Casey Arts Alive!

Last Saturday, families, teachers, and volunteers from the community spent time creating together and celebrating Casey Elementary. Over 40 people-- parents, staff, and community members-- gave time or resources to make this event happen. Thank you so much! Over 120 people attended the festival. The visual art contest had 25 entries. The Poetry Out Loud Celebration had over 15 entries-- including some last minute interest. The Art Smart Committee hopes that Casey Arts Alive will become an annual event and that each year's group of art smart parents will feel free to create the festival in new and exciting ways.

Below are slide shows from the day's events:

Dancing Together with instructor Sonita Singh



Visual Art Contest with judges Rachel Misenar, Roz Roy, and Limeul Eubanks and coordinated by Stephanie Ivy

Knitting Together with instructors Bonnie Bowley, Jennifer Deaton, Susan Nix, Donna Evans, and Kathy Devenney

Drawing Together with instructors Adrien Caroll-Perkins and Shannon Frost



Gardening Together with instructors Melanie Allen, Mrs. Morgan, and Robby Luckett

Music Together with Strings Instructor Tammy Luke and strings students

Transformation

Transformation

We searched for tiny, white worlds,
eggs on milkweed,
like Horton and his speck of dust.

Now, we are observing
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
who must eat
and grow,
eat
and
grow.

Watching children
watch their caterpillars
and care for them
creates a chrysalis
for us to share.

Our wonder spins the silk button that
anchors our retreat and reflection.

We become more.
We are monarchs.

We emerge
together,
daily,
to fly on wings of
books, drawings, dances,
paintings, poems, stories,
questions, songs, gardens,
and dreams.

Over the weekend, one of the monarch butterflies that my family and I have been raising emerged from her chrysalis. We did this project with several other Casey families after we rescued the eggs and harvested milkweed during a special Monarch Butterfly Rescue program of the Clinton Community Nature Center. I highly recommend this annual event to all families!

I wrote "Transformation" during the process of raising "Matilda" (in photos above) from an egg to a butterfly with my children and sharing her with groups of students at various schools. I had intended to read the poem for the Poetry Out Loud portion of our Casey Family Arts Festival on Saturday, May 2, but I couldn't find my poem when it was my turn.

I also wrote this poem while writing an essay about arts integrated education for Anne Foster's Education Blog for change.org. I do not claim to be a poet. However, I love reading poetry, and I like how the process of writing a poem distills my thoughts to what is essential. Both the field study/scientific experience of raising the monarch butterflies and the creative process of crafting my poem informed the writing of the essay. Likewise, drafting the essay informed the development of the poem. Finally, a little bit of my background as a children’s librarian found it’s way into the poem, too.

Casey Elementary and its emphasis on arts integration has transformed my children's lives and my life as a parent (and librarian), too.

photos of "Matilda the Monarch" taken by Julie Owen on May 3, 2009