Artists in the Classroom

 From Work from Home Life to Paraprofessional Life

As I said in my previous post - LIFE HAS CHANGED. 
So much.
I am no longer the stay-at-home, work-from-home, farm at home, build at home, construction worker with
the spouse, woodworker in the garage, website testing, game testing, mom 24/7, squirrel-fighting, bird-watching, hermit lady I once was.

Now, my time is very limited when it comes to extracurriculars, but they haven't completely gone away. I just have less time to focus on them. Much less time. As a full-time school employee, a full-time sports mom, a girlfriend with a bonus family, a homesteader, and a general human being, the time limit is huge.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying that busy Mary has gotten much busier. 
However, with functioning depression, I prefer to stay in that busy state. It keeps my mind occupied and my thoughts distracted enough to keep any looming issues at bay. Also, the kids I work with are pretty entertaining.

We don't have an art program at our school, which is a bit heartbreaking. Art is a huge part of my life, and it brightens others' lives as well. So, once a week, when I have to give group vocabulary tests to some of our students, I require a drawing at the end. Every time. It has gotten to the point where, if I'm not in school the day the tests are given, some of the students will draw anyway and leave their masterpieces on my desk.

Animals seem to be a harder subject, but they definitely are the funniest.

This frog is a prime example.

Frogs seem to be a challenge all around, to be honest. 🤣

When asking this particular student to draw a frog, they responded with, "I don't remember what a frog looks like." 

I know we live in the Midwest, but we haven't been in winter long enough to forget about frogs. Have we?

I asked the student to do their best and put on a winter hat for good measure. The masterpiece to the right is what they came up with.




The rabbit has a special place in my collection. I'm not entirely sure how this "rabbit" came to be; however, at one point, it had poorly placed udders that needed to be removed.


Around Christmas time, I asked the kids to draw me some gingerbread houses. 

The results were fantastic. Each one put their own spin on their gingerbread house, and they were all incredibly unique. The one to the right happens to be my favorite, mainly because of the creativity of the roof line. 

True imagination is hard to come by these days, with the ease of technology to imagine for you. So this...this is definitely something to be proud of. 


Another afternoon, I asked the students to draw pictures of their houses. Apparently, this student's house has a living tree growing alongside it, ready to take a bite out of their antenna at any given moment. 
Behold...another frog!




Halloween brought on a scarecrow!


Thanksgiving brought us a turkey labeled, "Pies before guys".



A turtle with a tophat!

Santa is delivering gifts on Christmas!

And last, but not least, this magnificent pumpkin!

While we will probably never get an art program, as we are in a small community in a very small school, we can still implement art and creativity into our everyday classes. 

Vocab Test day will always be my impromptu art day, and I can't wait to see what these kids come up with next!






Much love, from me and mine,


If you'd like to follow along in real-time on Instagram, you can find me here:


Rather find me on TikTok? Try here:



No matter where you find me, 
I hope you find me and mine well and happy.
I hope the same for you and yours.
Location: Sheyenne National Grassland, Main Street, McLeod, ND 58057, USA

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