The art dept met at The Brock Environmental Center: it was a beautiful & inspiring place to learn about how to incorporate nature & science into our lessons. Humbled to live & work where opportunities like this & the wonders of nature are in our backyard! Amber Hester Pembroke Meadows VB

The day I’ve dreamed of my entire teaching career finally happened: I have both of my children in my school with me for the 1st time! Kindergarten for Katie, 3rd for Brooklyn, year 20 in elementary art for me, & year 6 at Pembroke Meadows VB! 💙🐾🤍Tara Kirsch Krista Clark Amber Hester

Worked on the puzzles for 3-5th at the kitchen table. I use these for classroom management & PBIS. Ss love getting a chance to color the puzzle piece, hear their class on the morning news, & the Game Day reward they earn with a finished puzzle! Pembroke Meadows VB Krista Clark Tara Kirsch

I changed my first day of art lesson so that all Ss are creating a dot drawing inspired by Peter Reynold’s The Dot! (Shout out to the music teacher for CDs to reuse!) Next up: displaying all 450+ of them for #DotDay on September 15ish. Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

This year’s showcase: Our PMES theme is “Better Together,” & in the art room what’s better than a rainbow of colors together?! I paired colorful banners with books on togetherness & art, I think this is one of my most successful showcases! Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

Happy International Dot Day! Every student created a dot during art class & “made their mark!” Our finished mural is on display outside of the cafeteria. I’m so proud of how this project turned out! #DotDay #InternationalDotDay @PMESVB Amber Hester Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

In June, #5thGradeArtists helped me create “Round of Applause” mural for the 50th annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival this weekend! Our entry is on display at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk at the 23rd Street entrance. Pembroke Meadows VB Amber Hester Krista Clark Tara Kirsch

I had a great time working with TidewaterVaArtEd to host our Fall Workshop at The Garage Creative Space in the VIBE district of Virginia Beach this weekend! We learned how to create cyanotype prints with different materials using a variety of supplies on a gorgeous sunny morning.

Last week I attended my first session with the VB Aspiring Leaders cohort, & I’m so excited to see where it leads my teaching career! #AspiringLeaders Pembroke Meadows VB PGI-VBCPS Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

The Dot Day mural is on the move! A section of our school-wide mural is now on display at the VBCPS School Administration Building throughout the month of October. Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark Amber Hester #DotDay #InternationalDotDay

#1stGradeArtists have their shape & line drawings inspired by Jackson Pollock on display! We discussed appropriate craftsmanship, space, & abstract expressionism with this project. Ss learned how to frame their own pictures, & did a great job! Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

#3rdGradeArtists are working on their still life collages! They have learned about the criteria for still life arrangements and the history of the genre. Stay tuned, because the final artwork will be getting a Cubist makeover next week! Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

#3rdGradeArtists turned their still lifes into Cubist works of art by cutting their objects and rearranging them so that multiple viewpoints can be seen at once! They did a great job of brainstorming objects and gluing them in creative ways. Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

#5thGradeArtists have been working on symmetrical & asymmetrical face collages for a few classes, and the process has really clicked in place this week! Some Ss even put spooky season vibes into their artwork! 🎃💀👻 Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark

There’s nothing better than adorable elephants created by #Kartists & inspired by the book Elmer! They’ve worked so hard over the last few classes to draw new shapes & persevere even when they struggled. Now their elephants are all ready for the Elmer’s Day parade! Pembroke Meadows VB

Yesterday I had the honor of a lifetime & was chosen as Pembroke Meadows’ Teacher of the Year! I’m still pretty shocked, but I also know I’ve put my heart and soul into my students and profession the last few years. This truly is the best job in the world! Pembroke Meadows VB

This is it! After two years of grueling work and effort, I can proudly say I AM A NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER!!! 🎆🎇#NATIONALBOARDCERTIFIEDTEACHER #NBCT @nbpts #NBCTstrong #IamAnNBCT Pembroke Meadows VB

Now that National Boards are officially over, I had some time to get crafty this past week: first for our Holiday door decorating contest (Bob Ross Snowman!) and I cross-stitched an ornament for our ornament exchange. Pembroke Meadows VB #pmesvb #artteacherlife

The last few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind, but I couldn’t start winter break without sharing these absolutely STUNNING atmospheric perspective tree silhouette paintings by my #5thGradeArtists! Pembroke Meadows VB Tara Kirsch Krista Clark Amber Hester

🎉 The School Board recently recognized the outstanding achievements of our dedicated educators who have recently earned their National Board Certification.