About Me: Renee Goularte

I have been a teacher, a writer, and an artist, and have always been a student. I love learning and creating, and have always alternated my time between a number of assorted projects, including writing poetry, writing and selling a book of art activities for kids, exploring watercolor and acrylic painting, and gardening.

When I started teaching art, I started a blog - Creating Art With Kids - to document and describe my art lessons. When I retired, I started my TeachersPayTeachers store, hoping to provide complete art lessons that classroom teachers with limited or no art background would find easy to use: lessons that would offer a more complete art experience than 'projects' or 'crafts.'

I also have a blog - Art In Process - which describes my own creative process, and a personal website - Renee Goularte: Gallery - which showcases my watercolor, drawing, and mixed-media art work.

Education and Teaching Background

I have a BA in Art and English from San José State University, where I earned Standard Secondary and Multiple Subjects teaching credentials, as well as a Master's Degree in Elementary Education with a focus in Mathematics. I am also Montessori-certified.

My professional teaching career began in San José, California in 1988 in a third grade classroom. I soon moved to 2/3 combination classes and then spent four years team teaching in a Multiage 1-2-3 program. After ten years, I relocated to Magalia, in Butte County, where I worked with English learners and at-risk students in all elementary grades. I also taught GATE students, a 4/5 combination class, and a Kindergarten class, Before I retired in 2010, I spent two years teaching Art to Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students. For me, teaching Art was coming full circle.

Along with my classroom experience, I have written articles about teaching, maintained websites and blogs, and facilated workshops for teachers and parents, including presenting Art, Math, and Language workshops for teachers at the California Math Council's yearly conference at Asilomar in Monterey, and at the California Association of Bilingual Educators' yearly state conference in San José. I have also written lessons for Read-Write-Think and for Santillana USA Publishing.