The Classroom of Your Dreams
For this young participant at the District 4 Back to School event, the classroom of her dreams soaring trees, giant flowers, and sparkly clouds.
October 8, 2022
On a brisk autumn Saturday in East Harlem, East 160th Street was closed to traffic and turned into a neighborhood block party as part of the School District 4 Back-to-School Homecoming at PS/MS 7. As families mingled and a DJ played hip-hop classics, nearly 40 students, some with parents in tow, joined Creative Art Works Teaching Artists for a fun and free community art-making project. Students were invited to build a mini diorama of, “the classroom of their dreams.”
This is the face of my mom, because that’s what I want to see in the classroom of my dreams.
— Attendee to the School District 4 Welcome Back to School Homecoming
The finished dioramas ranged from charming to whimsical. One girl who loves the winter holidays made a Christmas-themed classroom, with footprints in the snow, smiling clouds in a starry sky, and snowflakes. Some brought the great outdoors inside with streams, forests, and rolling hills. One boy who wanted to see his mom in his classroom placed her portrait on one wall – and it was clear to see he has his mother’s eyes.
Ivory Nunez-Medrano, CAW Program Manager of Teaching & Learning, said this project was a lot of fun, but it also utilized real academic skills.
“The goal of the project was to imagine and build a model of a unique space for learning, using accessible materials. Participants employed creative problem-solving and spatial and motor skills by selecting paper in different colors and patterns, cutting shapes with scissors, and gluing and placing them to develop an original idea. The creative challenge was to turn a cardboard box into a unique three-dimensional space.”
“Your sister or brother or your mom or your dad can do this. Any adult can do it.”
— Self-appointed Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training
CAW Program Associate Madeline De Leon reported that many young people connected over the project.
Maddy said, “We had one participant who became our assistant. She was creative, knowledgeable, sweet, kind, and eager to help. She really stole the whole show! There was another moment where we had two participants who didn't know each other, but one boy was intrigued by the other's drawing of Sonic the Hedgehog. The first boy then showed the other boy how to draw the character, and it was so heartwarming.”
Community making projects are designed to engage youth with their community and to allow them to experience and celebrate the power of art with their families. We look forward to offering more events in the coming months. Subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account to stay current with our next family-friendly project.
Students building their dioramas.
Peer-to-peer teaching. One participant shows another how to draw a video game character.
A Gallery of Dream Classrooms
It all depends on the dreamer… For some students, the classroom of their dreams included night skies, wild patterns, or a dense forest reminiscent of Max’s room in “Where the Wild Things Are.”