Thanks to the Arts and Education Council’s Maritz Art Education Fund for Teachers, many of the 450 students at Willow Brook Elementary School in the Pattonville School District will have the opportunity to learn how to sew as part of an innovative, choice-based art curriculum that encourages creative expression. The new sewing center thrills no one more than the school’s art teacher and unofficial sewing coach Dawn Lynn.

“Personally, I love to sew,” says Lynn. “It’s also become one of the more popular studios I teach. The kids actually line up to get on one of the machines.”

Lynn explains that she has adopted a national model of teaching art called TAB – Teaching for Artistic Behavior – which allows students to make choices as to the art projects they want to pursue, including sewing. The hope is that by giving them choices over their work, students will be better engaged and motivated, and more responsible for outcomes.

“With TAB, my job is to provoke questions and help with problem solving,” says Lynn. “There really is a lot of natural collaboration.”

Lynn’s art room no longer looks like a typical classroom. Hutches, kitchen tables and dining room chairs fill the space, giving it a homey feel. It’s also divided into various art “centers” such as painting, drawing, fiber arts, ceramics, collage, sculpture, architecture and now, sewing, all available to the students.

“I started teaching TAB last year because I felt like I was missing groups of kids, especially some of the boys who weren’t as engaged in art class,” Lynn explains. As a fan of sewing, she brought in the sewing machine that her mother gave her she was 16.

“Within no time, there was such interest in sewing, including from the boys, that the PTO helped me purchase another machine,” Lynn adds. The enthusiasm led her to search for additional funds. Now, with the support from A&E’s Maritz Art Education Fund for Teachers, the sewing center will include four new sewing machines and additional sewing materials for the students.

Lynn says before students can sew on the machines, they must demonstrate some proficiency at hand sewing. As is the case with all TAB projects, students come in with an idea and fill out a “plan sheet” that details how they intend to pursue it.

“They continue to work in class until they fulfill their WOW project – Wonderful Original Work,” says Lynn. “Sometimes they have deadlines, other times they work on the project until its natural completion.”

Lynn says student engagement in her art classes is higher than ever before. She adds that the interest in sewing continues to grow, with ideas for community projects coming from the students themselves.

“One boy said his mother sews pillowcase dresses for girls in Africa, so we started doing that,” says Lynn. Another group project has students sewing decorative pillowcases for local children with cancer, and a future one will have them involved in sewing projects for the adult day care center located near the school.

Lynn believes that in addition to producing work that builds their selfesteem and expands their creativity, students also develop critical thinking skills through sewing.

“They have to make many decisions that will affect the outcome,” she says. “When they finish a project, they have to fill out a reflection piece about why they made it and how they did it. As student-artists, they have a good deal of creative control, which gives them a true sense of pride in their work.”

The Willow Brook Elementary School Sewing Studio Center is an Arts and Education Council Maritz Fund for Teachers Grant recipient. For more information about Willow Brook Elementary School and the Sewing Studio Center visit willowbrook.psdr3.org.