…several of my students struggle with the academics of school yet are so talented in art. Because we are mainly teaching reading and math these days, these students never get to shine.
Today was different!
My “top” students were in awe of some of the other’s drawings. My lower students were given a chance to really feel good about themselves, something that doesn’t happen too often.
You were FABULOUS! I was so impressed with how EVERY student I saw was SUCCESSFUL!
This is a HUGE part of teaching, making the kids feel successful. I often hear ‘I can’t draw… I’m a terrible artist, etc’… and not one child said that after your presentation.
Even my own daughter, who is intimidated by her brothers natural skill, came running up after to show me her work! So I thank you as a teacher as well as a parent!
I was a bit skeptical when I saw the title of this assembly. I teach K’s and didn’t think this would be grade appropriate for our littlest students.
You proved me wrong!
Kids were totally enthralled with your assembly! My parents were amazed their 5 and 6 year olds were able to draw so well. This was the best assembly we’ve ever had.”
I watched in amazement as you worked with the Kindergartners through Second graders.
When we first saw the assembly notes, we thought you were crazy. Who can keep the attention of that many students (there were over 200 students there)?
You armed the children with boards and pencils and invited them to sit close together! Surely, an event made for chaos.
Somehow the children not only paid attention, sat still, but actually came away with work worthy of showing the parents! Kudos to you. You did what you said you would and did it well.
To be honest, when I first heard that we were having an interactive drawing assembly I thought that it would not hold the students attention.
I was completely wrong!
The students were excited and remained engaged throughout the entire presentation.
You had awesome control of the noise level and each student was able to keep up with your instructions.
Outstanding assembly! So often upper grade students sit through assemblies fidgety and a little bit bored because the content is not interesting enough for them. Your assembly had none of this from them, they were engaged and focused throughout the entire time!
My class loved it! Every student came away with three drawings that they were proud of, even those who do not like to do art. It was well worth giving up an hour of class time for my students to get to be creative, and the enthusiasm they showed for the activity made it that much better.
On the way out you stopped and looked at the drawings of my students, and commented on them which for them just made the assembly even better! I saw many of their faces light up when you said something positive about their drawings. I hope that we have you again as I found this to be one of the better assemblies we have had this year!
My students and I thoroughly enjoyed the art assembly this morning! While I am not an artist, both my students and I were able to easily complete the drawings you sketched for us.
Your instruction was EXTREMELY engaging, educational, and enthusiastic. You have amazing audience control.
I have never heard our K-2 students that quiet during an assembly.
We all walked away having applied our geometry, listening comprehension, and following direction skills to our drawings. Thank you for the dynamite learning experience. Any school that gets to experience what you have to offer will not be disappointed!
I have a kindergarten class and was really pleased with how well you interacted with all the students.
In our morning assembly there were about 200 kids ready to draw from K-3rd grade. I was a little skeptical about how can someone teach drawing and control the audience in this forum. How wrong I was. You did a great job!
At all times the students were engaged. I like how you had them use their arms and voices to join in with you as you were explaining a concept. These young kids sat for 45 minutes and were able to listen to you and follow your directions. I also liked how the kids were able to leave with something that they drew and it turned out great . That is very unusual for an assembly.
Unfortunately many assemblies are presented to us and we are not a part of.
I really can’t think of a suggestion to share with you. My main pet peeve is poor crowd control and you had it under control at all times
I was very impressed at how engaged the students were during the assembly. Your interactive assembly is such a great idea. I wish all assemblies were interactive!
You have an excellent, fun way of managing the students. They quieted and listened when you needed them to. This also made the assembly enjoyable for me because I did not have to constantly manage my class. As a result, I was able to participate in the drawing, too!
That was one of the best assemblies I have attended, and I’ve seen quite a few in my 22 years of teaching!
