Art Around the Classroom
You may have noticed, the children do a lot of art during the year. When I go around, I’ve always got my eyes open…looking for what is new in the classroom. Just today I found myself admiring some table calendars the children from one of the Kindergarten classes have been working on as Tet gifts for their parents. While looking at them, one of the children proudly came up to me and said, “This one is mine.” She was so happy to introduce her work to me.
The children often put a lot of effort and concentration into their art and crafts. They enjoy creating artwork out of the raw materials that they are given…to see “something” come out of “nothing”.
It brings me great joy and personal satisfaction to see both the children and their teachers coming up with so many interesting art and craft projects.
Here at Koala House, it’s our goal as educators to help make art a joyful learning experience for the children, from the Sunshine age group right up to the Kindergarten children. We take interest in creating an environment where the children can take pleasure in applying paint to a model fire truck or pounding a lump of clay.
Talking With Children About Their Art (when they have brought it home)
When your child proudly shows you something s/he has made, how do you respond? What do you say? Unfortunately, over the years, I’ve heard some parents unwittingly discourage their children by judging their work with either false praise (“That’s wonderful” or “How nice”) or criticism (What’s that? …oh, that doesn’t look like a…your work is ugly…).
Let me help you out by making some simple suggestions for the next time your child brings home a picture or wants to show you a project s/he’s working on in the classroom.
When you comment or ask children about their work with art materials, you want to convey the following messages: “I’m aware of what you’re doing.” “I’m interested in your efforts and therefore in you.” “I will help you look closely at your own work.” “I appreciate your growing confidence.”
Rather than judging your child’s work, you can help them to become more aware of what they have done and help them to reflect on their work. Areas you can focus on include the following:
- Vocabulary development – learning words like texture, pastel, collage, etc.
- Concept development – shapes, colors, thick versus thin
Because so much of children’s art is experimentation, it’s not always easy to know what to say. For example, when presented with a painting of lines and squiggles, some parents might automatically say, “That’s pretty!” or ask, “What is that a picture of?” A much better approach is to ask such questions as “Can you tell me about your picture?” or “What did you enjoy about doing this?” These questions encourage children to talk about their creations without feeling judged.
Other things you can do when talking to your child about their art is as follows:
Describe what you see – “I see you used three colors …” “This line is long and this line is short…” “You used yellow and red to make your sun.”
Ask about the process – “How did you make that new color?” “What kind of brush did you use to create your (boat)?” “How long did it take you to make this…tell me the steps for making this…?”
Ask open-ended questions that encourage children to think and respond – “What were you thinking about when you were making this picture?” “What will happen if you mix these colors together?” “What do you think you might want to do differently the next time…?”
Use words that encourage and support the children’s efforts – “You sure made a lot of paintings today. Which one should we hang up on the wall?”
Darren Czeczuga.
Educational Consultant