Amanda Leger | Wichita Collegiate School | Wichita, Kansas
Over the course of the school year, the teacher compiles a book of the students’ artwork. On the first day she has them draw a self portrait and write their name, and then at the end of year they draw another portrait. When the students receive the book at the end of the year they are able to reflect on their changes and develop a sense of personal history.
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How do we start to plant the seeds of history and our little kiddos? Well I know that history begins with them with me. So, I have a collection of all of their artwork from the beginning of the year. I started with a portrait of them the very first day of school, this way they can show me how they write their name. they can show me their pencil grips. They can show me how they color. They can show me all those elements that I can observe, and I keep it on the wall then, throughout the year we do multiple projects, things about their family, things about nature, things about art things about the holiday. Anything and everything that I can think of that would be a fun collection of their history for my class. Then at the end of the year, I have them do a portrait of themselves on the last day of school. It is great to see the looks on their faces when I hand them the book of all the pages from the first day of school to the last day of school. And they say I did that? That was me? I didn’t used to write like that. I didn’t draw like that. But, it starts to help them to think about, wait that was in the past now, I’m in the present, and what am I going to do in the future. It starts to get those wheels turning, to help our kiddos understand that history is important, and it does start with them.
