“Creativity isn’t a reward (for completing other work in the classroom),” says Blackwing Foundation Program Director Courtney Berolzheimer.

“When we treat art and creative expression as a foundation…kids show up differently, teachers show up differently.”

And that difference, she continues, can lead to a new classroom culture, with increased engagement for both students and teachers.

Nonprofit Blackwing Foundation is helping educators build that foundation, with their free online art education programming, Pathways to Creativity!

High-quality, adaptable and…free

Pathways to Creativity currently includes an art series and a lettering series, for first to sixth grade, with lesson plans and slide decks. Courtney, who spearheaded the Pathways to Creativity program, has drawn on her professional background as a middle-school math teacher, designing content for seamless implementation into a classroom.

Accordingly, the all-in-one art lesson plans include step-by-step videos, supply lists and printable art labels. Art lessons are designed by grade: drawing for first grade, oil pastels in second, drawing for third grade, and so forth. Lettering lessons include handout templates and a supply list, as well as supplemental resources.

“We want to make (teachers’) lives easier by offering art lessons, lettering lessons–anything that makes it easier for them,” Courtney explains.

One of the biggest challenges she’s encountered? Convincing educators that, in accordance with Blackwing Foundation’s mission of expanding access to arts education, these resources are free!

“A lot of times, (people) are like, ‘well, wait, do I need to buy this? Or do I need to put in my email to access things? And our answer’s ‘no.’ We want everything to be there, just to be accessible, and…I would love educators…(to) just try one lesson. See what happens in your classroom.”

Excellence and evolution

While these lessons are listed as being for grades one through six, they’re designed in such a way as to also spark the imagination of much older “kids”–high-school and beyond.

They’re also engaging and interdisciplinary, blending technique, art history, communication and other skills.

Meanwhile, Courtney says, much more is coming. Blackwing Foundation is developing new lessons and new pathways, in areas that will include music, and architecture!

To find out more about additional upcoming programs, you’re invited to subscribe to Blackwing Foundation’s newsletter, through their website. And be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel, for their live studio sessions!

Courtney talked about her background, shared the story of Blackwing Foundation and discussed some of the Pathways to Creativity lesson offerings.

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• How Courtney’s own education taught her the value of creativity in the classroom;

• How she fell in love with math and its real-world applications;

• The story of Blackwing Foundation;

• A closer look at Pathways to Creativity;

• How the lettering series gives students a chance to be creative;

• Hacking Your Pencil, a “fan favorite” in the lettering series;

• How the Blackwing Foundation programs’ emphasis contrasts with the world in which the students are growing up;

• Ways the Pathways to Creativity activities extend beyond art and lettering;

• A mini-art lesson involving math;

• Why teachers with time constraints benefit from adding these lessons into their classroom curricula;

• How Courtney saw creativity build the culture of her own classroom;

• What happened during one of her “Fun Fridays” in her classroom;

• The most interesting lesson Courtney learned about creativity;

• What’s next!;

• Blackwing Foundation’s live online events for educators.