An Introduction

Hi, I’m Jen. 👋 

I’ve been teaching art since 2010, pausing briefly in the middle to raise my two sons. I’ve taught specialized high school art courses and elementary art, and love my current teaching position at Lane Elementary School in Bedford, MA working with grades 3-5.

I am a TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) art educator, who believes that the child is the artist, the classroom is the child’s studio, and that we should always ask the question, ‘what do artists do?’ We develop the Studio Habits of Mind, thinking dispositions used by all artists as they work in the studio. Our classroom culture focuses on growing the creativity, curiosity, and potential of each child by meeting them where they are and cultivating their emergent interests and needs.

I love the work that I do, and I’m glad that you’re here to experience the magic with us. ✨

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Curriculum Mapping: Templates for Success & Sustainability

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One of the things I love most about being an art teacher is the community of people with whom I share my passion for art education. I had the amazing opportunity today to facilitate a discussion for Choice Art Educators , a special interest group of the National Art Education Association, about curriculum planning. I chose to lead a conversation on this particular topic because, of all the things we juggle as art teachers, charting a course for our students (and ourselves) is among the most challenging. There are many aspects of planning a curriculum that must be considered such as district requirements, state and national standards, content, outcomes, assessments, stakeholders, resources, and limitations to name a few. But one thing that must always be at the forefront of our thinking is our students . In the Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) philosophy, the child is the artist . As long as we hold true to this tenet as we move forward (along with the others - the classroom is the
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Approaching Teacher-Directed Instructional Time in TAB Art Rooms

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In a choice-based curriculum, all studio work looks different. It is one of the joys of centering student voice and encouraging neurodivergence. But if everyone is doing something different, how then do you structure communal, teacher-directed “Teacher Time" to meet the needs of all learners? At the beginning of each class, I challenge my artists with an essential question (EQ)  based on the overarching concepts in our unit of study (for us, it’s the Studio Habits of Mind). These EQ s are meant to be open-ended in order to encourage discussion and provide multiple outcomes. Sometimes, the EQ connects to a skill-builder; others, it connects to an artist I want to show them for inspiration; it could also connect to a creativity challenge I want to pose to them (some people, including myself, call this "filling the Artist's Toolbox " (the word toolbox is a synonym for the artist's brain ): This approach has helped me focus my “Teacher Time” (which I keep to 5 minu
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