Reflection on Arts & Crafts Webinar

     Our first webinar this semester was on the topic of using arts and crafts in ELT classrooms. It was a very interesting experience, which provided me with a lot of creative and practical tips how to make English lessons were engaging, especially for very young learners. The webinars with experts from the field are always a great opportunity to learn brand new techniques and this experience was no exception.

    The presenter had a very clear way of presenting the material - she would show us an image of a common object, ask us how we think it could be useful or transformed into an educational prop, and then discussing with us her ideas. I thought having this structure was a smart idea for the listeners to be engaged and prepared to be involved. It enabled to foster a creative and collaborative environment, where everyone was working together to come up with the best ways to turn everyday objects into fun teaching materials. Some examples of those props included a mirror, a blindfold, a feather, shaving cream, or a toilet paper roll. What I appreciated the most was the selection of items. Teachers often carry the burden of having to spend extra time or money outside of work to prepare the best lessons for their students. Spending a lot on additional props for the class could be a big inconvenience for many, so showing how these simple objects can be useful too was very smart. My favorite idea was about puppets. I think they can be a very fun way to keep young learners engaged and keep the flow of communication in the classroom. However, the presenter was showing us very professional looking puppets that seemed store-bought and it would've been nice to discuss how to make our own puppets. I also loved the discussion about instruments. As someone who loved music, I thought it was important idea to include different senses in our teaching. Instruments do not have to mean a piano or guitar, we can create our own musical devices, which can also be a good idea for a fun art class. Finally, I did want to mention that I wish there was more clarification on the age-groups for the different props. I am currently teaching in a 4th grade classroom and I cannot imagine using most of these ideas with them. I wish we could've come up with some crafts for different ages or at least discussed what the most appropriate audience is for such props. However, I do understand that there is always a tight time limit and the presenter needs to pick the ideas that they find most important. I think she did a very good job of selecting a wide range of objects and trying to show us how to creatively transform or use them. It gave the listeners a lot to think about and potentially think of their own craft ideas.

    To summarize, this webinar was another engaging experience, which allowed us to broaden our horizons as future teachers. The presenter did a fantastic job of fostering a positive, collaborative, and creative atmosphere, where we all got to learn from one another. She showed us how to easily transform everyday objects into fantastic and engaging additions to any ELT classroom.