Party in the Art Room - Art Activities

I have been teaching elementary art for 7 years. Before I became an art teacher, I taught first and third grades in the regular classroom. I have always been passionate about arts integration. I currently serve as the arts integration coordinator for my school. I write about arts integration for the ASCD Whole Child and Inservice blogs. I have also published articles about arts integration at Education Week Teacher. I serve on the editorial board for Arts and Activities Magazine where I write a bi-monthly column titled Art is at the Core.

I believe in integrating curriculum.

I received the Arts Integration Service Award from the Mississippi Arts Commission/Whole Schools Initiative in 2015. I was a 2014 Tupelo School District Teacher of Distinction and Teacher of the Year for Lawhon Elementary. I am an ASCD Emerging Leader for the Class of 2015. I was named Mississippi Art Educator of the Year by the Mississippi Arts Education Association in 2016. I received the Mississippi Alliance for Art Education's Senator Thad Cochran Art Educator Award for the state of Mississippi in 2016. I received the GIFTeacher Award for Tupelo Public Schools for my work in leading the arts integration work at my school in 2016.

I earned a bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University in 2004. I have a masters degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, which I earned from Walden University in 2009. I also earned a specialists degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University in 2015. Arts integration was the primary focus of my specialists degree work. I am National Board-certified in Elementary and Middle Childhood Art.

You can connect with me at www.partyintheartroom.com I will be happy to create something specific for you. I have a great deal of experience in creating arts-integrated lessons. Just contact me for help!