The day before I left for #ncte13 we had visiting artist, Steve Harpster, at our school. He is a local illustrator with lots of great books for kids on how to draw. After our class visited his website and watched some of his videos, we were really excited about his visit. Here is what Harptoons is all about!
His sessions were as engaging as his website as he got kids drawing right away. We were told to make sure kids had paper and pencils because they'd be active. It was a great session as kids were engaged and laughing most of the time.
One thing I loved was that he used an iPad to present with. I'm not sure what the app was but already my kids are playing around with draw tools in new ways, based on what they saw Steve do. Even though the iPad was never mentioned, kids learned about another possibility with digital tools.
Steve Harpster's session was a great one and I love his drawing books. I have lots of how-to drawing books in my classroom but it is hard to find books that are as accessible to young children as these are. My kids love them and they are already circulating around the class like crazy.
Visuals are becoming so important and I think it's important that kids play around with drawing as much as they play around with writing. Steve Harpster's session really gave my students confidence in their drawing abilities. Everyone left feeling like they could draw and I imagine I'll see that in their work across content area.
From what the website says, Steve Harpster does free Skype visits and free local school visits. I'd highly recommend checking out his website and his books! I'm so glad we got a chance to learn from him!
His work is perfect for elementary kids. I loved the way he made drawing complex things accessible for kids and I also loved the videos as mentors for the how-to videos kids might make during the year.
His sessions were as engaging as his website as he got kids drawing right away. We were told to make sure kids had paper and pencils because they'd be active. It was a great session as kids were engaged and laughing most of the time.
One thing I loved was that he used an iPad to present with. I'm not sure what the app was but already my kids are playing around with draw tools in new ways, based on what they saw Steve do. Even though the iPad was never mentioned, kids learned about another possibility with digital tools.
Steve Harpster's session was a great one and I love his drawing books. I have lots of how-to drawing books in my classroom but it is hard to find books that are as accessible to young children as these are. My kids love them and they are already circulating around the class like crazy.
Visuals are becoming so important and I think it's important that kids play around with drawing as much as they play around with writing. Steve Harpster's session really gave my students confidence in their drawing abilities. Everyone left feeling like they could draw and I imagine I'll see that in their work across content area.
From what the website says, Steve Harpster does free Skype visits and free local school visits. I'd highly recommend checking out his website and his books! I'm so glad we got a chance to learn from him!
Hi, Mary Lee. What a fun post! My kids' middle school art teacher is a cartoonist. That adds such an element of fun to what their learning. More and more schools are using the iPad for all students. I love seeing what people create with the drawing tools.
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