"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, making mistakes and having fun." - Mary Lou Cook

All students at Oakhurst learn Art using Choice-Based Learning

But what does that mean?

What do artists do?

The Child is the artist.

The art room is their studio.

The focus is on teaching students not just the skills of an artist, but also the mindset and behaviors needed to be successful as an artist.

With Choice-Based Learning, students are the artists and they have complete control over the artwork they make. This gives them the opportunity to learn good decision-making skills and accountability. This also allows them to learn to make art that is meaningful to themselves, and grow at their own pace and find their own artistic voice. This allows for each artist to approach art in the way that is best for them and allows me to differentiate according to every artist's individual needs.

As the teacher, my job is to be a resource for their artistic endeavors.  To support each artist and build their knowledge base and skill level through mini-lessons and demonstrations at the beginning of each class. I assist them with their projects by teaching them the Studio Habits of Mind and building their 21st Century Skills. 

The 21st Century Skills we focus on are Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creating. 

1. For Communication we practice how to share ideas through writing, verbal and visual    communication; as well as how to listen and show the speaker that we are listening.

2. For Collaboration we practice how to work with a partner, a small group, or the whole class on a  project or a class discussion. We also practice how to ask others for ideas or help when solving  problems.

3. For Critical Thinking we practice how to identify problems or mistakes and how to come up with  solutions. 

4. For Creating we practice combining our skills and knowledge to create artworks that increase in  quality as our skills and knowledge increase.

The Studio Habits of Mind are the habits an artist must use in order to create a work of art. The habits we practice in class are the same habits that professional artists put to use everyday. These habits will help students to have a Growth Mindset, which will help them towards success in and outside the art room.

1. Envision- Learning to mentally picture what cannot be directly observed, heard, or written; and to imagine possible next steps in making their art. They must plan out what they want to create and how they want to create. 

2. Observe- Learning to look more closely and see things that may otherwise not be seen. They must work slowly, watch carefully for little details, and look closely for areas to improve.

3. Express- Learning to create works that convey an idea, feeling, or personal meaning. They need to make artwork that communicates something to the viewer.

4. Develop Craft- Learning to use tools and materials, and the practices of an art form. Learning new art skills and practicing them.

5. Engage and Persist- Learning to make art with subjects that you are interested in or are important to you. Learning to develop focus and other helpful ways of thinking and persevering at art tasks. Artists do not give up or stop working when confronted with problems. 

6. Stretch and Explore- Learning to reach beyond my capacity and embrace the opportunity to learn from my mistakes. An Artist's job is to constantly push themselves in order to improve and to learn new things so that they can share what they learned through their art. 

7. Reflect- Learning to talk about and assess my artwork. When finished with an artwork, as yourself: Did you do your best? What improvements could you make? What mistakes can you go back and correct? Also, Why did you make it? What are your trying to accomplish with your artwork? Is there a message to communicate? What is it and why is it important? Why did you chose the medium and materials you did? An artist's job is to ask questions and share their art.

8. Understanding Art Worlds- Learning about art history and learning to interact as an artists with other artists. An Artist's job is to learn from other artists and share ideas with each other.