Art Docents

The Art Docent Program is volunteer led art instruction. Docents teach art once a month in students’ classrooms K-5 th grade. Docents introduce a variety of artists and expose student to multiple artistic mediums, including clay, collage, painting, sculpture, printing making, and drawing.

The Art Docent Program also sponsors a Hands-On-Art night in conjunction with the end of the national PTA Reflections Art Program. Students and parents who attend the fall event come to look at and create original student art.

In the Issaquah School District art education is underfunded so parent volunteers fill the gap. The Art Docent Program strives to bring art education to all students at IVE. There are four art lesson goals: 1) Introduce students to the elements/principles of design; 2) Teach artistic techniques; 3) Teach and encourage thinking skills—creative, critical and problem solving--using the artistic process; 4) Teach and encourage students to communicate through the arts.

2011-2012 chair and contact info:

Lead Chair: Leah Gibson redleah@mindspring.com, (425) 391-1390
Co-Chair: Sarah Keeler sarahrkeeler@hotmail.com, (425) 677-7512
Co-Chair: My-Trang Robinson mytrangrobinson@hotmail.com, (425) 391-7505
Co-Chair: Tiffany Aske askefamily@comcast.net, (425) 657-0921

Opportunities to help/volunteer along with skills needed:

We recruit two art docent volunteers for each classroom. Volunteers are asked to plan, coordinate and implement one age-appropriate art lesson per month in his/her assigned classroom. Volunteers are provided with lesson binders and program support. Volunteers should have a passion for the arts, enjoy working with kids in the classroom, and be able to work cooperatively with other volunteers and teachers.

Other opportunities to volunteer include:

Hands-on-Art Night (November)

School Wide Art Project (Spring)

If you want to help we will find the right job for you!

Collaboration among parents, teachers, and art leaders creates a powerful constituency advocating for arts programs in schools. Children deserve the opportunity to explore and think about their world in a variety of ways. It is through exploration, experience, and relationships that elementary age children make sense of the world. By observing, touching, manipulating, and describing children learn. The Art Docent Program gives students hands-on learning experiences that are so valuable to their development. It also gives them an opportunity to express their feelings and ideas freely in a variety of mediums because it is process oriented; this is true creative thinking!