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Have you ever seen those abstract letter photos? They’ve been around for a while, but they are still a fun unique gift. So how do you take cool photos like that? Well, I’m so glad you asked!

Alphabet photography are really just macro-mode photos. (Here is a link to my macro-mode blog post)

Here are some tips for making some really cool alphabet photos of your own:

1. Get in close! Use that macrocode setting. (It’s the one that usually looks like a flower on your camera dial) Get in even closer than you think you do, it makes for less post-editing.
2. Look intentionally. You may look a little strange to your friends as you lean in uncomfortably close to a fence post or the little pin on the fire extinguisher…but if you aren’t looking for letters, then you won’t find them!
3. Stay outside. It is just better lighting, and since you will be getting in close to objects, it will make it easier for your camera to focus.

Thats it for this one, it’s pretty straight forward. If you want a project sheet that lists all this plus some post editing tips, use the signup form below!

Do you have difficulty getting students to take photos? I never understood why it was so difficult to get kids to do this. It seems like it would be easy…you just have to take pictures! Even if they aren’t very good, at least bring in something!

But no, week after week, I would have students not bring in photos. I think I have it figured out: laziness and lack of imagination. Not that they don’t have an imagination, they just don’t get the opportunity to exercise it often enough.

So, how do you spark the imagination of an unmotivated high school student? If I had the answer to that, I am quite certain that I would be an millionaire. But I do have a few ideas that seem to help at least some of my kiddos:

1. Remind them OFTEN. Every day is good, maybe even at the beginning and end of class. Say something like, “Has anyone come up with any ideas for your photo assignment? Care to share?”
2. Keep it simple. Kids seem to get nervous when they have too many steps. It’s like me and a new recipe; if there are too many steps, I’m looking for a different recipe.
3. Do it with them. It seems like this tip works really well to challenge them and show them that it is possible to do the project without too much fuss. After all, if YOU can do it with your busy schedule, surely THEY can get it done too…

Of course, these aren’t guaranteed wins, but they will help some of your students stay on top of photo assignments. It is specifically important to try to keep them motivated at the beginning of the school year, because once they’re behind, it’s hard to get them motivated to jump back in and get started again.

If you need some ideas on photo assignments, feel free to get this free download which includes a list of photo assignments that I have used with my advanced students. As the fall semester ensues, I will be highlighting each photo assignment with helpful examples and definitions. The document attached currently does not have the articles ready because they haven’t been posted yet! But stay posted and I’ll be presenting them for you weekly!

Has school started!? Summer sure went by fast…as usual…(why is it always surprising when school starts? It’s not like it’s unexpected, yet every year it seems to creep up on me…)

Are you ready? I think I must be, I’ve been having all sorts of weird dreams about teaching. Everything from having a completely different room to getting to school and realizing that I forgot to get dressed! (Yes, I actually had that dream.) If you need a little boost in your digital art planning, I’ve got a sale going on right now: 30% off ANY subscription plan, just click this link to get started.

The weirdest thing of all is (and I am a little afraid to tell you this), I am not returning to school this year. I just had my 3rd child and I am staying home this year. I am SO EXCITED to embark on this new adventure and I hope you will not think less of me because I am not teaching. I still have 7 years of teaching under my belt and I plan to continue making top notch lesson plans for you!

Actually, I think the strangest thing of all is that I sent my Kindergartener to school yesterday…and I stayed home. So weird. I wasn’t really emotional about it, but the house was a little lacking without him.

Usually by this time I would be in school, listening to new policies that have been implemented or major budget items that have been decided on or…whatever educational jargon that my administration had decided was important for that year. All of that is important, I know. But I also know that every single teacher in that room is really thinking about what they should be doing to get ready for students to return in a couple of days.

