Yesterday, I was invited to go on a field trip with our ESE teachers to the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens. This trip was special because it was the VSA Arts Festival. The VSA Arts Festival, a nationally recognized program, that provides hands-on art experiences and the chance to view original works of art to over 2,300 children with disabilities, ranging from mild to profound disabilities, over a four-day period and utilizes the time and talent of nearly 1,200 volunteers. Public school students from the surrounding five-counties Exceptional Education/Student Services (EESS) program rotate through eight art stops in the Museum's galleries and gardens to create hands-on art projects, view The Cummer's art collection, listen to live musicians and storytellers, and learn about art appreciation. The event permits all students to participate in the creative process at their individual level of ability.
Our students were wonderful! Not only were we well behaved, but our students created wonderful works of art! It made me really proud to be their art teacher. As they were working, I kept hearing students say things such as, "You taught us this!" "My artwork looks this good because of you!" Wouldn't this make any teacher proud of their students?
