Sunlight filtered through kitchen windows as children gathered around a table in a nearby dining room that becomes an art studio every Monday afternoon.
The dining table is covered with construction paper to protect the furniture from accidental artistry caused by markers and glitter glue.
An orange tabby cat briefly pops out from under the table as Tara Whichello unpacks totes overflowing with art supplies and tools she will use to teach the day’s lesson.
Whichello has been teaching art for over a decade and now is a self-employed traveling art teacher, visiting families looking to add to their homeschooling plan.
Her work comes at a time when more families are seeking alternatives to traditional classrooms, and more educators are reimagining how and where teaching happens.
As Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8) is recognized nationwide, Whichello’s work offers a reminder that teaching happens wherever families make room for it, even at the dining room table.
She currently teaches about 20 students in the region, using her own curriculum which highlights art history, techniques and the hands-on exploration of a variety of media.
Kathryn van Zwieten, a mom of six and grandmother of four, homeschools two of her granddaughters and her youngest son who is 9.
Van Zwieten tried for years to fill gaps in her homeschooling plan with an art curriculum until she hired Whichello.
“I don’t even have the skills Tara has to teach that,” van Zwieten said.
In van Zwieten’s dining room-turned-art classroom, Whichello picks up a lesson where she left off the week before, pulling out incomplete assignments and asking questions.
One child dives into her assignment, pulling out cool-toned crayons and colored pencils. Another child, in typical 5-year-old fashion, talks nonstop and loses patience for the lesson discussion, eager to start coloring.
Another student focuses intently on Whichello, answering questions about the lesson and identifying the artist displayed on the teacher’s computer screen.
The students are learning about Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his impressionist style by recreating his Starry Night piece with crayons, colored pencils, paint markers and glitter glue.
As students work, Whichello circulates the table, helping one child fill in blank spaces on her page and leaning across the table to help another identify cool shades of purples and blues in a crayon box.
Throughout the lesson she reminds the students that “there’s no wrong way to do this.”
Whichello has taught primarily in the private sector, noting that she prefers the setting for the opportunity to work one-on-one with students.
Growing up in upstate New York, a high school teacher encouraged her to pursue a career in art.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a concentration in pottery from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, in 2004. She later began pursuing a degree in art education but soon realized she didn’t want to work with kids.
Eventually Whichello found her way to Holy Comforter Episcopal School in Tallahassee as a substitute teacher and was hired full time as an elementary art teacher in 2014.
“Then I realized I did like working with kids and I did have the patience for it and I got a lot of joy out of helping others,” Whichello said.
Whichello said she enjoyed working in a school setting when she had the opportunity, but now finds more flexibility, one-on-one attention and freedom in her traveling model.
“The cool thing is that we all become like family because it’s so small and we’re in an intimate setting at their house,” Whichello said.
After the school year ends in May, Whichello will continue offering travel lessons through the summer at her current rate of $50 per student per hour, with no long-term commitment required.
Each week, Whichello returns to dining rooms like the one she was in recently, setting up lessons, answering questions and reminding students that creativity has a place wherever they are.
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Alaijah Cross covers children & families for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at abrown@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Traveling Tallahassee art teacher brings class to kitchen tables
Reporting by Alaijah Cross, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