So whether you have already sat through those meetings or are still looking forward to them, here are some tips for getting through the dreaded (I mean…very important) inservice days:

• Bring paper and doodle. BUT, make sure that you look up occasionally so that it looks like you are really engaged in the topic. This one always worked for me.
• Should you choose to daydream, pick a spot behind the presenter to stare at, that way it looks like you are really paying attention. Just try to make sure that you don’t drool…
• Bring coffee! An absolute must! Bring the biggest cup you’ve got and drink slowly…

That’s all I’ve got for you on that score. If you are needing some ideas for your graphic design or digital photography class, I’ve got a sale going on NOW until the end of August. You can get 30% off ANY subscription plan. Simply click this link and you’ll be ready to go! Cut down on the planning you need to do and spend your time on something else! Like going to inservice meetings…

Hey! If you don’t know me, my name is Chelsea and I am the founder of DigitalArtTeacher.com. I sell Graphic Design and Digital Photography curriculum for high school art teachers. I strive to make planning and presenting digital art EASY so that you can stress less and teach more.

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you: School is about to start in 2 weeks and you have a completely foreign or at least a highly unfamiliar subject or two that you will be teaching…Graphic Design and Digital Photography. You think, “It’s ok, I’ve got 2 weeks before school, I can just look up a bunch of tutorials and piece together something that will work.”

A week goes by and you have completed exactly zero tutorials and you have skimmed through about 100 blog posts trying to figure out what you will teach. Panic starts to set in. “What should I do?!” At this point, you might think it would be nice if someone could just tell you what to teach…Well, that is what I am here for!

Most units include a lesson plan, presentation with multiple pictures (because face it, most of us are visual learners!), easy to follow one page assignment and/or project outlines, project files, finished examples, and more! Currently, I have 3 full semesters of digital curriculum. 2 semesters of Graphic Design and 1 semester of Digital Photography.

This fall I am going to be introducing a second semester for Digital Photography. It will be an advanced set of lessons and units focused on bringing out the creativity of each individual. For the remainder of August you can get 30% off ANY subscription plan! Thats up to $55 in savings! Go to digitalArtTeacher.com/30 to pick up your subscription today!

If you have any questions feel free to connect with me through my facebook page at facebook.com/digitalartteacher/ or shoot an email to Chelsea@digitalartteacher.com. I would love to chat and see if there is anything I can do to help you start your year with the least amount of stress possible. 

P.S. My annual August sale has begun! From now until the end of August, get ANY SUBSCRIPTION PLAN for 30% OFF!

Summer is HERE!!! Woohoo! Praise the Lord and hallelujah! 

…so what are you doing? Below are some ideas and some things that I have done to make the best of my summer, because they go by quick!

Option 1: Vedge

Sit around and do nothing! Literally. This was certainly my approach after my first year teaching! I felt like doing nothing and I did nothing. Not for the whole summer…but for the first month or so I have no shame in admitting that I was highly unproductive (which is unusual for me, I am the get it done and finish the to-do list kind of girl!)

Option 2: House projects

What a great time to strip wallpaper off the walls or tackle a garden or make that miniature dollhouse that you have always dreamed of making…or whatever it is that you feel the need to do. :) You’ve got 2+ months to do whatever you feel like you need to do! Just don’t over extend yourself! You don’t want to have no running water and a half finished bathroom at the beginning of the school year (I may or may not be speaking from experience…)!

Option 3: Get a job

This is personally my least favorite option for a summer activity, unless you count this blog and my digital arts curriculum that I have developed as a job. Summer can be a great time to tuck away a few extra bucks for savings or to pay off the dreaded school loans that most people leave school with.

Option 4: Got kids?

The best thing about teaching is that you get the same vacations as your kids. Although some may not count that a blessing, sometimes the hardest kids to teach are your own (can I hear an amen?). My summers are filled with play dates, zoo trips, swimming lessons and more! Of course, I also make time to go to the gym and leave them in the kids zone so that I can have some me-time. I DEFINITELY leave them in there for the full 2 hours most days. Don’t judge!

