Characters in the Collection at the MFA

What would it be like to live with works of art?  This is the question artist Andrew Oesch posed to USES' After School Program in this year’s Community Arts Initiative Artist Project. Through drawings, writing, and performance exercises, the students explored objects in the galleries, using their own imaginative worlds as inspiration to create a ‘character’ of their own. Soon students performed as their characters, with works of art coming to life as Oesch and the students used handmade puppets and costumes to explore flights of fantasy and encounters with distant cultures. “Characters in the Collection” shows these creative narratives and reflections captured in collaged drawings and screen prints.

The exhibit will be on view from May 10 - October 6, 2013 in the Linde Family Wing.

The Community Arts Initiative allows the Museum to serve as an art and cultural resource within Boston-area communities. Working with eight community organizations, the Community Arts Initiative introduces youth to the Museum's collections and the art-making process, while also helping them understand how art can be an important part of their lives.

Congratulations to Helen Schroeder!

Children’s Art Centre Coordinator Helen Schroeder was recently awarded the 2013 Supervisor Spotlight Award for her exceptional attention to the Northeastern Service Learning Program at their recent Pancakes and Partnerships Breakfast. The recipient of the Student-Nominated Supervisor Spotlight is a staff member of one of the Center’s community partners who has demonstrated their desire and ability to help Northeastern students with the organization to grow and learn. This person has demonstrated outstanding leadership, acted as a mentor to Northeastern students, and provided opportunities for leadership and professional development. This person is someone who has a positive attitude, is always available to provide support, and goes above and beyond the role expected of a volunteer supervisor.

“In addition to her weekly supervision, Helen has challenged my classmate and me academically for our service-learning project. As a part of the course, we were asked to create a deliverable for our service-learning partner and rather than having us create an item that may not be used, she challenged us to create and develop curriculum for the larger classrooms. This was a great learning experience for me especially since it was one of my goals to learn more about how teachers develop effective lesson plans. Throughout the entire process, Helen has supported and guided us in the right direction by providing her own personal feedback, advice, and resources that she has found to be helpful. She was not afraid to let us know if we were not quite right on track and then advised us how to improve. Also, she helped coordinate times for us to observe a larger classroom with students and meeting times with other teachers to guarantee that we were obtaining a better understanding of our end goal. Throughout our project, she has exceeded her duties by constantly communicating and responding to our emails and meeting with us additionally to ensure that we are able to create a quality product. This opportunity to develop curriculum served as an amazing learning experience and I believe this represents what service-learning is all about. However, this would not have been achieved without the support and guidance that Helen provided me throughout my time at USES.”                        -Service-Learning student Magie Chiang

Student Spotlight: The Power of Preschool

Contributed by Zohra Chahal, Northeastern Service‐Learning student in Child Intervention and Treatment; Excerpt from Northeastern Service-Learning Newsletter April 2013:

“As is true with life, there were good days and then there were tougher days for the kids at USES. With a broad range of socioeconomic classes represented among the student population, there was quite a bit of variation in each child’s home life – some days, this would be more evident than others. Kids might have a meltdown. Kids might not be able to follow directions as easily one week. And with each week that passed, I began to understand how factors (e.g. poverty and trauma) beyond their control could adversely affect these mini-humans….

As the foundation for the entire semester’s material, we learned how things can go wrong and how we can work towards preventing them. In fact, one of the most detailed topics we covered was the primacy of early childhood education (ECE): preschool and programs such as Head Start are essential for optimal cognitive and emotional development. ECE can also aid in the development of character that can help bolster children for the future by equipping them with tools that will help them succeed personally and academically.

Although the semester is over and I have already had my last week at the Children’s Art Centre, I will always remember the kids that showed me the power of preschool. Witnessing those young minds in action, sucking up all of the life lessons USES provided them with in the setting of a classroom, I look forward to the future. With prevention in mind, I continue my journey of education beyond Northeastern in the hopes of helping future generations succeed in spite of their life circumstances.”

Thank you Interns & Volunteers!

It’s been a very busy semester for service-learning at the Children’s Art Centre and we are so proud and thankful for all the assistance with art classes. 

Special thanks:

Rachel Ballantine

Jo Ann Rothschild

Rachel Frederickson

Michelle McMahon

Lauren Fischer

Rebecca Cohn

Rachel Petri

Marina Gilpatrick

Melanie Gauthier

Magie Chiang

Zohra Chahal

Alex Donovan

Yasmine Laraki

Nicole Pantano

Andrew Wiser

Northeastern Service-Learning student Yasmine Laraki worked with USES' preschool arts enrichment classes

Brain Building and the Arts

How do the arts support healthy brain development?   

Physical Development - Drawing, painting, sculpting and using tools supports gross motor (large muscle) and fine motor (small muscle) development. These muscles are the same muscles children will use to write later on.

Cognitive Development - Since art experiences engage multiple senses, they give children a powerful opportunity to fine-tune their perceptual skills while engaging and building their memory. Art also provides children a rich opportunity to build language skills. 

Social/Emotional Development - Art provides even the youngest child an opportunity for collaboration, self-expression, building confidence in their own abilities, and adapting to challenges and limitations.

Serve and Return: Back and forth builds the brain!

• Serve and return (think tennis or volleyball) refers to the back and forth interaction between parents and children that builds healthy brain connections.

• When children reach out to adults and we respond appropriately, this exchange literally builds their brains!

• Art activities provide a wonderful opportunity for parents to engage in "serve and return" interactions with children.

A young child's mind is an amazing place!

• Every time a child experiences their world, brain cells fire and make connections in their brain.

• In the first two years of life, a child makes 1.8 million of these brain connections EVERY MINUTE!

• The busiest time of brain growth and activity happens between the ages 1.5 - 4 years.

• A child's early years and experiences are crucial for developing self-regulation, problem solving, language, communication and social skills as those brain connections get made and reinforced.

 How can we support a child's learning and creativity?

1.        Get messy with them!

2.        Provide materials for exploration and process.

3.        Ask questions and spark new possibilities.

4.        Encourage rich language and reflection through back and forth "serve and returns".

5.        Encourage and support risk-taking.

6.        Be present in the moment and remember the importance of early experiences.