesday's.

Mrs. Stowers is a wonderful art teacher and we are lucky to have her!! She began her career in Fulton County as a student teacher 15 years ago at MEDLOCK BRIDGE and I was her mentor. I am so glad to have her here!!

I have taken on a new job. I will be traveling to the elementary schools in the Northeast Learning Community as the Fine Arts Support Teacher on Wednesday's. I can't wait to begin this new role. I am looking forward to supporting art teachers and getting new ideas for my classroom.

Stay tuned as we get this old room ship shape and back up and running for our number one purpose...to inspire and educate students in the making of art!

My Awesome Sweater

1/23/2016

So I bought this awesome sweater for $9.99 at KROGER! Not a great photo but, IT LIGHTS UP!!! We had an early release day on Friday in anticipation of SNOW. I wore it and it worked! We got snow in Georgia! The perfect kind where you get to watch it fall, catch snowflakes on your tongue, and it melts the next day.
In other news, the art room is bustling with unfinished art! Excited kids, who have been inside too long due to the rain, worked in coats on for 1/2 the day because of a broken heater. And the other big news is: TA-DA...a student teacher!!!
Kamilah Sanders joins us from Kennesaw State University. She will be with us until May and I could not be more excited! I love hosting student teachers! It is a chance for me to re-evaluate my own teaching, to share my (19 years) of tips and tricks, and to share my passion for art with someone who gets what ART is all about. I look forward to all the fun stuff we will create in the next few months.

Oh my!

1/18/2016

This sweet note was in my box this morning and my heart skipped a beat. Totally unexpected. Having someone recognize the work that I do means everything to me. Probably gonna frame this.

I firmly believe this!

1/8/2016

As I painted the words on the bulletin board several kids walked by
and these were the comments...

"Yes, IT does Mrs. Avery" (very mater of factly)
"Oh Yeah! (enthusiastically)
"It does. Doesn't it Mrs. Avery?" (very thoughtful)

If I ever doubt why I teach...

12/18/2015

..all I have to do is hangout with the kids at MBES.

Today was a busy day...it was the last day of school before Winter Break. The whole week has been a whirlwind of making sure everything gets done before you leave...grades, parties, endless paperwork...cleaning your room...so no uninvited guests move in while we are away for 2 weeks. Everyone is so excited! Before we can begin class we share our plans for the long break and family traditions that we look forward to. And as the students leave they hug you like crazy! To them 2 weeks is a long time!

..............And, it is on this day that I remember what is most precious to me too It's my kids...all 702 of them. Look at this most special gift from a fourth grade student.

She handed it to me and said...'Merry Christmas Mrs. Avery, this is a jar of HOPE".

Inside the jar she has written uplifting quotes on pink construction paper. I'm supposed to pull one out when I need it. I could not love it more! This is what teaching is all about. Not only do I get to make art everyday, but I get to do it with the most amazing kids.

UPDATE: This student comes to class every Thursday. I put her in charge of pulling out a new strip and taping it to the white board so we can all benefit from her kindness.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

12/18/2015

Can you tell we are excited for Winter Break?

This is how I roll...

12/18/2015

Look who stowed away in my laptop case...

12/14/2015

Meet Joe, Nancy, Whitley, Peppermint, Frosty, Mistletoe, Noel and the reindeer Prancy and Snowflake. They show up every Thanksgiving at my house. I guess they wanted to make ART today!

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!

11/26/2015

Art makes everything AWESOME! (credit Pinterest)
We have a friend from Milan, Italy visiting us over Thanksgiving. My daughter met Rebecca on a train leaving Florence, Italy in 2013. They became pen pals and have kept in touch. Rebecca is having her first American Thanksgiving and to celebrate I made these.
Cute huh?

WE WON!

11/21/2015

OLAF won the pumpkin contest!
It was a CLOSE call.
But in the end, everyone loves Olaf.
(I think our campaigning during bus duty helped :)

Kennesaw State University

11/19/2015

I was invited to speak to an "Intro" to Art Education class at Kennesaw State University this month by one of my favorite people - Anita Burch. We used to work together here at Medlock some years ago. We have stayed in touch and when she contacted me about presenting some of my work to her class - I was over the moon!

I really enjoyed meeting her students and was honored that Anita thought of me when it came time to show her students how an elementary art program works. I shared with them my Mustang Museum idea (see the tab above) and how I use Artome to show off every student's artwork at the end of the year.

OLAF: "Some people are worth melting for"

11/16/2015

Student council is hosting a canned food drive. This year each grade level team decorated a pumpkin and the students will use their donation to vote for their favorite pumpkin.
Student Council will keep track of how many donations each child brings in and at the end of the week the students who donate the most food get to take home a pumpkin.

And the SPECIAL AREA TEAM IS IN IT TO WIN IT! Here's OLAF!!! Just to keep it interesting we moved his head around!

This has been a fast and furious start to the year!

11/3/2015

I think it should by January by now. This school year is flying by and we have been busy making all kinds of art! Check out the grade level galleries listed above.

Halloween 15

10/30/2015

I have some great friends! I emailed our PE Coach and Music Teacher and asked "Which one of you loves me more - to dress up like Frida Kahlo for Halloween?" Here are the results! (I changed their contact pictures on my phone to these beauties and I crack up every time!!)

