All students at Madison School take part in the South Bay Hands On Art program, thanks to the sponsorship of Madison PTA.  The aims of South Bay Hands On Art are:

• To encourage the child's creative and mental growth through meaningful Art experiences in a non-judgmental environment.
• To develop the child's visual perception and awareness.
• To make the community resources in the arts more available to children

Students carry out six art projects throughout the school year.  All projects are linked by a common theme.  Sessions are led by "docents", who are all parent volunteers.  (See below for more information about docent responsibilities.)

The theme for 2009-2010 is "WILD ABOUT ART".

For more information about this program, please visit the South Bay Hands On Art website.

The six projects for the 2009-2010 school year are:

Docents are parent volunteers who attend training workshops for each project and then lead the project in the classroom.  Besides demonstrating the project techniques, they use books, pictures and music to provide background information about the project and enhance the children's art experience.  Assistants are also parent volunteers and they aid the docents in the classroom, helping them to set up and carry out the projects. 

Docents MUST attend the monthly workshops before leading the projects.  The workshops take place at Parras Middle School and are also attended by several other local schools.  Brunch is provided for the docents.  (Every school takes turns in providing the brunch.)  Each workshop is led by the artist who created the project and the project is presented step-by-step, with lots of tips on how to teach it at particular grade levels.  The workshops are a very lively and social experience and are a chance to learn new techniques, exchange ideas and see some beautiful works of art!

Projects should be completed in class within a month of the workshop, before the next workshop takes place.

You do not have a be a "great artist" to be a Hands On Art docent or assistant - all you need is curiosity and enthusiasm!  And STUDENTS LOVE HANDS ON ART - one of the most rewarding aspects of being a docent or assistant is the students' appreciation for this program, from the way their faces light up when you wheel the Art Cart into their classroom to their sense of pride when they complete a project! 

If you would like to be involved in Hands On Art in your child's classroom, or would like more information about the program, please contact Joanne Wedhoff at jwedhoff@rbusd.org or Jackie Romano at bondiofab@verizon.net.

Docent training takes place once a month on a Thursday morning from roughly 9:00am to noon in the cafeteria at Parras Middle School (200 N. Lucia Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277).  Workshop dates for Madison docents for the 2009-2010 school year are as follows:

Oct 8, 2009 - Myth and Mystery
Nov 12, 2009 - The Color of Snow
Jan 7, 2010 - Pastel Wolf
Feb 4, 2010 - Mandalas
Mar 11, 2010 - The Poetry of Iron (* WE PROVIDE BRUNCH ON THIS DATE *)
May 6, 2010 - Where The Wild Things Are