Friday, September 13, 2013

Quilting our Way to International Dot Day at USA

International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009.
The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
Teachers and future teachers in my five graduate & undergraduate art education classes in the College of Education at the University of South Alabama (USA) celebrated creativity, courage, and collaboration as they "made their mark" for International Dot Day
We used 81/2 X 81/2 squares of white copy paper and crayons to "make a mark and see where it takes us"...each square was crumpled and smoothed out multiple times to break down the stiffness of the paper and crayon, creating a fabric-like texture. Of course each artist "signed it!" We then used a hole puncher and yarn to tie the pieces from each artist, and five classes together into our "Dot Quilt." A binding experience!





Peter Reynolds Interview: 

Celebrating 10 years of 'The Dot' with Dedham, Mass. Author

http://www.necn.com/09/13/13/Celebrating-10-years-of-The-Dot-with-Ded/landing_features.html?blockID=852325

8 comments:

TJ Shay said...

This is so cool!!! I love the look of the finished quilt! Thanks for sharing!

Stephanie Faison said...

Hello again Dr. Vitulli! My name is Stephanie Faison, and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama.

I love the "Dot Quilt!" I think it is cool that the paper almost changed composition upon being wrinkled and smoothed out over and over again. The way it feels when you finish crumpling it is interesting. Your brain is telling you that this is paper, but it doesn't feel that way at all! I really enjoyed creating my own square for the quilt. Since I used colors that severely contradict each other, you can easily pick mine out of the quilt. I love the thought process behind Dot Day. To "Make your mark and see where it takes you" is a great way to encourage children and adults alike. Has Mr. Reynolds tweeted about the quilt yet?

I will be summarizing my blog posts here at my blog:Stephanie Faison's EDM 310 Blog today, September 15th, 2013. My Twitter is @StephFaison

Unknown said...

Thanks for commenting Stephanie. Our International Dot Day Quilt has been retweeted and favorited by @PeterHReynolds and @FableVision AND we are featured on the International Dot Day FaceBook page!

Shout out to our artists who did an awesome job making their mark, and HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DOT DAY!

Unknown said...

Hi Dr. Vitulli,
Thanks for the pics! I shared them with my family. They were so thrilled to see what I am doing in your class.Thank you for being so inspirational. If I could be half the educator that you are, I will be satisfied.

Unknown said...

Hello!
My name is Miriah Grantham and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I really enjoyed your post! What a wonderful idea to make a quilt out f paper and allow the students to express their creativity! Very inspiring and interesting. Thank for sharing :) I will be summarizing your post on MY blog at http://granthammiriahedm310.blogspot.com/!

Katlyn Lusker said...

Hello Dr. Vitulli! I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama, but I am also in your EDU 301-701 class. First I would like to thank you for sharing this book and activity with our class. I loved this book and I am planning on buying it and doing this activity with my own future students one day. This book is inspirational, encouraging, and most importantly it is very relate-able. I think this is perfect for students especially in elementary school, because they are just starting off and they are learning so much about themselves in the process. So once again thank you for providing us with such wonderful ideas to use in our own future classrooms!

If you would ever like to check out my own blog, please feel free to do so at Katlyn's Blog. I will be summarizing my thoughts and what I have found from visiting your blog in just a few weeks! Thank you for your time!

Unknown said...

Hello, my name is Brittney Kent, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. The idea of making a quilt from paper is very cool and interesting! This allows students to express their creativity. Great idea!

You can view my blog at www.KentBrittneyedm310.blogspot.com, I will be summarizing my thoughts on what I have seen here on your blog!

Megan Long said...

I love the quit making idea! Ever since you have read "The Dot" to our class, I have been purchasing books similar for my future classroom. This book is so inspirational, and so many lessons can be learned and taught from it, especially in an elementary classroom. The process is so much more important than the product and this book teaches it!