Monday, June 1, 2009

Treat Superstars like stars!

Children at Glenwood Elementary meet once a month on the playground for a Superstars assembly where their outstanding attendance and work is acknowledged with a certificate in the presence of parents and friends.  Normally this would be thought of as an exciting moment in the year but the ambiance was just a tad dull for such an occasion.  Now that we at least had the 250 foot mural in the background things were looking up but I thought the beige wall of the building behind the microphone could be used for an appropriate backdrop.  It didn't take very long to get it done in  June, 2009 and when the kids came out for their last assembly they felt like stars on a stage receiving their Emmy awards!  To top it off the Kirk Douglas Foundation had given us a grant for playground equipment that spring and our playground was becoming a very exciting place to be.  Now with the "America the Beautiful" triptych on the handball courts to the left side of the assembly area it is a showstopper!

Lesson Learned:   Get an extension pole for your roller to paint large areas that go high up.  The use the ladder for touching up edges and adding details.  I keep forgetting about the roller! 


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Beautification Grant

    The school was so invigorated by the murals we had done that some teachers began to look for grants to continue to beautify our school.  The city of Los Angeles had a beautification program that chose us among 100 grantees to create a garden in the front of the school.  The area had been an unused gated bike yard and an eyesore for years.  Together we worked as a community of children, teachers and parents to transform the area into a garden area with a small platform for performances, benches for relaxing with a good book and planter boxes for classroom gardens. 



         The fourth graders worked on the large garden mural where parents congregate to pick up their children.  Kindergarten children painted the cracked asphalt to make it look like stepping stones while first graders painted flowers on the side wall. As a final glorious touch one of the teachers made a mosaic mural on another wall and the parents built the planter boxes.  The project gives a bright, new look to the front of the school that brings a smile to our faces.


Lesson Learned: Allow children 20 to 30 minutes turns painting no matter how enthused they are...when they get tired or bored it can wreak havoc in moments!