Art in schools nurtures creative expression for children.
Art is an important part of a balanced and well-rounded curriculum for school children. For young learners, painting and using hand-eye coordination is an integral part of motor skill development. Learning to appreciate art brings greater awareness to the importance of expressing oneself and also builds self-esteem. Make art lessons engaging and exciting by appealing to kids' creative instincts.
Painting
Spark excitement in high art by drawing inspiration from famous masters. Introduce the color wheel by talking about primary and complementary colors. Explain mix paints to create new colors. With very young children, it is sometimes best to have them make a color palette before painting a picture. Create a worksheet or a class project where the students must mix watercolors to make the colors in the order of the color wheel.
Alternatively, introduce them to simple landscapes by famous artists. Use an easy history lesson and show them pictures of Monet's "Waterlilies." During application time, ask them to create their own landscapes using watercolors. Use matte card paper so paint does not slide off and make sure to line the table with plastic drop cloths as watercolors soak paper. Painting with brushes also allows for motor skill development and improves hand-eye coordination in small children.
Collage
Art projects that reinforce concepts about color and shape are vital to young learners' development. Abstract collage promotes these ideas and also creates a project that is beautiful, regardless of the ability level of the child. If you have a scrap paper bin in your classroom, dig it out for collage time and have kids search through it for colors they like. Students tear paper or use safety scissors to get the shapes they want for their pictures. Give each child a half sheet of card stock paper and a glue stick and have them glue random shapes to the paper. When they have covered the entire paper with the colored scraps, paint over it with decoupage or liquid glue to make it hard.
For a more structured activity, encourage students to arrange colors in a certain shape or use inspiration from nature or a class topic -- the main goal is to create something beautiful. Tissue or crepe paper is also a very good material for collages, as are old magazines and newspapers. If your class is older and able to use scissors, let them search through magazines or newspapers to find pictures they like or words to make a poem. Using the same collage technique, vary the activities to suit the age and ability of the class.
Sculpture
Discuss the history of sculpture with your class by introducing appropriate pieces from Roman times or ancient pottery. Talk your class through the process of making a sculpture, from quarrying the rock to carving with a hammer and chisel. Demonstrate sculpture by making ceramic projects with your class, such as coil clay pots. Rolling coils helps youngsters practice their motor skills and forming a pot is a simple project at the end of the unit. If your class is too young to use clay, use a homemade salt-flour dough instead.
Crafting
Art lessons of any kind are greatly enhanced by craft time. Using everyday objects to create works of art helps encourage imagination in the classroom. For instance, turn an empty paper towel roll into a rocket ship by covering it with construction paper and silver foil. Crafts also help make dull topics exciting for kids; for example, if the unit is about food groups or plants, use fruits, vegetables and leaves for simple printmaking by painting them and stamping them on paper.
