Art projects are crucial for special needs students, offering opportunities for creative expression, sensory integration, skill development, and emotional well-being. They can help students build confidence, explore their unique strengths, and engage in meaningful learning experiences. 

I have been going into this classroom several times throughout the school year to provide educational enrichment activities for these students who otherwise have not been serviced by our office. On this day, our KSU 4-H agent, Bridgett Poteet, the KSU Area Art Agent, Allison Denny and I partnered together to provide the students with a unique opportunity to work with ceramics. The students used “glaze” to paint a bowl and then Allison took it back to KSU to “fire” in the kiln On a later day we provided them an opportunity to use this bowl as a planter to plant a succulent as a gift to someone special at home!

The class size is small, with under 10 students. This is considered a self-contained classroom and these students live with moderate to severe disabilities. The teacher focuses on daily living, life, and job skills. 

With each program/activity we can witness firsthand how these students have become more confident, as they are not as afraid to speak up and not afraid to express themselves. The smiles on their faces when they got to see their finished project was just priceless and they each one said how happy their project made them and they were so proud to show them off and be able to take home to give as a gift.