The day was inspired by the book, “The Dot,” by Peter H. Reynolds. It’s a motivational children’s book encouraging students to try and how just a simple boost of confidence can make all the difference. In the story, he writes about a girl who believes she cannot draw. The teacher encourages her to just "make a mark and see where it takes you."
After reading the book in art class and again in their own classroom, students did just what the book said to do - they started to make a mark and see where it led them. Some made drawings and designs in the dot-shaped paper. Some students from Stephanie Dow’s class wrote their own goals for their fourth-grade year.
“I want to improve my attention span in class,” said Karl. “I know it will help me know more stuff and I won’t have to ask for help.”
Kennedi pointed to her brightly colored dot that read “To Be More Helpful.” “I just like being able to help other people.” Sophie chose the same goal for her dot saying she likes to help out the teacher in the classroom.
Braylon said he wants to improve his catching in PE class. “I like to play football and I think I could be better if I work on catching more,” he said. Students agreed they liked seeing their dot artwork filling the hallway and hope it stays there for awhile.
Dow said she enjoyed the project with all the fourth-grade teachers and the Page art teacher. “It was a total team effort, and it worked out really well. I think it looks amazing in the hall and I think the students really enjoyed it.”