Frida Kahlo, Bob Ross, Mona Lisa and Vincent Van Gogh

Patriots Day September 11, 2015

9/11/2015

Our school created this flag made of loops in remembrance of Patriots Day. Students were asked to write something about being an American or answer the question Why is America is so great? Everyone loves it! It hangs in our cafeteria.

Day 12 in the Art Room

8/25/2015

We are in week three of the school year. It is flying by so fast. But WHATEVER I"M MAKING ART! I started teaching with this clock back in 1996. It stopped working years ago, but I hung onto it - being the loyal and sentimental person that I am. Last year I saw something on Pinterest - that led me to this idea. It's a reminder to me that I get to do what I love everyday!

Mrs. Avery's Awesome Artists Award The Positively Perfect Purple Pencil goes to the best class of the week. On Friday's our principal makes the announcement and you can hear the cheers down the hall! Here it is getting a face lift - for the 20th time.
The pencil is 20 years old ya'll! It is always a topic of conversation when I see a former student. Congratulations to Mrs. Amideo's Kindergarten class!
They get to keep the pencil in their classroom for a week!

Back to School!

8/17/2015

The Yacker Tracker!

Welcome back! I thought I would start the year by highlighting the procedures and rules that we follow in the art room. The first thing I do is give each student a seating assignment for the year. Since we have tables in the art room, I place two boys and two girls at every table. Each table works together as a team and shares responsibilities for passing out supplies.

We follow the school wide discipline plan. We have posters all over the school to reinforce the expectations we have for every student.

We call it MUSTANGS ROCK!

Mustangs are RESPECTFUL.
Mustangs are ON TASK.
Mustangs are CONCERNED CITIZENS. Mustangs are KIND.

I'm so proud of the students at Medlock Bridge because the "old timers" can explain exactly how each of these qualities can be shown specifically in Art Class.

As the art teacher my number one rule is not to talk when the teacher is talking. Students are expected to be Mona Lisa Quiet.

I use a "Yacker Tracker" (traffic light) to maintain the noise level in the room. The yellow light flashes as a warning when the noise level starts to rise. Students are instructed to place a finger over their lips and pass it on. This is an effort on their part to show self control and remind others that it is getting too loud. The red light will flash when the noise level is unacceptable. In that event we loose a letter from the word
A R T. We have two chances to correct that behavior before we have silent art.
Classes that go above and beyond the expectations are in the running to win my award on Fridays. It's called "Mrs. Avery's Awesome Artists Award The Positively Perfect Purple Pencil".
The best class of the week gets an announcement from the principal over the intercom and the pencil stays in their classroom for a week.
The Positively Perfect Purple Pencil is 20 years old. It started with me back in 1996. Former students always ask..."Do you still have the pencil?"...and I love to hear it!!!!)

Having clear procedures and routines for passing out supplies, listening, learning, and cleaning up makes it easy to get to the making of art - which is what everyone wants to do!
I begin class by saying "When your head is down I'll know you're ready".

We rotate tables as we pass out supplies. So everyone gets a turn.

When we collect the art for the day it is placed in a drawer labeled with the teacher's name on it. I save everyone's artwork for the year. At the end of the year each student will choose their best work of art to display at our school wide art show.

Stay tuned to see our Wonderful Work!

4th grade supplies

School Rules

Mona Lisa Quiet

The Positively Perfect Purple Pencil!

There are 8 tables in the Art Room.

All the supplies go at the end of the table when it is time to clean up

Labeled drawers and where we line up

Dropped some Free Art in Paris

8/16/2015

Dropped a Crazy Monkey Trucker at the Opera House in Paris
Dropped a Ms. Atl on the Eiffel Tower
Dropped an Evereman in Giverney

Getting ready for the BIG DAY!

8/3/2015

My daughter Emma Grace, helping me pull it all together for another year at MBES. She loves coming back to her old elementary school and helping me decorate the classroom. She created the little pond on the left and drew all the frogs. It was fun for her to do since we went to Giverny last April. We love Monet!

Art Show 2015

4/16/2015

Can't wait for you to see all the work we did this year!
Please join us from 5:00 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 2015
in the Cafeteria for the annual
ART SHOW!
Each student (K-5) has selected their best work to show off.
Artome frames all the work and you have the option
of buying the frame for $25.00

If you can't make it to the show send in a check to Mrs. Avery
made out to the MBES Foundation.
Mrs. Avery will collect the work for you and you can pick it up in the front office.

If you choose not to purchase the frame the artwork will be returned
to the students in a couple of weeks.

Chorus and Steel Drum Band perform at 6:00 p.m.

Author

Hi! My name is English Avery.
I teach ART to students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. I graduated with a Fine Arts Degree in Painting and Interior Design from The University of West Georgia. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Kennesaw State College. My teaching career began right here at MBES 19 years ago. I have two daughters, that are the light of my life, two sweet little pugs (Frank and Harley) and a wonderful husband that also teaches elementary art.

Archives

August 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
April 2015
January 2015
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
May 2014
April 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
May 2013
April 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012