The Bell Winter 2022

Teacher Spotlight

Lynn Groothuis

“The world needs the beauty you create–whether it’s cooking, gardening, painting, or sculpting. You were created to create beautiful things.”

These words of wisdom come straight from the heart of Lynn Groothuis, ZCS Art Program pioneer. Lynn began teaching at Zeeland Christian straight out of college in 1988, and she has shared her passion for creativity with countless students since. When she started her career at ZCS, Lynn taught 4th and 5th grade for five years. Then in 1993, Lynn developed the art program, aspiring to build a rigorous curriculum designed to engage students in experiences so they could express themselves visually. If you’ve walked the halls of ZCS at any point over the years, you’ve likely caught a glimpse of Lynn’s vision coming alive–beautiful displays of student art grace the walls in nearly every hallway.

Lynn looks forward to teaching students about French painter Henri Matisse as part of her curriculum. “I love to tell how, even though he was called a beast for painting with such loud colors, he stayed true to his art and himself,” Lynn says. “Matisse is considered the father of Fauvism (which means beast in French). Later in life, Matisse could not use his legs and was no longer able to paint. He reinvented himself as a cut paper artist and kept creating until his death. I love telling his inspirational story and creating works in his style!”

Lynn prioritizes her role to cultivate each child’s identity as an artist. “Art class is simply training what is already within every learner by our creator God,” she shares. With this in mind, Lynn recounts an exchange between two lower-elementary students that she’d place “at the top of all teaching moments.”

“I want to be an artist when I grow up!” one student remarked to another. Their classmate, capturing the essence of Lynn’s heart and message for every student, replied, “But remember? You already are! Do you mean that you just want to go pro?”

Lynn thinks of creation as “God’s beautiful, artistic gift to us.” She loves to teach students that when they capture the essence of a part of creation on paper or canvas, they are really giving love back to God. Lynn appreciates how art “keeps the flow of love moving.” A painting of a flower or a summer scene isn’t limited to a season but is something everyone can enjoy all winter long.

When Lynn reflects on her choice to teach at Zeeland Christian, she recalls, “I chose ZCS because in the interview we all laughed a lot, and I knew I was going to love teaching with that group of people.” Years later, Lynn still enjoys her role. Asked about her favorite tradition or celebration at Zeeland Christian, Lynn thoughtfully replies, “It’s not a tradition, per se, but I love the culture of embracing failure at ZCS. Within this mindset, the fertile soil of creativity gives way to enormous growth. I believe my students thrive because the message of taking a risk is consistent and celebrated.”

“I look forward to the opportunity to engage students in creating every day,” Lynn shares. “I love making the content of learning rich with rigor and full of experience. It is such a joy to see students’ joy and watch them work to make something beautiful.” Lynn enjoys collecting interesting driftwood as a fun art activity. She has made a rainbow trout, a heron, and a moose out of single pieces that just spoke to her–right off the beach. Lynn lives with her husband, John, and they have two grown sons and a daughterin-law. They are all avid golfers and love to hike and travel together.