Young at Art

Let’s talk about art at home and in the preschool classroom. You know all those scribbles that your child brings home on a daily basis, those scribbles are the beginning stages of writing. The young child begins with making marks, then shapes, designs, letters and then words. Pretty awesome don’t you think? The making of art and appreciating art is a very important part of a child’s development and their preschool curriculum. Art is important for the development of the whole child. It focuses on developmental goals such as thinking, feeling, relating, and coordinating.

Art should mainly be process art. No instruction, no sample and no right or wrong. Unlike product art where children are instructed what to do, a sample is shown, and there is a right or wrong, and sometimes the teacher may correct mistakes, process art takes planning, problem solving and feeling. Making choices on their own develops self-confidence and builds self-esteem. In my preschool our art was mainly process art but we did throw in a few “parent pleases”, now and again.

In our Pre-K classes we always included the study of master artists. We set up a still life in the classroom of Van Gough’s Sunflowers, it was amazing what the children produced. We studied different styles of art and they could recognize a Mondrian and an Andy Warhol just to name a few. We talked about primary colors and mixing colors. Think this was over their heads? They got it! It was so thrilling to see these young children experience that ‘Aha’ moment. This is knowledge they will have all their lives.

Children’s art should be displayed in the home. Check out Pintrest, there are some very cleaver ways to do this. When a child shows you their art don’t ask,”What is it?” A better approach would be to say, “Tell me about what you made.” Comment on the colors, and the design. Their art should be treated like little treasures, expressions of who they are.

Art Paints a Pretty Picture