Author: bztat

Mia Meow has been visiting preschool classes this week…

 

Mia Meow has been visiting preschool classes this week, learning about shapes and patterns. I shared this painting of her and had the children help me tell her story. Not only did they discover the pattern in the rays of the sun, they had a lot of fun chanting, “Oh, my! Oh my! Mia Meow!”

Mia Meow Cat Character Children's book by artist BZTATMia Meow was a curious cat.

Oh, my! Oh my! Mia Meow!

Mia Meow was an artist’s cat.

Oh, my! Oh my! Mia Meow!

Mia Meow thought she was all that.

Oh, my! Oh my! Mia Meow!

Mia Meow, what a silly little cat!

Lesson: Today, Mia Meow is wondering, what is that big thing up in the sky? The center is round, and it has pointy things all around it. The center is a (CIRCLE) and it is colored (YELLOW). The pointy things are (TRIANGLES) and some are colored (RED) and some are colored (ORANGE). She noticed that there was a pattern to the triangles. There was a red triangle, then an orange triangle then a red one and then an orange one again. “Wow!” said Mia. “I found a pattern!”

Oh, my! Oh my! Mia Meow!

Mia decided to draw a picture of the big thing up in the sky, making a circle, and coloring in the triangles around it with the repeating pattern.

What is that big thing up in the sky that Mia discovered? What shapes did she find? What colors are the shapes? Can you find the pattern in the triangles?

Mia Meow would love it if you made a picture like hers! (Adults can find a sun pattern template via Google images to use). Can you make a pattern like the one Mia Meow found?

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Meow!

Mia Meow Children's Book Cat Character by BZTAT

Welcome to the new site for Mia Meow!

Mia Meow is a character that I have created based on my real live cat of that name. I created her character to help me as a teaching artist with children.

As an artist, I have been contracted through various schools and arts organizations to do what is called “arts integration”, which is using art to enhance academic learning. I have found that children enjoy learning more when they can engage with a character and a story, so I created Mia’s character for that purpose.

So far, I have used Mia’s character with one 4th grade science class, and the kids have absolutely loved her! We are in the process of writing and illustrating a book about land forms, and not only are they learning about the science, they are creating memorable images and stories as a collaborative project. Their joy in the process of learning and creating with Mia Meow as their inspiration is nothing short of amazing!

I wanted to share my journey in creating the character, and I also wanted to share the products that develop out of the process. I developed this site to chronicle mine and Mia’s adventures as we grow in this process.

I am not sure where this journey will lead, but I do have some big ideas. For starters, I am planning an illustrated book for children about Mia, and I am planning to create resources for teachers to enhance learning for their students.

Want to join us? We would love to have you along for the journey! Stay tuned – there are many adventures ahead for this curious little cat!

Life is an adventure!

BZTAT