I stumbled onto Art with Mr. E and began to look for posts about differentiation. I intended to browse for five minutes and thirty minutes later I had to snap myself out of a trance and return to writing my own blog posts. There was just so much to explore on this colorful site! I could have picked several ideas to feature, but I was most inspired by this fabulous post about a “painting party” this clever art teacher hosted for families in his community.
So what is differentiated about a painting party? Click over to Mr. E’s site and you this question will be answered immediately. Instead of telling the group of artists what to do and how to do it, Mr. E provides tools to help everyone succeed (e.g. stencils, topic ideas), personalized feedback, and a range of supplies to inspire any accomplished or emerging artist. I could see a painting party working just as well as in a classroom as in a community setting. I can see this being a part of a family art night, open house, or as a part of any arts integration lesson in science, math, language arts or social studies.