Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, March 22, 2010

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)

A life-like owl puppet has been a popular addition to Miles Johnson's toy collection at Meadowthorpe Elementary.

Miles Johnson’s art classroom might be mistaken for the set of the popular children’s film “Toy Story,” but he declares it’s just a tactic for reaching his students.

“All the things you enjoyed about childhood, why not have them at work and use them?” said Johnson, who relates his toys to core-content learning at Meadowthorpe Elementary. “I am a big collector of toys and such – and what better way to get the attention of the students?”

A stuffed, funny-face fish is ideal for teaching primary colors, he says. An acrylic cube paperweight with a dandelion inside it illustrates the concept of 3-D, while a small plastic PEZ candy dispenser and matching oversized version help explain proportion and contrast.

“Everything I have in that room, I can tie into a lesson,” said Johnson, who keeps extra toys at home since the size of his collection – packed with old favorites like “Star Wars” characters and recent finds like a purple “Figment” character from Disney – has outpaced the storage capacity in his classroom during the past 10 years.

A fuzzy animatronics cat looks so real that Johnson sometimes sets it on the windowsill in the hallway just to watch people’s reactions. A life-size owl puppet has also been a big hit with the kids.

“When I started teaching, it seemed natural to hit the thrift stores for items to scavenge for class,” said Johnson, who is on the board of the Kentucky Art Education Association. “Whenever I go to yard sales, I let people know I’m looking for interesting things for my classroom.”

He has even “repurposed” items destined for the trash heap. A Crayola crayon color wheel that came from a Target store display now decorates one of his classroom walls.

“I try to bring in things that are visually interesting to students and hit home with what we are doing,” he said.

Kate Christianson, the elementary art content specialist for Fayette County Public Schools, said art teachers are always working to integrate familiar items with key ideas in their classrooms.

“We all do different things to achieve the same end,” she said. “Art people are so creative – there’s just no end to the ways of achieving core content.”