Room 2 had an art show recently. It was curated by teacher Khaila Mixon, who began organizing the event in January, “inspired by how skilled and artistic our children are.”
The children worked for more than a month on projects for the show – making clay pots, canvas collage paintings, and watercolor paintings. “I wanted to be sure the art I included was open ended and process based,” Khaila says.
Open-ended or “process” art, she explains, refers to projects “that have no desired outcome. The children are given a set of materials and have the freedom to experiment and create in any way they want.” In contrast, “structured” art refers to “projects that have a desired outcome, and children are given instructions on where to color, cut, glue, fold, and so forth.”
Process art, she notes, “is a big part of what we do in preschool because it allows children to create freely and focus on the experience of creating rather than the outcome.”
Once their projects were finished, Khaila mounted them on displays she had made and arranged them outdoors for a morning exhibit of the children’s work for parents and staff to view. “The children really enjoyed being able to explore the materials and getting to show off their work at the end.”
This is Khaila’s first year teaching preschool, “and I couldn’t be happier with my experience so far.” Before coming to work at the White Pony, she was an aftercare teacher in an elementary program in Danville – and before that, she was a weather forecaster in the Air Force! She also coaches soccer for preschool-age children in Oakland.
“Teaching has been an interest of mine since I was a child, and I plan to continue my teaching career here at The Meher Schools,” she says. This fall she’ll be attending the Montessori Teacher Education Center in San Leandro to earn her Montessori credential.