Oct7
Hello….
It has been a crazy crazy summer!
We have been very busy talking to teachers and visiting schools that we have neglected our blog…shame on us…. There is so much to do and so few of us….
A quick update…
….I was in Alabama again last week
We are currently working with Birmingham schools. My colleague, Wanda Laing, was in town this past week, and had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. John McAphee, Jr. Ed.S., Coordinator of the Department of Arts Education. Mr. McAphee is responsible for the Birmingham City Schools and is very excited to introduce Vessels for Charity to his schools. And we very excited to work with them…..There is an ongoing need for humanitarian aid in our communities and as we inspire the next generation of philanthropists, we are planting seeds of global consciousness with Vessels for Charity. Together we can be a catalyst for engaging the gifts, enthusiasm and compassion of young people in our community.
It is appropriate for K-12 classrooms, lessons on clay, character building, and connecting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)education, or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math).
Vessels for Charity Projects can be in a class and a club. It can include the entire school, art classes, clubs and/or certain level classes like seniors. Crafting a vessel can take a few class periods, its hand building, so it depends on your students. They craft and design a vessel, it’s fired and glazed. Ideally, projects can be completed in about 30 days. There are a few variables to consider-such as time for firing and glazing, and the number of vessels produced. Scheduling is with a signup sheet.
The project is as follows:
- Decide you want to begin a Vessels for Charity Project
- Talk to the students-explain you are beginning a Vessel for Charity project. Crafting vessels is hand building. Individual interpretation of a Vessel is encouraged. As the vessel is crafted, you can review the history of vessels, and include art criticism and aesthetics in your lessons. Arts provide innovations through analogies, models, skills, structures, techniques, methods, and knowledge; it works to make science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) more aesthetic.
- Explain they will be crafting Vessels to support a Charity of their choice. We believe that Charity starts at home, so they can suggest a local charity or a national charity. Students will work together for a common purpose, they must agree on one charity. This is a great opportunity to develop peer relations and build teams by listening to viewpoints of others about various charities.
- Once a Charity is chosen, send letters home to parents and community members, explaining the project and asking for their support. (We provide sample letters)
- Craft Vessels-While crafting vessels, learn more about the charity. Some ideas include (students may know someone who personally benefits from the charity, someone in their families may have been diagnosed with a disease and they are passionate about supporting that charity and they may want to share their stories, etc.), use the internet, use brochures, sharing individual stories about the organization and the difference they are making in your community and using community members and individuals from the charity. As we foster art education, we are serving the community. You can plan a service learning event where students volunteer at the charity chosen. You can feature guest speakers from the charity during regular assemblies. Students may craft more than one Vessel, and projects can be done repeatedly. You can set some goals on how much you would like to contribute to a charity and use this as a basis for how many times you complete the project and how many vessels are made.
- Publicly recognize the work of students. Some ideas include seeking and encouraging media coverage, involving the local newspaper, making a scrapbook, making a video, featuring a page in the yearbook, sending photos to Vessels for Charity to post on the website and Blog and by enlisting local businesses to help publicize and support. Certificates are given at the end of each project for community service hours.
- (For clubs, you can open up the opportunity to craft vessels for charity to students, and members of their local community including family members and businesses. Post open studio hours in school newsletter, letters sent home to parents, etc., on the school website, district newsletters and local media, etc.)
- Host a family and friends fundraiser-this can be with other planned school functions. Some ideas include Open House, parent teacher conferences, sporting events, etc.
Additional information can be found on our website under Resources at: http://vesselsforcharity.org/qa/teachers-kit/,
