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Wow – these are some amazing testimonials and quotes from Ron Nunn Elementary (in Brentwood, California) about my draw-along school assembly programs!

Laurie Ford – With money being tight these days, it is important that the little money our school does have to spend on “the extras” garners the most “bang for our buck”. Our art teacher was let go last year, due to budget cuts, so drawing is not something that most students are exposed to. Sure, we paint, cut, glue, color…but we really don’t teach how to draw…”start with big shapes, then little shapes, connect the dots, work a bit at a time, symmetry, and solid objects”. You came in and provided us with a solution to our diminished art program! Interestingly enough, I just finished our geometry unit with my first graders and we just learned about symmetry, as well as flat and solid shapes—in a math sense only! It was wonderful for my students to understand why these concepts are important and how they are used in our everyday world!

Kim Snodgrass – I thought your drawing assembly program was fantastic!  The kids were very engaged and I know that I learned a few tricks myself.  I loved your “sound effects” and your art language such as vertical and horizontal.  We have not had an interactive program such as yours in years!

I let my class chose their favorite drawing.  Then, they used watercolors and painted them.  Finally, I had them trace over the lines with a black Sharpie.  Beautiful!  They will look nice on the wall for Open House next week.

Please beg our school to allow you to come back again next year.  You might want to have some new things for the kids to draw because I’m sure they will remember you!

Lisa Ferreira – I would like to start off by saying that your assembly was fabulous!!  My class could not stop talking about the assembly all day!  Your assembly was very engaging and it involved the students the entire time.

It was different from other assemblies in that the students were involved with what you were doing while making their own drawings and they weren’t just listening to a presentation.  They were all so proud of their drawings and they immediately came back to class asking to color their pictures.  You also did a wonderful job with your crowd management techniques and getting the students to regain focus.

I would highly recommend this assembly to other teachers at other schools.  The students were able to leave the assembly with three wonderful sketches and some knowledge behind creating artwork!

Thank you for such an awesome assembly and we hope to have you back someday!

Jessica Dabelich – I want to say thank you again for coming to our school. I am a first grade teacher at Ron Nunn Elementary in Brentwood , Ca. Myself as well as my entire class absolutely loved your presentation! The kids came back so excited and anxious to share their illustrations with others. We had researched penguins this year, so they LOVED learning how to draw their very own penguin.

You did an excellent job managing all of the students in the multi-purpose room. Even some of my fidgety kids were glued to every movement and word from you.

All of my kids came back to class – wanting to know if they could color and add more details to their pictures right away. I gave them the opportunity to do just this. I couldn’t believe all the conversation that arrived as I was walking around the room. The kids were complimenting one another, getting ideas and sharing suggestions. They were even complimenting mine! And I am usually not the artist!

Marie Wirth – We loved the assembly and would definitely recommend it to others! My 3rd graders came back very enthused and wanted to draw every spare minute that they had! I use art in every single academic area and believe that it is SO important! Thanks for sharing your talent with us!

Jill Shodeen – I just wanted to let you know that your assembly today was wonderful, creative, and engaging.  My fifth graders had a terrific time and were excited to show each other their drawings after we got back to the classroom.  Your energy and enthusiasm was contagious!  As a teacher, I often bring papers to grade during assemblies, but instead I put down my stack of papers and found myself drawing along with the kids! The interactivity was definitely a “plus” because instead of just showing the kids, they learned how to do it.  Also, it kept them very busy with little or no time to goof off in between like they do so often in other assemblies.  I found that I didn’t have to babysit my class today like I usually do when we go to other assemblies.

Shortly after the assembly we went to see our  Kindergarten buddies and they were very excited to show off their fish and penguin drawings to us.  They did a fantastic job!

Lynn Richie – Really, you did a great job. I expected you to be a great artist, but I was surprised to see that you had such great management skills. The kids were totally involved the entire time. My students wanted to know if they could bring their drawings back to show me after they color them (of course I said yes.) It’s always so great to see those students who aren’t always successful in the classroom have a place to shine.

Tiffany Coppley – Thank you so much for coming to our school.  My 3rd grade students love art, and loved drawing things with you.  Their enthusiasm overflowed the rest of the day.  We spent time adding details to the work you started with them.   The kids encouraged others at their table groups as they added to their masterpieces.

Your ability to capture their attention with your hand motions and things you had them repeat enabled everyone to feel like you were talking just to them.  I even walked away with some cool pictures I know I can share with my children at home.  Even such simple things as “if it is the size of your hand, it is the right size” helped me know what size to draw things on my paper.

I appreciated you including instructions such as shading and second layer art to your work.  Sometimes that can be the hardest part of art.  My students have been using those terms all day through their other subjects and drawings!  I know your words stuck!

Marisa Castaldini – Art Docent – Hi Kyle, I hope you made to the airport and home okay.  Here are some of the emails I received from teachers yesterday.  My son’s teacher also remarked that during their after school meeting she had never so many positive comments about an assembly.  So, looks like you can plan on us for next year!

Thanks again, I’d be happy to provide a reference and have already passed these comments to the other elementary schools in our art docent program. The head of the program also printed them for her files to pass along next year.

More words from the teachers and a parent……

  • My students loved it.  I would love to see him back every year!  We could even wait until closer to the end of school and after open house.
  • It was such a wonderful, engaging assembly and my 5th graders loved it!  It would be great to have him back! He had so much energy!
  • I was very impressed with what my son did. (he is a K) I didn’t go in there so I didn’t see his presentation so when he showed me his art papers I was so shocked that he was able to #1 stay focused with all those kids in there and #2 he really did a good job on his art you can totally see what he drew. It looks like it is well worth it to me.
  • Thank you so much for having him come.  We will remember his engaging assembly for a long time!
  • Fantastic job today! I was amazed that you could get so many wiggly, talkative, and easily distracted children to stay seated, not call out, and focus for close to an hour—especially the first graders! Every student was fully engaged because you made every part of your presentation understandable and interactive!