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Lindsay Wynett
Mrs. Lester
Advanced Grammar and Composition
12 March 2012
“The Special Kind of Love”
I have a passion for helping the special needs children at my school.I try to see them
every day because they always make my day so much better. I am involved with them as a peer
facilitator, and I have been in the Friends Club for a while where I after became a peer facilitator,
I began to see all of the student’swonderful personalities and this is when I realized that they are
the sweetest, most non-judgmental people I know, and they show so much compassion for
others. This is why I consider these students some of my best friends because they honestly are
the best friends that I could ever have, and I treat them accordingly. This idea to do my senior
project came to me very easily because I knew that I wanted to involve the special needs
students. So my love for art work, and the passion to teach just added up to creating various art
projects with the students and then debuting them in an art show. The topic of art therapy and
teaching adaptive art teacher are very much so alike. The problem that was in my paper was to
show how kids used art work as a freedom of self-expression. Also that doing adaptive art is very
much so the same, in fact, it gives special needs children the right to complete art projects
whileexpressing themselves. I chose this topic of art therapy because I find self-expression very
interesting; also I love to help people out. I also love to see people express themselves to make
them feel better. Especially if they feel as if they cannot tell anyone how they feel, art work can
be proven to help. Art therapy is proven to help children to instead of keeping their feelings
inside; art therapy is a great tool to help them to express themselves without having to say a
word.The art projects that the children do in art therapy are similar in how I had the students
create their own projects, their own way.

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Now I’m going to tell you about the process I followed in creating my product.I was
looking for someone who was involved with art work and children, specifically special needs
children. My aunt emailed all the adaptive art teachers in Forsyth County and Mrs. Murphy
responded.My project facilitator Katherine Murphy is an adaptive art teacher at Lake Windward
elementary, Haynes Bridge middle, and Alpharetta High School, with a degree in art education
from Western Carolina University.
Now I’m going to explain to you all of the steps that I took to create my final product. I
first looked online to find an art therapist, and it did not work out. So then I had my aunt who is
an art teacher who had said they were willing to help. However, the first one I contacted just did
not work out with emails and phone calls back and forth.Luckily my next senior project
facilitator prospect was great! After many emails we made a planned when and where to meet
up.To fit her schedule and to fit mine when there was a time when I would be out of school, over
a break, and when she still had to work. We met first over our fall break during September and
her school did not have off at Lake Windward Elementary school. I observed her various
adaptive art classes with the kids and learned a lot about the elementary school’s motor skills and
ability ranges through different classes. I also learned about the student’s attention spans and
how to teach disabled children.I also went to Alpharetta High School to observe a high school
adaptive art class and observed many different kinds of ideas and actually got to sit and eat with
them during lunch. It was a great experience and I stayed there for all seven hours. After given
these ideas on what projects to do, I decided what supplies were needed and got them all.Then
after Thanksgiving break I began to introduce the various art projects that my project facilitator
had given me one by one and told the class that the art work would be in an art show. We created
four different art projects. Then during their fourth and fifth period we began to work on them.

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The first project was a sea creature mosaicthe students were asked to choose a sea biome creature
or plant and enlarge a photo of it on the computer. Next, we took different colored sheets of
construction paper and ripped them up into little pieces. Finally, the students glued them to fit the
picture. The next project was a painting project wherewe learned about warm colors and cool
colors. First they chose either warm or cool color paint as a background mixed with white to
create a lighter shade. Then after the paintings were dried, we incorporated math by having them
choose two different shapes that were stamped onto the paper in either a warm or cool color.
Then they stamped the shapes in the color with a lighter shade to portray whatever design they
wanted.The next project was ceramics; students stacked pre-cut circles of clay and then used
three “ribbons” of clay to assemble the body of the piece. We then “scored” the tops of the
ribbons with a fork to mark. Then we used “slip” as a glue to put all the pieces together and
smoothed them over. Weeks later we had the pieces fired in a kiln. Finally, the students painted
their pieces with acrylic paint.The final project was a crayon scrapingprojectwe started off by
coloring the whole background of paper with various colors of crayons. Then they covered the
whole page with black tempera paint mixed with dishwashing soap. After the projects were dry,
we used a scraping tool to scrape out whatever picture they wanted. The crayon background that
was painted over now reveals a picture. After months of completing these various projects I
gathered up all of the projects from school very carefully and mounted all of the pieces with a
name card on every piece. This preparation took many hours and also had to be waited on to
dry.I set up for the art show and mounted all of the pieces in the Cherokee Art Center, arranged
the tables and chairs all in place the night before the show. The day of the show I showcased all
the in the process pictures and set up all the food that my grandmother had made: cake pops,
cheese straws, punch, and fruit. I set up programs of the show at a table in the front and put out a

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guest book. The kid’s parents, friends, teachers, and family all started coming in at two and
walked around to observe the beautiful art work and socialized while enjoying the refreshments
and food. Lastly after being up for three weeks we took up all the projects. Imade certificates of
achievement for the students. Then I gave them back all the projects for all of the students to take
home for their families to enjoy. The art show was in an article in the paper!
All of these steps were essential to completing the final product of the show and along
with it came some problems. One of the obstacles I had to face was when my first project
facilitator told me last minute that she could not do this project with the kids because of certain
guide lines but I ending up finding the right project facilitator. Another obstacle was meet up
times with my project facilitator, we needed to meet up whenever I didn’t have school but she
did so I could observe her class. A huge obstacle I had to face the whole time was the thought of
not finishing all the art projects on time for the show, but we luckily had them all done in time.
Though there were many obstacles I am very happy for continuing on with this
project.What I have learned from doing this art show as my senior project how the students use
their motor skills and realizing what they can and cannot do, and plan accordingly to their ability.
I learned how to teach and that I want to work with high school students. I have proven to have
positive work habits. This is proven to be a matter of fact because; I started this project many
months ago to be sure not to run out of time.I also learned many communication skills by writing
letters to the parents, contacting the art center over the phone and various emails with my project
facilitator, and also by making fliers, and programs for the show.After learned a little about what
it takes to become an adaptive art teacher and also how to set up an art show! I can conclude that
I am interested in becoming a special education teacher, adaptive art teacher, or an art teacher

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and go on to the University of West Georgia to start my career. This overall has been a very
positive experience for me.
THANK THE JUDGES
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