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Reidland Schools Receive Arts Inclusion Grant

Reidland Schools Receive Arts Inclusion Grant
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By Jayme Jones, McCracken County Schools
Feb. 17, 2019 | REIDLAND
By Jayme Jones, McCracken County Schools Feb. 17, 2019 | 06:34 PM | REIDLAND
With the help of a $1,300 grant from VSA KY, this spring Reidland Intermediate and Middle Art Teacher Cathy Lyles will work with Yeiser Art Center Executive Director Lexie Abra Milliken to teach students the meditative art of weaving.

Lyles secured the grant through the competitive Arts Inclusion Award Program, VSA KY's largest program serving schools across the state, helping schools provide experiential learning through the arts for children with and without disabilities in inclusionary settings.

Lyles and Milliken will work with students during school hours, and Milliken will donate her time. All grant funds will go toward supplies for the students to use. 

Lyles built her Arts Inclusion project around weaving because she's seen firsthand the benefits to students of the focus, pattern recognition and rhythmic, hands-on learning involved in weaving, especially for students with attention disorders and learning challenges.

"It takes so much concentration and focus, but it's also such a hands-on thing that once they understand the rhythm and pattern, any student can do it, and it's so calming for them all," she said. 

"I've found that whenever I teach any kind of weaving, it's the quietest, calmest that my classes ever are. The kids enjoy learning how to make something with their own hands."

Over the course of several weeks, ALL students at Reidland Intermediate and Middle schools will create a functional piece of art with their own hands through a meditative, rhythmic process that will appeal to students of all learning styles and needs. 

Lyles has 20-plus years' experience teaching art to students of all ages and ability levels, and has been with Reidland schools since 2016. Millikan has years of experience as a professional fiber artist and instructor, and is currently the Fiber Artist-In-Residence at the Paducah School of Art & Design, in addition to her position as executive director at YAC.

 

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