Homework, Finals, Art Show's, Oh My!

A few weeks ago, as a class in separate groups we started working on an art show. My group was the pre-schematic stage, and we had plenty of children to draw, paint, and craft for us in this stage. We were going to our respective homes or get-away's for Thanksgiving break, and would return with information and artwork galore! We had struggled to make ourselves look like we knew what was going on in the past, and so this task would be a very important one for us to be able to show our true colors. Over the week and a half or so we had to put the art show together (not including the Thanksgiving holiday) we, all of us, worked hard. Coming back from the break, our group-- and others, I'm sure-- kicked it into high gear. We laminated, we cut and cropped, we pasted, we colored, we pasted some more, and we decorated like madmen. I am very proud of the way my group worked together on this project.
I did, however, learn from this project that nothing comes easy, including getting everyone in the same spot at the same time. The only times more than two of us were together was the day of the art show merely hours before. This project on the surface was just an art show-- mat some children's art and some of my own, explain the stage, and hopefully 'wow' people with our setup and general knowledge. On a deeper level, however, this entire project was testing my ability to take a leadership role. I don't feel like I did so in the process of the group teaching project, and I think I suffered for that. I am not one to take the lead, and don't mind taking orders, but it did me more harm than good with the group teaching. I wondered after group teaching was done if I should have spoken up a time or two, or if I should have put more time in-- the obvious answer, now, is yes. At the time, I thought Kaylee had everything under control and if I had been paying closer attention I would have seen that what we thought was top notch was not necessarily. I realized that, and I feel like I put in the time and the effort on this project. I was at every meeting, every painting time, every laminating time possible. And I feel like my group, and my self esteem and pride for my work, is all the better for it.
I have several entries already in this category of learning authentically, but I really feel like this was the ultimate learning experience. Although, not just this project, but this project in comparison with the whole semester. I feel like through this project I learned to be a better listener, a more involved group member, and a leader. I won't take credit for the entirety of the project's success, but I do feel that my input helped it be as successful as it was, even just in the stage of production and not necessarily the show itself. I'm very proud of the work my group did, and I learned a lot from everyone's contributions.





This is a picture of Stephanie and Brittany's bulletin boards, and the painting of a lion cage at the zoo I drew for the art show.