Option 5: Travel

Of course, this is a wonderful perk of teaching as well. I wish that I was a bit more organized and planned our trips a bit more (it’s something I am constantly working on…). But we always take time to do some kind of trip with the kids. If funds are low, we try to make sure that we get away for at least a weekend to go to a waterpark or something. This year, we are going to the Grand Canyon! SOOO excited! (More on that in a later post!)

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you choose something that you enjoy and something that fills you up! You want to feel like the “best you” when you return to school in the fall!

What are your plans for the summer? Comment below!

Hope for the future

Teaching isn’t for everyone. There, I said it. It’s out there. This blog post isn’t going to try to convince you to pursue a career that will not fulfill your purpose and make you hate your life.

That being said, there is certainly something to be said for giving teaching another chance. Year one is often the tough both physically and emotionally (as it was for me), but I am very glad that I stuck it out and gave it another year.

Year two is radically better than year one. I cannot express the difference that a year of experience can make on your attitude toward teaching.

If you love being with the age group that you teach and you love the subject that you teach, then my plea is that you stick it out and give it another year. If, after a year of teaching you find that high school aged kids (or middle, or elementary) drive you crazy and you dread going to work because you don’t like any of them…go ahead and pursue other employment options. :)

The summer after my first year really was rejuvenating. I did absolutely NO SCHOOLWORK for the first month of the summer. I thought briefly about getting a summer job…but instead I read books, worked around my house, and sat on my couch watching Netflix. 

After my couch potato month was finished, I was finally ready to start thinking about the coming school year. I kept it relaxed. I didn’t obsess over details, I planned out the year loosely, knowing that every class dynamic is different and I couldn’t expect things to be the same year after year.

This is my advice for the summer after your first year teaching: 

1. RELAX! A lot. If you don’t have to get a job, don’t do it. Do things that you enjoy, things that make you feel fulfilled. (Maybe some artwork of your own?)
2. Prepare for the next year when you are ready. If that is after one month of the summer is gone, so be it. If it is after 2 months, great! Just be ready to put in the time needed whenever you decide to do it. 

I know that this may seem oxymoronic…but sometimes the obvious advice is the best advice!

Are there any seasoned teachers out there who could offer more advice for making the best of your summer? Comment below!

There were certainly low spots in that first year of teaching. As I reflect back on that first year it is hard for me to remember the good times because they are so overshadowed by the bad. It always seems to happen that way.

For this blog post, I want to reflect on that first year as a whole and talk about a few things I wish I would have done differently.

First of all, I wish that I would have kept a journal. For many reasons, but mostly so that I could look back at the year with fresh eyes and better remember what that year was to me. According to that chart that I shared last week, the spring should have been a rejuvenating time.

I am not exactly sure that it was, I hardly remember the second half of that first year. I remember that I did not stay after school until 6 pm every day (the way I did the first semester). I remember that I was staying pretty much one day ahead of my students in most of my classes. (I would learn something one day and then teach it the next day. This resulted in varying levels of success.) And I remember that I was really looking forward to summer.

I am not sure that I looked forward to something quite so eagerly in all my life. I just wanted out. I wanted a break. It had been the most trying 9 months of my life, and I am not too proud to admit it.

The second thing I wish I would have done is ask for or get more some help! I wish I would have gone back to my college buddies and asked them what I should have done in specific situations or purchased some online curriculum to use in my classroom. 

TeachersPayTeachers.com is an excellent place to find curriculum. You can find full curriculum or just single lessons. There are also many art teachers who have created their own websites and sell their lessons that way. This website is such a website. I sell digital art lessons (both graphic design and digital photography). You can go to this link to find out more!

The last thing I wish I would have done differently is to just be more myself. I was so concerned with trying to be right all the time that I did not allow the students to see the real me. I was not honest with them when I didn’t know something (these days I am only too happy to say, “Hmmm, I don’t know the answer to that question, why don’t you go ask google!”).

