How you view art and creative development will have a significant impact upon children’s development and self esteem. Art enables children to explore and make sense of their world, investigate, imagine, create and problem-solve. It enables children to make choices and achieve!
Your art area should be available every day with extensive choice of materials, both 2D and 3D for children to use and explore, including paint, glue, scissors, tape, paper, boxes, collage materials, twigs, wool, crepe paper – the list is never ending…..
Your role as practitioner is to explore these materials with the children, ask questions, discover and imagine… by assuming this role you will be encouraging the child’s creativity and imagination, their thinking skills and more importantly their sense of belonging and being and their self worth!
Art environments that are “set up” for a particular activity directed by an adult do not promote these skills and feelings, instead they create an environment full of art work that looks the same, with no real purpose or meaning.
Art is about self expression and creating from the point of view or perspective of the creator.. The child!
Next time you reflect upon your centre’s art / craft area ask yourself the following questions- “does this area provide children with extensive choice of material?” “is it available at all times of the day?” “are children’s ideas and perspectives encouraged or are they told what to make?” “is this a busy area?”
As Picasso once said… “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”
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