Sadness

I ate too much food today. I was over 200 calories over my goal of 1500 calories. Sigh! I love to eat. "Tomorrow is a brand new day with no mistakes in it." ("Miss Stacy, "Anne of Green Gables," L.M. Montgomery). I shall embrace that motto and try harder.

Transition

Coming Home

My husband, Ed, came home after being gone for a few days to Philadelphia to enjoy the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. The kids and I have enjoyed a few days of beautiful spring weather playing with their friends. I have missed him, I think of single parents who have to care for their children on their own and try to have personal balance. I am grateful for the parenting collaboratively. I recognize that I can do more to enhance that collaboration. While I have missed Ed's presence, I have also appreciated the time watching the children play.

Now that he is home, there is this strange period of transition where I notice everyone having "mini" melt-downs. I am reminded that re-entry can be bumpy. "Don't freak out, Kem!" Remember, it is part of the process. It will settle down soon enough.

I am spending the day preparing for my short trip to Guttenberg, Iowa on Wednesday where I will be teaching a paper batik workshop.

Reused Magazine Sculpture

Interruptions

Recently, I was introduced to the Iowa Common Core. As a Teaching Artist, I have been trying to align the arts with Iowa state standards. The state legislature has approved 21st Century Skills under content that needs to be covered in our K-12 education. The Universal Contruct groups the 6 essential skills (21st Century Skills) students need to develop to be effective in our workforce: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, Flexibility & Adaptability, Accountability & Productivity and Creativity. I had a lesson on "flexibility & adaptability" yesterday.

"Creative Edges" by Kemlyn Tan Bappe

As we were preparing for school, my 5th grader expressed some anxiety about an art project she was doing at school. She was concerned because she didn't understand the project. From her description, the project sounded complex and interesting. I decided that I could "skip" walking that morning and offered to go to school with her to support her during art class which was during first period.

Her art teacher was generous in sharing her classroom with me. She has invited me to be a Teaching Artist in her classroom before. She said, "Today is a great day for you to be here." I had a blast helping write down the procedure she described on the board, helped with materials set up. After she verbally described the project, I got to "model" and demonstrate the process step by step. My daughter and all her classmates jumped right into the project and stayed completely engaged. I loved the project so much that I created 2 sculptures from recycled magazines tonight.

One student seemed to struggle with his scissors. I am determined to build my "adaptive" scissors collection so that I can be prepared to bring those in for my students to play with. It might make it easier and more enjoyable for some students to know they have options when it comes to cutting tools.

Initially, when my daughter was expressing distress over her art project, I was tempted to be dismissive. I am so glad that I "heard" her and adjusted my schedule. Not only do I feel happy that I was supporting my child, I learned a new art project and thought about how important it is to develop cutting skills and the role of effective tools.

Flying with Broken Wings

Last summer, July 2010, I went to see my parents and sister's family in Singapore. My niece, Meg taught me to fold origami cranes. She also told me about the story about Sadako, a young girl who lived and died with leukemia, a consequence of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.