Mandy McGee

World Rhythms & Culture: Travel the Map Through Traditional Music & Dance (K-12)

by Mandy McGee | Creative Movement/Dance, Elementary School, Heritage Months/Celebrations, Lafayette Parish, Middle School, Paula Calderon, Single Session, Social Studies

Step off the map and into motion! In this high-energy, immersive arts session, students take a kinetic journey around the globe—exploring diverse cultures, languages, and traditions through the universal power of dance, music, rhythm, and storytelling. Rather than just studying a map or memorizing vocabulary, in this session students embody the concepts. They will move through global dance forms, practice world language phrases through rhythmic call-and-response, analyze how geography shapes cultural expression, and collaborate on original movement pieces that honor global traditions. With a dash of folklore, history, and prop work added to the mix, this session is rich in options and opportunities. Prepare for a lesson with cross-curricular connections between Social Studies, World Languages, Geography, and Global Studies standards that also fosters empathy, cultural awareness, and creative collaboration. This session can be tailored to align with specific world regions, language immersion units, or school-wide multicultural celebrations, so please check in with the artist if you would like to customize.

Zydeco Music History Told by Chubby Carrier (PK-12)

by Mandy McGee | Chubby Carrier, Creative Movement/Dance, Elementary School, High School, Iberia Parish, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Middle School, Music, Single Session, Vermilion Parish

You can hear it at festivals, at barbecues, and on the radio. Maybe your family knows how to dance to it, and it is firmly woven into the soundscape of Louisiana. But where did it come from? This interactive history lesson will answer that and also address how important it is to keep our tradition and culture alive.

Make your Universe (3-8)

by Mandy McGee | Anna Teer, Elementary School, Middle School, Single Session, Vermilion Parish, Visual Art

What if you were asked what your ideal world would be…and then you had the opportunity to create a visual of it? In Make Your Universe, students will do just that. Students are given the freedom to put together what their ideal world would be and the opportunity to experiment with the art of collage making by using magazine clippings to create a unique art piece. Through this, students both express themselves and gain a better understanding of collage as an art form.

Earth’s Night Sky (3-8)

by Mandy McGee | Elementary School, Jan Fontenot, Middle School, Science, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

The stars are your guides…not just in astrology, but in this session that introduces students to artistic tools and concepts. Students will be asked “As you’re standing in a forest and looking up, what do you see?” Students will then utilize a collection of brushes and tools in order to paint and draw their visualization. They will learn shapes, perspective, depth, and position when viewed from a particular point of view as they paint a nighttime scene of stars, a moon, sky and tree tops.

The Colorful Art of Romero Britto (K-12)

by Mandy McGee | Art History, Elementary School, Heritage Months/Celebrations, High School, Middle School, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

It is NOT just about museums! We all know that art gets licensed and used in advertising campaigns. Romero Britto –whose art incorporates elements of Cubism, pop art, and graffiti– has produced some very popular examples of that non-museum art. He is well known for using bright colors, bold lines, and patterns that jump off the page. In this session, the students will not just create art in this distinctive style, but they will also discuss the way a piece of art can be transformed into other products such as t-shirts, mugs, bags, etc. Art meets advertising in this classroom!

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Flowers (3-12)

by Mandy McGee | Art History, Elementary School, High School, Jan Fontenot, Middle School, Science, Seasons, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

No one saw a flower the way artist Georgia O’Keeffe did. She looked closely, depicted flowers on a large scale, and over the course of seven decades, this modernist painter changed the art world. In this session, students will draw their own flowers, large and up-close. This project enables us to see all parts of the flower and emphasizes warm and cool colors.

Holiday or Nature Murals (K-12)

by Mandy McGee | Elementary School, High School, Holidays, Jan Fontenot, Middle School, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

Group project? Teamwork? Today these get a “YES!” Your class will be guided in the creation of a large group mural. Choose the theme of a holiday or something related to nature to act as our inspiration. Classes will learn drawing and collage skills as well as collaboration and teamwork. This session can be customized, so chat with the artist about options after booking!

Louisiana Coastline (3-12)

by Mandy McGee | Elementary School, High School, Jan Fontenot, Louisiana, Middle School, Science, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

The Louisiana coastline is fragile and ever-changing – in this session, students will cement its status in art. Students will explore the coastline of Louisiana, and discover the animals of this habitat through creating their own landscape. It’s art, wildlife, and a chance to be aware of our regional geography all in one!

Hearts of Clay (K-2)

by Mandy McGee | Elementary School, Holidays, Jan Fontenot, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

Let’s get to the “heart” of the matter! Students will learn to roll clay coil shapes and spirals to form heart shapes with clay. Clay hearts can be made as gifts, ornaments, or just for creative fun! Classes will complete the activity by writing a simple message about the creation to go along with their hearts of clay. Perfect for a world that needs more love!

Draw a Crawfish (K-5)

by Mandy McGee | Elementary School, Jan Fontenot, Louisiana, Science, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

You LOVE to eat them, and now you will love to DRAW them! In this session, students will learn how to draw a crawfish step by step. But this will not just be any crawfish…students will be exposed to Acadiana artist Hannah Gumbo’s drawing style and discover how she takes a drawing and transforms it into lots of different things! So that crawfish is more than just good eating!

ADDITIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION RESOURCES