Middle School

Expression Through Songwriting (K-12)

by Mandy McGee | Audrey Broussard, Elementary School, High School, Holidays, Iberia Parish, Lafayette Parish, Literary Arts, Middle School, Music, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, St. Martin Parish, Vermilion Parish

Where, you may ask, do songs come from? In the session “Expression Through Songwriting,” students will learn about the creative process that goes behind writing a song. They will hear examples based on the personal experiences of a songwriter, and will be guided to find their own inspiration. Then, students will work together to create a song. This flexible session can be adapted for certain holidays, so chat with the artist about options after booking!

Turning Creative Writing into Songwriting (7-12)

by Mandy McGee | Audrey Broussard, High School, Holidays, Iberia Parish, Lafayette Parish, Middle School, Music, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, St. Martin Parish, Vermilion Parish

Genres will blend, creativity and inspiration will be unlocked, and artistic visions will evolve and merge during Creative Writing Into Songwriting. Through guided creative writing exercises, the students will write poems, flash fiction, or prompts that will be used to fuel their songwriting experience. Much music will ensue. This session can be adapted for certain holidays, so please chat with the artist about options after booking!

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.

Science Investigations and Creative Movement (2-12)

by Mandy McGee | Creative Movement/Dance, Elementary School, High School, Lafayette Parish, Middle School, Mini-Presentation, Music, Paula Calderon, Science, Single Session, Theatre

If your classroom scientists need a new way to approach a project or review content, consider adding the magic of music and movement. Scientific investigations take on new form in this imaginative and interactive session. Storytelling, rhythm games, and dance meet the scientific method in an experience that makes the lesson stick. Available in English & Spanish.

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!

Air-Dry Clay Pets (3-8)

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

We do not all get to be pet owners in real life, but through this session, we can become pet owners in the art world. This is also a class for emerging sculptors. Students will use air dry clay to create a mini-pet animal to display, and will learn how to roll out and cut pieces or body parts and attach to the main figure. It’s not just a classroom…it’s a zoo, a wildlife preserve, an animal rescue, and an artist’s workshop.

Cityscapes (3-8)

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

Ever hear students ask, “When are we ever going to use this?” This hands-on, arts-integrated workshop transforms the humble ruler from a classroom necessity into a powerful tool for architectural design. Students put measurement concepts into immediate action by drafting their own custom cityscapes, seamlessly blending precision math with creative visual art. Students will master real-world ruler skills, geometric precision, and spatial reasoning through architectural drafting, explore the impact of warm and cool color palettes to transform flat drawings into dynamic, expressive urban environments, and balance structural guidelines with creative choice as students engineer and style their own ideal city skylines. This session delivers an ideal balance of rigor and creative play. It directly reinforces STEM/math standards while giving students full artistic ownership of their work—leaving them with a striking portfolio piece and a clear answer to why math matters in the real world.

Clementine Hunter’s Zinnias (Grades 3-8)

by Mandy McGee | Art History, Elementary School, Louisiana, Middle School, Single Session, St. Landry Parish, Visual Art

No one taught her, so she taught herself and made her art her own. In doing so, Louisiana artist Clementine Hunter developed a visually distinctive style and vividly depicted plantation life in the early 20th Century. In this session, students will learn more about Clementine’s world. How, they will learn, did she arrive at her ideas of plantation life and her vision for depicting people, animals, and everyday life on a plantation? Then, students will create a piece of art in Clementine’s style and pay homage to her work.

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.

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.

ADDITIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION RESOURCES