Fine Arts teachers give a glimpse into their plans for the fall school year

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) – We all know learning is going to look different in the fall. But for the fine arts teachers, they have to be extra creative and resourceful when it comes to virtual learning. Some local arts teachers are feeling inspired after taking the summer to reflect on what worked last spring, and what didn’t.

“We kind of need to be creative and I think as a music teacher, that’s kind of our bucket of tools,” said Jessica Ingvalson, a music teacher in the La Crosse School District.

Physical education, music and art teachers created multiple platforms to teach their specialties in the spring.

“My daughter and I actually made quite a few videos to share with the parents and families and trying to encourage the kids to be active,” said Tyler Hamby, a physical education teacher in the La Crosse School District.

“For me, one was go on a walk with their family and listen for different sounds in nature,” said Ingvalson.

“We had a website that was really interactive for our students, with links to books about artists, and projects and different lessons and plans,” said Amoreena Rathke, an art teacher in the La Crosse School District.

With only a quick turn around to distance learning, teachers had to act fast, but now they’ve had the summer to prepare.

“We didn’t have necessarily, a consistent platform and we are doing that for the fall before,” said Rathke. “The district is going to Canvas, which I think is really going to be a positive change to do that.”

And parents can expect to see their kids gathering household items, because this school year, they’ll be challenged more than ever, to think outside of the box.

“How can we teach kids to be more resourceful and use what we have around the house to make art,” said Rathke.

“We know that some of the musical opportunities that we’re providing aren’t necessarily what kids are expecting, or their parents are expecting or even what the teachers are wanting to do,” said Ingvalson. “But we’re trying to find a way to make things as accessible as possible for everybody.”

“This thing is, we can look at this as like ‘oh man this is going to be really difficult this year,’ But honestly, I feel like it’s going to challenge us in ways that we haven’t been challenged before and I think a lot of really good things are going to come out of this,” said Hamby.

The teachers said that they wish more than anything they could see their kiddos again. But look forward to seeing what their creative minds innovate as the school year unfolds online.

wkbt