Kyle, you are a natural speaker. I loved how you kept the students engaged; I’m even going to try a few of your strategies in my classroom. I was a little nervous at first about your assembly. I have a few “active” students in my class, and I wasn’t sure how they would behave, but you put my anxieties to rest. Not only did you keep all my students interested, but all 300 students at the assembly were watching your every move. Amazing!
I wanted you to know, your’s was one of the best assemblies I have experienced in my 30+ years of teaching.
You have a real gift! Your pacing and sequencing of each picture was right on.
Have you ever thought of specializing in working with special needs children?
I work with K-1 special needs children and was worried that they might not be able to keep up with your instruction. They were completely focused the entire time due to your expertise. I’m sure you hear a lot of glowing praise but wanted to add my name to your list of admirers.
I have taught 30 years and know how difficult crowd control can be at assemblies but we never have any problem with the children when you are here.
They are mesmerized. I love that you make the children feel empowered – they too can be artists and it makes them feel so good about themselves. Thank you for another memorable assembly!
Before the program, I was skeptical. How can you have so many children, at the same time, participating in an interactive program while maintaining control?
Well, Kyle Tiernan pulled it off! He really knows what he’s doing! I really liked how the students were completely and thoroughly engaged! This not only kept the focus on learning, but kept discipline issues to virtually non-existent! It was fast paced, my students definitely had to pay attention to keep up, but isn’t that part of the goal? They were so focused.
I liked how Kyle integrated math into the activities with lines shapes, points, etc. I also liked how he used and emphasized key vocabulary for this program. And with all the focus on content standards, the truth is that we just don’t have a lot of time for art, unfortunately. Kyle’s program gave them a meaningful art experience with cross-curricular benefits!
All the students walked away proudly with their drawings they had created following Kyle’s directions.
Kyle’s drawing assembly also matched several content standards, for instance the mathematical content standards as he incorporated geometric vocabulary such as cubes, spheres, etc. into his assembly presentation.
I loved how the use of shapes, by name, we used. It allowed the students to use their prior knowledge and see how shapes are used to make other things.
I really enjoyed the extra facts the students learned about the animals they drew. All of the students felt like artists when they left the assembly.
This was an AWESOME assembly where the kids were really engaged and wanting more. The hour went by very quickly (unlike most assemblies)! By far the best assembly we’ve had!
That morning I got a new student in my class who speaks no English, she was overwhelmed as we rushed to get to the assembly on time. I had no way to explain to her what was happening.
I could not have picked a better experience for her first hour in an American school. She was completely able to draw along with the rest of the class.
I could tell that she was proud of her drawings and this helped her to connect with us.
I teach 5th grade at a K-6 dual-language immersion elementary school and was extremely impressed!
Not only were the students engaged and entertained, but they were also learning something in the process and left feeling completely successful and proud of themselves when they were done. Any teacher knows that there will always be the few students in the class who are the “doodlers;” the students who will spend most of their day sketching and doodling and seemingly “in the clouds,” when in fact they are completely tuned in to what is going on around them. For some of these kids, art is the one subject in which they really excel and shine. Assemblies like this one validate those kids and their talents, allowing for their classmates and teachers to “ooo and aaa” over their masterpieces and artistic abilities.
This assembly is also extremely valuable for those students who do not feel confident in their artistic abilities and shy away from art out of fear/shame of their work. Kyle was able to make art fun and easy, focusing on the simplicity of shapes. Kyle is able to take hold of and maintain the student’s attention and imagination and his student management skills rivals that of any teacher! This was an amazing opportunity!
The assembly was by far the best spent money for giving back to every child.
I was so impressed how you were able to have complete attention of a hundred plus students who were completely engaged and focused. I noticed that the teachers were just as focused, as we all drew with you, as you guided us through each step.
The best part was to see the proud looks on the children’s faces as they completed each drawing.I especially liked how you concluded by asking the children to teach what they had just learned to do to another person, perhaps in their family. I wish that we could have you come several times throughout the school year.
We have been paying for Meet The Masters program for several years now, and we are thinking about a new program. Yours is a much better alternative!