That was a mistake because if students don’t know you, they can’t share in your life and you can’t invest in them nearly as well. 

So those are my thoughts in reflecting on that first year:

1. Keep a journal - so that you can remember how you felt and what you did.
2. Ask for help - where you feel the need. You don’t have to do this on your own!
3. Be yourself! - Students will trust you more and you will have more fun if you don’t pretend to be perfect!

Can anyone related to my words? Comment below!

If you have been reading my posts thus far, I hardly need to tell you that my first semester was no cake-walk...it was a bit more like running the gauntlet. Everywhere I turned I felt like I was being pushed down. 

So when Christmas break rolled around and people would ask how my first year on the job was going, I would answer with a solitary word: “Fine.” There must have been some kind of finality in my voice, because nobody ever asked for more information. 

I didn’t want to talk about the reality of my experience thus far. I didn’t want to talk about my frustrations with the lack of motivated students. Nor the fact that I felt completely unprepared and was continuously running behind. I didn’t want to talk about the fact that my technology was continuously failing me. I didn’t really want to talk about anything.

I felt numb. How could I return to work feeling this way? It was at this time that I discovered this graphic explaining the phases of the first year teacher’s attitude toward teaching. Which can be found at this website. http://weac.org/articles/new-teacher-handbook/phases/) It was alarmingly true. I certainly did start the year with great anticipation and by September I had defiantly entered survival mode. And now, the disillusionment had unquestionably set in. I took some solace in the fact that things were going to get better...at least according to the study.

If you are feeling a bit like I was that first Christmas break, here is my advice for you: don’t do work. At least for part of your time off. If it is Christmas break, decide that you won’t take work home, won’t even look up lesson plan possibilities on Pinterest. I had 2 weeks of Christmas break and I think that I actually worked on school prep for 2 days of that time. 

If you’re with family, be with family. If you have some time to yourself, go get a pedicure! Or whatever it is that de-stresses you! If you are anything like me, your mind is probably completely weighed down with all the worries and stresses of the year thus far. No matter what time of year it is, don’t forget to take care of yourself! If you don’t you won’t feel your best when you get back to school and you won’t want to deal with all the crap that gets thrown your way.

Are there any seasoned teachers out there who can relate to these feelings? What is it that you do to destress and unwind? Leave a comment and share your mind.

My blog posts lately seem to be somewhat on the negative side lately… I thought I might lighten the mood a bit by describing some sparks of hope in that first semester that helped me remember the reason why I went into teaching in the first place.

Best Day of the First Semester of Teaching:

I remember a day just before Thanksgiving. Volleyball had just finished up (Did I mention that I also coached volleyball that first year? Busy busy!), so I had a moment to breathe before the end of semester. 

My art students were finishing up value study project where they used many different pencils to to create an abstract drawing of sorts. (It was called “Shattered Values” here is a link to a lesson plan that I found for it. My example is posted here.) One of my male students had just about finished it up and I remember him saying, “This is really cool Mrs. Lewis! I didn’t think I could ever do anything this good.”

Awwww, I think I lived on those words for a solid week! It is so gratifying when you actually get proof that what you are doing is making a difference! We don’t often get these little nuggets when we need them. And I need to remember them when things get tough!

Worst Day of the First Semester of Teaching:

Since I described the best day of that first semester, I thought I would also give you the worst day of teaching, which actually makes me laugh today. Funny the way that looking back at something tragic can be comical…

My worst day needs a little context: about a week before this unexpectedly terrible day, I was doing a “Frosting Color Wheel” with the intro class. I know that it seems a little juvenile, but kids of all ages love frosting and cookies! 

Anyway, I started the project by handing out Nilla Wafers and little cups of frosting. Then one of my paras who was with one of my functional special education students pulls me aside and asked me if I had anything alternate for her student since she had a condition that restricts her diet, so I pulled out some colored pencils and had her draw a color wheel and color it in on that paper. 

