Pre-painting and Nerves

Today was the day before the big project.  Filled with nervous energy and excitement I worked to
pre-paint the backdrop, finalize my slideshow, and reword the questionnaire...

 

Today was also the day that I met the group of kids that I will be working with.  I had high hopes that the age of the kids was going to fall more on the 8-11 year range, but I quickly learned they are all between the ages of 5 to 7.  As I left with that information I immediately began thinking about all the work I had been doing and if it was too sophisticated for such a young age group. 

 

I spent over an hour re-wording the questionnaire and longer reviewing the slideshow to ensure its age appropriateness. 

 

 

I also found out that the room we will be working in is a lot smaller than the room I originally thought we would be working in.  The room pictured is about the size of a small bedroom and and filled with lots of other non-art related items such as food, costumes, or backpacks.  Working on the floor of this room gave reality to the size of it and how to best arrange the tables to create the best learning environment. 

At the end of our painting session we were pleased with the simple yet effective background that will prominently display the sea creatures created by the kids and show how we should protect the oceans by not polluting them.  Now all that's left is to go over the slideshow once more, get a good night's sleep, and get prepared for tomorrow! Here we go!!!!