My students live in the Mojave desert next to Joshua Tree National Park. They need watercolor painting supplies, so they can learn to express the world around them through art.
My students attend a small, elementary school in a rural, California desert community.
They walk past Joshua Trees, creosote bushes and cactus on the way to school, usually under a cloudless sky of the brightest blue. They are familiar with coyotes, red-tailed hawks and the granite boulders that dot the hills that surround the playground. Yet, despite living so close to a vacation destination for rock climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, many of my students are underprivileged and don't have the opportunities for enrichment, art and culture that all children need and deserve.
Friendly Hills Elementary School is an oasis in our community. Our parents, students and faculty are a tight knit team dedicated to providing our students with the best that we can. The majority of our students have been attending this school for several years; we have a very low turnover rate and loyal families.
My Project
My students love art projects, especially watercolor painting. Throughout the year, we do many painting projects. In the fall, we start by painting fall leaves. I encourage my students to experiment with paint to create the fall colors and they are always happily surprised with the results. They experience joy in the experience of applying paint with wet brushes to wet watercolor paper. We then paint "ghouls" in October and write stories to match our colorful dragon paintings. In December, we paint snowmen or skating Santas as gifts to give to families. One of our culminating projects in the spring is to paint the rocks of Joshua Tree. Again, creativity is encouraged and a wide color palette is used to create landscape paintings to interpret the granite boulders in our desert home. My students use upgraded watercolor paper, paints and brushes because I want to provide them with a rich experience.
Every year, some students discover a talent that they never would have found.
Some find the pure joy that comes from self expression and some uncover the thing that they are best at, art. I am asking for palettes to replace the Styrofoam plates students currently use to mix paint. This is better for the environment and will make my paint last longer. I am also requesting watercolor paper so my art program can continue another year. Please help fund this project!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Reed and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.