So the main portion of the students were mixing frosting colors and eating cookies while she colored here color wheel. No problem! Nobody complained and it seemed like a perfectly fine class period.

Well…apparently, she (the student) had a bit of a break down after school in the middle of the street and wouldn’t even get into her mom’s car. She had a lot of pent up anger and energy!

About a week later, I am summoned to go to a meeting that took my whole plan period and a little of my lunch time in which they had a specialist from New York talking to me and her other teachers about the necessity to NOT have food of any kind in the classroom. My art project was brought up several times and I was on the verge of tears by the time I left the room.

When I finally was released, I rushed as fast as I could to my room, picked up my bike and started for home (I lived close enough to bike, an excellent perk for working in a small town). I was riding as fast as I could so that I could scarf something down before I had to go back to school again. 

But before I got home, I got stopped by a cop. "Can I help you?" I said.

“You sure can!” he said with as much contempt as he could muster. “You ran that four way stop back there! You need to make sure that you stop and look for cars. Don’t be a danger to yourself and others!”

He may have said more, I can’t remember. I think I mumbled an “Okay,” and then went inside to cry through my lunch period. The worst part of it all was, I had to go back to school, AND go to volleyball practice after that!

Wow! It takes a lot longer to go through a bad day than it does a good day…I guess details are just still very vivid. But like I said, it is comical now. I mean, where but a small town would you get stopped on your bike by a cop!

Do you have any inspirational first year stories you’d be willing to share? Or can you top my no good, terrible, very bad, day? Leave me a comment! I’d love to hear them!

I have spoken about my graphic design and digital photography classes in previous posts, in this post I want to give you a full picture of what the rest of classes looked like in those first few weeks (because I taught MANY classes).

Art 1, 2 and 3

These were the classes that I felt most confident in. I actually had them make a sketchbook and started weekly sketchbook assignments on top of the projects I had them doing. I had them sketching out complex concepts and techniques that would correlate to their projects…but that kind of backfired on me. 

The sketchbook was not something that they were used to, so when I came in and told them that they had to do one every single week…it went about as well as asking a chicken to sneak through a bubble wrap covered cornfield.

I think I also had higher expectations than the previous teacher; raising expectations will always come with pushback. I asked my advanced class to fill out a project proposal to explain what they wanted to do for each of the 5 projects that they wanted to complete that semester. Between that and the sketchbook, you would have thought that I was asking them to run a marathon!

Yearbook

Ah, and then there was yearbook. I’m not sure that anything stretched me more in that first year than my yearbook class did. It was completely beyond me. I had never worked on a yearbook in my life. Ever. I really had no idea where to start, and while our Jostens rep was incredibly kind and helpful, it always just seemed like too much. I wanted to do it right, but I didn’t know how to go about it. 

The kids didn’t help, they were mostly concerned about making it look pretty and making sure that their pictures (of themselves) looked good. *sigh* Looking back at that class makes me grimace! 

So that’s all my classes and the overall feeling of that first month or so of school. I was barely treading water, but treading I was. I felt like I was constantly getting dunked and gasping for air, but I was surviving. Sometimes, unfortunately, that is the best you can hope for.

I thought I might share some of the things that I think really helped me through this first hurdle of my first teaching job:

1. A very understanding, listening husband. If you don’t have friends or family that you can reach out to, reach out somehow and find some. Even if it happens to be virtual. There are several Facebook groups geared toward art teachers that can empathize, offer advice, and “be there” for you when you feel particularly overwhelmed.
2. Prayer. Seriously, some days it was all I could do.
3. Chocolate. Lot’s of chocolate. I am surprised that I didn’t gain 20 pounds in that first month alone!
4. Reminding myself of why I was in this in the first place: I love art! I love inspiring creativity in others! I love to teach people how to do art! Don’t forget that crucial point!

Does anyone have anything to add? Do you have any stories of that first year that you don’t mind sharing?