Wow – everyone at Lydiksen Elementary in Pleasanton really enjoyed my fully interactive, draw-along school assemblies!
Julie Stewart – I wanted you to know how impressed I was with your ability to keep the attention of my Kindergarten students. It was amazing to see them work so hard and follow along with your directions. I was doubly amazed after seeing their work. You kept their focus on you and they were so proud of their drawings.
When we got back to class they talked and shared their work. They couldn’t wait to take the pictures home.
I even hung up my pictures in the classroom. I’m not the best drawer but I teach my kids to follow the lines of a picture as they draw. Look at a book and picture it on your paper. The students told me the other day that my dog looked like a horse. I told them I always try my best and if it is my best than it is good enough for me. Your assemblies timing was perfect for tying up a two week unit on color and drawing.
I loved how you stared by pointing out the shapes you saw in the picture. You descriptions of the way to make the lines and what they were for were very helpful in completing the task.
I hope we can have you back next year. Your pacing and voice were perfect. I wish we would have had three pieces of paper. We were told to give each student two and I have some students who need the whole page so it made it difficult fo rthem to do two on one page. Oh well next year I will give them four!.
Judy Markolf – My students (and I) really enjoyed your school assembly presentation today. Your cartoon drawings were so appealing and easily created by the children. The students were still buzzing when we returned to the classroom and every single one said they enjoyed it immensely. They were so proud of what they were able to produce.
I appreciated your ability to quiet the entire room down so quickly and effectively. Your have a terrific personality for your line of work. Good luck to you. You deserve it. We look forward to seeing you again next year.
Gretchen Swett – I thought your assembly was fantastic. Being a 1st grade teacher I am always a bit skeptical about assemblies but you were great. You kept the students engaged and active and at their age you have to. They all came back to class and said how much they enjoyed it. In fact, many of them used some of your skills, for drawing, later that day. Great job!
Tasha McNamara – I liked how you spoke with the kids, clearly and slowly. I like how you engaged them with everything you did..answering questions , to reaching up in the air and grabbing the eyeball and “plop” put it on your paper, and also the two fingers and waving them in front of you while everyone says “shhh”. They really responded well to all of those little strategies! I liked how you simplified every drawing into shapes and showed them perspective. I thought the whole assembly was highly appropriate for all kids. They walked out feeling like artists. One little boy said, “I want to grow up and be and artist!”
Paula Jenkins – I thought your assembly Friday was a good one. My students are special ed – grades 4 and 5. I made sure they were sitting in front. They were engaged the entire time. They all did all the drawings and they all looked fine. I’d say that’s a testimony to your clear instructions!
Ann Kyle – Just wanted to say thanks for a great assembly. Only wish it could have been longer! Your lessons would be great in individual classrooms. I thought you did a fine job with crowd control…you stopped and made sure you had their attention before you went on. The drawings were fun and engaging. I had left my keys in the MPR and sent a boy back to get them. He came back beaming because you had given him a drawing.
Donna Henderson – I wanted to comment on your assembly here at Lydiksen. I teach a class of special education students, usually mostly autistic. I was impressed to watch a couple of my more involved students as they tried to follow along with you. I thought it was going to be way too hard, but their drawings actually looked like a fish and a whale!
Tamara Reneau – My students were thrilled with your drawing school assembly. After the assembly we had a field trip and I heard more talk about your assembly than I did about our field trip to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. All of my students drawings were wonderfully creative. They thought that being able to follow allow with you was a great way to learn. Many of them wished it was longer and would like to do even more! I will be encouraging them to take a clipboard with them out to recess and at lunch to experiment with the new techniques that you taught them. Thank you so much for the great assembly.
Megan Scatena – My second graders really enjoyed your presentation today. You were very engaging to them and I appreciated that you incorporated responsibility into it. They were so proud that they were able to complete the drawings and are interested in learning more.
Rachael Maher – Hi Kyle- Great job today. The kids had a fabulous time. I like how you were so animated and engaging having the kids full attention! I am a kindergarten teacher and I think keeping their attention is key.
Linda Wu – You did a wonderful job today at Lydiksen. I am a 1st grade teacher and they all had a wonderful time. I have one child who often gets a bit overwhelmed about being “perfect”. You presented this “lesson” in such a way that this student felt successful and had little or no signs of frustration. I also have a child whose fine motor skills are low. By using simple shapes and lines, he too felt pleased with his end product.