- In the AzTykes program at Corona del Sol High School, honors-art student Crissy Fischer and a participating ‘Tyke’ work together to integrate colors into a story that they wrote collaboratively.
In classrooms around the country, art teachers do a commendable job of guiding and encouraging their students’ creativity. At Corona del Sol High School, the job of helping those same students parlay their newly gained talents into a life skill is falling in part to some unlikely mentors: a group whose art experience so far has been focused on finger paint and Crayolas.
In an effort to get more “real-world experience,” Corona honors-art students undertook an assignment last semester to create illustrated children’s books for members of the school’s Early Learning Center.
The so-called AzTykes, ages three to five, became partners of sorts with the high school students in the creation of individualized, 10-page books that integrate their favorite colors, shapes and characters into a cohesive story.
The idea for the project was based on a theory that illustrations in many children’s books could have been done more effectively by high-school art students.
What seemed like a simple project to the students turned out to be far more difficult than most anticipated.
Over a two-month period the students worked with their AzTyke counterparts, gaining feedback and learning to adjust their own ideas in order to accommodate the kids’ interests.
Corona senior Sarah Rueckle said the most difficult part was “putting it all together to make a story that (her Tyke) would like,” emphasizing the difference in their respective visions.
The whole point was to give the art students some real-world experience with deadlines and feedback. The students used a variety of media to create the books, including painting, collage and computer-based design.
When all the hard work was completed, the students and their pint-sized collaborators shared snacks during a reading party where the final books were presented.
Said senior Alyx Brantly:
“The project was harder than I thought it would be, but the best part was reading the books to them.”
