By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Young students at Union City Elementary School are already “making their mark.”
After reading Peter H. Reynolds’ book ‘The Dot,’ boys and girls in Stephanie Virgin’s Pre-K art class followed the lead of Vashti in that story and began to bring what they’d heard to life.
Students put a dot on their individual canvas and began to draw whatever and however they desired with the encouragement of their teacher.
The exercises mirrored Vashti, who was the focal point in the story, “The Dot.” The young girl felt as if she couldn’t draw, but at the insistence of her teacher, did so – prompted by the instruction of “Just make a mark, and see where it takes you.”
Virgin has been encouraged by her class’s work so far.
“This is the second year PreK has had art as a special area, and the first year they have painted in Art class. And the kids have loved it,” the teacher claimed.
“Not only has it been good for their motor skills, but it’s been great for their confidence as well. The students just started making marks and took off.”
In the “The Dot,” Vashti made a little dot on her previously-blank parchment. When she came in to school the next day, she was surprised to find that her teacher had decided to display her art.
Seeing her measly dot, and knowing now that she could do better, Vashti went on a tear, creating all different kinds of dots. Eventually, she displayed her dots for the world to see and found a young admirer with an attitude similar to hers at the start of “The Dot.”
With her new-found confidence, Vashti gave her admirer the same advice her teacher had given her: A dot might be small, but it can be powerful, too.
International Dot Day has been described via its media website as a commemoration of our creative minds.
Menu
