Post Oak’s J-Term Wraps Up Nicely

Since The Post Oak School heavily emphasizes student-lead exploration and real-world experiences, each year just after winter break (J-Term) and just after spring break (A-Term), students, with staff supervision and guidance, embark on a two-week-long educational deep dive into a subject of their choice. This can be almost anything, from travelling to another country to learning about the history of art cars while also getting to make one yourself.

The art car J-Term seemed most appealing to me, as I had been curious about this culture in which people decorate their vehicles with all kinds of objects. Over the two-week time period, the art car group would get the opportunity to watch a movie about the history of art cars and why people participate in this unique activity today, we’d get to visit places around Houston to see other art cars, and we’d get to decorate our very own art car. In addition, before winter break, the group decided on a theme for the car. Although this was difficult to do at first, as the group had many ideas, it was ultimately decided that the theme would be forest floor, with an emphasis on mushrooms. 

During the first week, the group painted the car with two layers of forest green paint, so the car would further blend in where objects had not been placed. We also spent a considerable two days carving mushrooms, which would be painted the following week. Although this task of carving, priming, painting, and decorating the mushrooms took three days in total, it ultimately proved fruitful, as the mushrooms came out looking vibrant. The group then spent the remaining days of the second and final week decorating the car with all the mushrooms, as well as fake moss, rocks, and even a fake snake that had been purchased from Amazon. 

Overall, this experience was enjoyable, as it allowed everyone some time to ease back into the second semester of school while also doing a fun and creative project. While this course was not the most intense or arduous course offered this January, it was certainly one of the most fun, and I definitely recommend it to future students at Post Oak.