ART

Your art center should provide opportunities for children to: experiment, explore, evaluate, collect, arrange, compose, construct, observe, enjoy, and design.

Art is important because it has the ability to make children feel good about themselves.The final product of an art activity is not important. What matters is that through art experiences children are allowed to show how they feel, think, and view the world. Art allows children to think and to refine their physical skills and it supports children's growth in all areas of development.

Some example of what children learn through art experinces:

Children Develop thinking skills by:

learning the properties of materials (felling the difference in the texture of velvet,, felt, sand paper, etc.)

identifying colors (mixing blue and yellow makes green)

observing cause-and effect ( poking a hole through a ball of clay or adding water to powdered paint)

labeling shapes and objects ( drawing a square and calling it a house)

learning to solve problems ( discovering how to balance objects on a mobile)

Children develop socially by:

learning to cooperate ( working together on a group mural)

learning to share ( waiting to have a turn at the easel)

learning to plan (deciding who will do what on a group project)

Children develop emotionally by:

experiencing pride ( completing a drawing, painting, or collage and showing the finished work)

expressing feelings (punching and pounding playdough or selecting colors to match their mood)

asserting independence (starting, completing, and cleaning up an art activity on one's own)

Children develop physically by:

practicing small muscle skills (coloring with markers, cutting with scissors or tearing paper for collages)

coordinating eye and hand movements (drawing shapes, fingerpainting)

To provide basic art experiences these are some of the items you should have on hand:

a variety of papers-sheets of paper cut into geometric shapes or free form shapes, sandpaper, brown paper bags, cardboard, newsprint, tissue paper, manila paper, paper plates, gift wrap paper, shelf paper, construction paper. copier paper, poster board.

brushes-all sizes

easels

Tempera paint- add ivory snow to it to improve the consistency and to make it easier to get out of clothes

fingerpaint-combine 1 cup liquid starch with 6 cups of water, 1 1/2 cup of soap flakes, and a few drops of food coloring

crayons, markers, chalk, colored pencils

clay and playdough

glue or paste

scissors

items to paint with besides brushes-sponges, cotton balls, cotton swabs, marbles, feathers, tongue depressors, straws, strings, fingers, toothbrush, vegetable brushes, string, and eye droppers

items for collages-acorns, leaves, feathers,, pebbles, magazine pictures, buttons, stickers, ribbons, wall paper scraps, confetti, shredded paper.

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