MsJamieMakes

I have been living a creative life for well over 25 years, working with children all over the world and in various settings. Most recently, I taught MYP Design in a public school in Indianapolis. Early in my career I built the art program for middle and high school students at an American school in Dubai, UAE. I have spent many summers as the art director at residential summer camps in the New England area and I also enjoy being a Girl Scout troop leader. I travel a lot with my kids and enjoy designing things to keep them learning on the go!

I view art as a holistic practice that is about more than just creating. I want my students to not only have an appreciation of art in many forms, but to also improve their skills in critical and creative thinking, perseverance, problem solving, and independence. Art is more than just a class, it helps students develop skills and ways of thinking that transcend the art room. And of course, we like to have fun as well! Art is more than a subject, it is a part of everything we do. When I teach art, I like to start students with a choice of the culture or artist they are interested in within a certain theme. Based on their own curiosity, they do some discovery and start to plan their own project. Next we learn how to use the media of the unit and often do a little practice and play. Once they are ready, they create their own project that is adjusted based on their skills or needs. No two projects look the same! When the student has decided they are finished, they will write a reflection about their learning following a set of prompts which are differentiated to help each student articulate their successes, failures, and process. The final step is labeling and choosing how they wold like to display their artwork at the end of the year show. If a student has an original idea that deviates from the current theme, they are allowed to customize their project to fit their interests.

I studied Visual Arts Education at Ball State University in Indiana. I have experience in both public and private schools, as well as running art programs at summer camps in New England. I completed my masters degree in education at Oxford Brookes University in the UK. To continue to gain experience in the arts, I have participated in online conferences from The Art of Education, certified as an IB Visual Arts Educator, and an MYP Design Teacher.

In addition to visual arts, I have also taught preschool, ecology, drama, math, and yearbook!