Guiding Art, Blockbuilding, and Sensory Experiences Chapter 19 Guiding Art, Blockbuilding, and Sensory Experiences

The Importance of Art Experiences Art promotes: Physical- through the movements involved in painting, coloring, drawing, scribbling, and playing with clay Social- art experiences help children learn responsibility for example they must put on smocks before they paint Emotional- children can express their emotions through art. For example they can pound out clay, or scribble if they are feeling angry. Cognitive growth- is promoted by exploring, experimenting, and problem solving with many materials and tools.

Helping children during the art process is important however you must be careful to not become an “intruder” Children take their art very seriously so you must not take over their project. To foster independence start each session by telling the children what supplies are available It is best not to ask a student what they are making because sometimes they are just experimenting and they will not have an answer to that question. Your goal is to make the students feel successful and confident

Techniques for guiding art You must be CREATIVE in you approach to art A good art program allows children to express their ideas These experiences should involve the 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing.

Commenting on children’s artwork You are using a purple crayon What a nice yellow start you are making I love the lines you made These colors look happy Your work is so interesting

Stages of art skill development Scribble Stage Basic Forms Stage Pictorial Drawing Stage

Scribble stage 18 months – 3 years Motor control and hand eye coordination are not well developed yet They can make dots, lines and zigzags They often hold drawing tools with with their fist Hey appear to be drawing with every moving part of their body Their scribbles are by-products of the experience

Basic forms stage Between 3 and 4 years Children learn and recognize basic forms such as circles, rectangles and squares They have more control over their movements and better hand eye coordination They CAN control the size and shape of a line Children may begin to name their drawings

Pictorial drawing stage Between 4 and 5 years Children are able to draw marks that are representational of pictures They attempt to mimic their view of the world They begin to combine shapes to represent objects or people Drawings are often large and randomly placed Color is often unrealistic

Art Supplies and Tools Tempera paint Brushes Easels Crayons Chalk Felt tip markers Coloring books Paste Paper and painting surfaces Glue Cleanup tools Space and storage

Painting Activities Easel painting Finger painting String painting Mono painting Chalk painting Texture painting Salt painting Spice painting To learn what painting means to a child you must listen and watch. Children’s paintings change from simple dots and strokes to crude figures as they move through development Some children will enjoy using the tools and others will enjoy using their hands

Other types of art Molding – children enjoy the tactile appeal of play dough, plasticine and clay. They will poke, roll, stretch, pound, squeeze and tear the material. Cutting- children must get the opportunity to cut. This is an activity they really enjoy but often are not given the chance. Collages- means a selection of materials mounted on a flat surface Blockbuilding- blocks are an important learning tool for young children. Blockbuilding promotes all 4 of the Domains (Cognitive, Social, Emotional and Physical)

Stages of blockbuilding Stage one- 1-2 years -children will carry the blocks around Stage two - 2-3 yrs. -building begins Stage 3 – Bridging begins Stage 4 – square enclosures and naming can begin Stage 5 – 3-4 years- more intricate building occurs Stage 6 – Naming and adding in dramatic play (ex. Building a garage for toy cars) Stage 7 – By 5 years old children are engaged in representational play, they decide what they want to build before they start. Structures are symbolic and are used in dramatic play.

Displaying children’s work Children need to know that their artwork is valued Displaying their work shows that you value them and their development Bulletin boards are a great way to display the children’s work Bulletin boards are also an important way to convey information to parents

Sensory experiences Sand and water play are also called sensory experiences These activities can take place inside or outside This type of play fosters the children’s imaginations, creativity and experimentation Floating, pouring, fantasy, squirting and dribbling are all types of sensory play

woodworking Children enjoy woodworking activities Hammering is usually their first interest Promotes hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor development and creative expression It provides children with an emotional release and encourages them to experiment and develop problem solving skills

summary Art activities are important open ended learning experiences A good art program fosters independence Let the children decide when they are finished with a project Praise and display the children’s work There are three distinct stages or art that children move through It is the teachers job to guide all types of art experiences A variety of materials and opportunities must be given to children for them to benefit from art