Visual Art How to Guide Art Experiences

Importance of Art Experiences Promotes physical growth through movements involved in painting, coloring, drawing, and scribbling, etc. Promotes social growth by helping children learn responsibility, such as putting on a smock before painting

Importance of Art Experiences, cont’d Promotes emotional growth through allowing children to communicate feelings nonverbally Promotes cognitive growth through exploring, experimenting, and problem-solving with many materials and tools

Techniques for Guiding Art Experiences Incorporate open-ended art materials, which are supplies that can be used in many ways Encourage children to try out supplies they have never used; helps foster independence Let children decide when their work is finished

Techniques for Guiding Art Experiences Offer feedback to children about their work Ask questions carefully, as children may feel uneasy if they lack language skills Always focus on process when commenting on their work Ex. “Your work has interesting lines.” Ex. “What a nice yellow star you’re making.”

Choosing Colors Color doesn’t play an important role in preschool art Often no relationship between the colors chosen and objects in artwork Children choose colors they like Ex. Apple may be painted bright pink or an elephant red

Stages of Art Development Scribble Stage 15 - 18 months to 3-years-old Children’s motor control and hand-eye coordination are not well developed yet Make dots, lines, multiple lines, zigzags May appear to draw with every part of their body

Stages of Art Development Scribble Stage To help . . . Make them aware of their movements Comment on how hard they press their pencils How hard they move their pencils

Stages of Art Development Basic Forms Stage 3- to 4-years-old Learn and recognize basic form of shapes Can control size and shape of line because of increased hand-eye coordination Begin to make connection between their movements and the marks they make

Stages of Art Development Pictorial Drawing Stage 4- to 5-years-old Able to draw marks that are representational of pictures Objects are randomly placed, colors unrealistic Humans are first drawn with a circle for a head and lines for limbs

Stages of Art Development Pictorial Drawing Stage Eventually human figures include a torso with lines for arms and limbs and pictures such as tress, cars, animals are added Drawings of animals start to appear

Tempera Paint Has a slight odor and tastes chalky Can be both liquid and powdered; liquid is more expensive Should be a consistency of a thick cream Can be made daily if not able to store Bentonite, a thickening agent, can be added to help reduce costs

Brushes Should range from ½” to 1” wide Youngest children should use widest brushes until small muscle coordination improves String, cotton swabs, sponges, feathers, can also be used to apply paint

Easels Brushes and paint should be placed in attached tray Clamps/ hooks at top should be used to hold paper in place Height of easel should be adjusted so children do not need to stretch or stoop

Crayons, Chalk, and Felt Tip Markers Harder to use than paint because they need to be pushed hard with small muscles that are not well-developed Consider buying kindergarten-size crayons Buy washable markers Remind kids to replace caps

Paper and Painting Surfaces Many types of paper and painting surfaces can be used: Sandpaper - Waxed paper Foil - Shelf paper Butcher Paper - Magazines Egg cartons - Paper bags Tissue - Crepe paper Wall paper - Wrapping paper Boxes and tubes

Coloring Books Studies show that coloring books have a negative effect on children’s creativity by blocking their creative impulses Avoid relying heavily on them for kids under 6 Can cause children to become doubtful and self-conscious about their talents

Glue Liquid white glue is the best and more permanent than paste Difficult to clean-up so kids should wear smocks and newspaper should be put on tables

Clean-up Tools, Space and Storage Small buckets, sponge mops, and various sizes of sponges are best Store materials in individual containers – clear and plastic are best

Easel Painting For young children, provide large sheets of newsprint, as it helps encourage large muscles Teach children how to use the paintbrush As kids gain skill, give them smaller brushes and pieces of paper to work with

Finger Painting Is a sensory experience Promotes expression and release of feelings Requires more supervision than most painting activities Can be made with pudding, soap flakes whipped with water, partially-set flavored gelatin, shaving cream

Other Types of Painting String painting Slide yarn through the paint and across piece of paper Mono painting Finger paint on paper, place new piece of paper on top of it and then pull apart Chalk painting Dip chalk into water and draw on construction paper

Other Types of Painting Texture painting Add sand, sawdust, coffee grounds to tempera paint Salt painting Add tempera paint to salt and shake on top of paper that has been painted with glue Spice painting Add water to glue, paint on paper, and shake spices on top

Molding Play dough, Plasticene, and clay are open-ended art materials that can be molded and formed Help stimulate the imagination and allow children freedom to change their minds Clay should be stored in plastic bag to prevent drying Play dough is soft and pliable, and has softer texture than clay Plasticene is an oil-based modeling compound and doesn’t dry out

Cutting At first children just snip in a straight line Once hand-eye coordination improves they may begin to cut curves Have children work with one type of paper so they get comfortable with the tools

Collages Means a selection of materials mounted on a flat surface Two-dimensional arrangements of many materials Gives kids a chance to make choices Collages also introduce many materials of contrasting colors and textures

Process Art These activities should be child-centered, open-ended, and explorative in nature Try to institute a hands-off policy during process art activities; allow children to experiment with the process at hand Examples: watercolors, play clay, finger paints, collage, cutting with scissors, gluing

Product Art Include art activities that will have a specific finished result These projects often look very similar from child to child and do not encourage creativity or artistic expression Do not allow child to experiment with materials or make decisions for him/herself Examples: coloring pages, a photocopied picture to be painted, or any “cookie cutter” project