{"id":791,"date":"2019-01-29T08:16:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T13:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/?p=791"},"modified":"2019-01-29T08:16:36","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T13:16:36","slug":"artful-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/29\/artful-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Artful Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Alex Chiu<\/p>\n

Winter is an especially opportune time to delve into the wonderful world of art with children. Time spent outdoors is sometimes more limited than in warmer seasons, and families often look for creative activities to do together at home. While Maria Montessori did not create specific Montessori materials for art activities as she did with the materials she developed for other areas in the curriculum, there are many Montessori-inspired ways to bring art into your child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Montessori classrooms usually have an inviting Art area with shelves that contain activities where children can focus on one skill at a time, and then gradually move on to other activities that require combining several skills. For example, you might find cutting work on the Art shelf. Children choose strips of paper that they may cut any way they wish, or they might select a strip of paper which has lines (curvy, straight, horizontal, zig zag) where they practice cutting in different ways and at different skill levels. Another work might focus on gluing. Children learn the proper way to squeeze and apply glue to adhere smaller pieces of paper in a variety of shapes and colors (maybe even those which were part of the previously mentioned cutting work) to a larger piece of paper. Here they learn about paper collage, what to do if you squeeze too much glue, and especially about cleaning up thoroughly so there\u2019s not a sticky table left behind after they are done! Color mixing is another favorite art work. You might find children mixing two different paint colors at an easel to discover the surprise of creating a whole new color, or using eye droppers filled with different colors of water to drop onto a coffee filter for the same purpose in a different medium.<\/p>\n

These are but a few of the many activities children explore in the Art area of their classrooms. And while each has its own unique purpose of learning a specific skill, they all share the common purpose of helping children learn to follow multiple steps in preparing, performing, and cleaning up their work. In addition, the activities found in the Art area also aid in the development of hand-eye coordination, concentration, and organization. In this way, the art activities promote skill development the children will need in all other areas of the classroom from Language to Math and more.<\/p>\n

In addition, many teachers find a way to connect and enhance their curriculum, especially their Cultural studies, with special art activities. For example, when studying Asia, children may have the opportunity to try using a stylus to write symbols in the same manner used by Chinese calligraphers. Or if there is a theme related to Native Americans, the children might have an opportunity to make their own pinch pots with clay or practice threading small beads onto string or wire. Classes often study famous authors and artists, and teachers may supplement art materials so that children can create their own masterpieces in the style of Van Gogh\u2019s \u201cStarry Night” with oil paints and swirling motions, Picasso\u2019s cubist portraits with their own faces as the subjects of their work, or illustrate their own stories with tissue paper designs modeled after an Eric Carle book.<\/p>\n

The options for art are endless, and these ideas are easily transferred to doing art in your own homes as well. But before you begin, remember that as with all Montessori lessons, it\u2019s all about the preparation and the process. Be sure to have supplies for whatever art activity you engage in complete and ready for use before you begin. Also, consider investing in some better quality art supplies, including paper, scissors, paintbrushes, etc. Artist-quality colored pencils often last longer than the cheaper varieties which easily break and cause frustration. Introduce your child to the materials with enthusiasm, let them know you support their creativity, and then let their inner artists emerge.<\/p>\n

It is equally important to have the necessary clean-up supplies on hand and provide instruction on what is expected for the clean-up (keeping in mind what is age appropriate) when they are done. Your children will see the connection with doing art activities at home with what they do at school, as they set up a workspace, have the required materials to do the work, participate in the work, and then clean up the workspace. Keep these same expectations for home art activities, and be impressed by how well your children complete each step!<\/p>\n

Here are just a few fun and inspirational art activities you might like to try at home:
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u2022 Disappearing Artwork<\/strong>: If you\u2019re hesitant about the mess that is sometimes involved with art, this might be a good one to begin with! Provide your children with a small lap-size chalkboard (often sold at Dollar Stores). Then, using a paintbrush dipped in water, your children can create their masterpieces and watch as they magically disappear before their eyes!
\n\u2022 Recycled Sculptures:<\/strong> Using items that you might normally throw into your recycling bin, allow your child access to tape, paper towel rolls, used dryer sheets, tissue boxes, paper scraps, cereal containers, and more to create their own unique sculptures. They could build cities, robots, doghouses, or anything else their imaginations may think of, as the possibilities are endless.
\n\u2022 Impressive Impressionism:<\/strong> Put a small amount of different colors of paint into the spaces of an empty egg carton. Instead of a paintbrush, have your child use cotton swabs to make a masterpiece of dots in the style of Monet or another Impressionist. Consider using 5×7-sized paper so the work isn\u2019t too overwhelming.
\n\u2022 Collage Creations:<\/strong> Find a use for old buttons, ribbon, or wrapping paper remnants, or even stale cereal, inexpensive lentils, or dried beans by letting your child create a one-of-a-kind collage. You could even allow your child to experiment with which type of glue works better for different types of material. Offer a glue stick and also regular school glue to have your child compare which is more successful for his or her project.
\n\u2022 Observational Drawing<\/strong>: Provide your child with a small notebook and some high quality colored pencils, and then invite him or her to look out the window and focus on one object to draw. Or let your child pick an item from nature\u2014a seashell, pinecone, twig, or leaf, perhaps\u2014and encourage some time observing the object carefully and using the pencils to illustrate what your child sees.
\n\u2022 Crazy Crayons:<\/strong> Together with your child, remove the paper casing from several different colored crayons. Show your child that the color can be made using the tip, the flat top, or even the side of the crayon. Let your child experiment with the different effects each method creates. This is also a good activity for expressing emotions. Your child can use the crayon lightly, frantically, smoothly, strongly, and see that each different way of pressing the crayon on the paper can reflect a different \u2018emotion\u2019 of the crayon, and the artist too.<\/p>\n

This is just a tiny sampling of the many types of art adventures you could have at home. Whatever you choose to explore, remember that in addition to learning a variety of skills, art can be an incredibly useful outlet for expressing emotions and a way to simply do something that makes your child feel joy.<\/p>\n

Also, keep in mind that for most children, art is about the process<\/em>, not the product. To them, the manipulating of materials and taking the time for exploring them in a variety of ways is the focus. Try to keep activities very open-ended and don\u2019t be discouraged if once the activity is completed, your child simply wants to throw the artwork away! The work has served its purpose for your child\u2014the process of doing and creating. Be careful to keep this in mind, rather than thinking about an \u2018end product\u2019 or expecting their creations to look a certain way. You can secretly collect the artwork from the trash to save for yourself without your child even knowing, if you really want to!<\/p>\n

Resources for this article include<\/em>:
\nhttps:\/\/www.montessoriservices.com\/ideas-insights\/art-in-the-montessori-environment<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/theartofeducation.edu\/content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Montessori-Art-Overview.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alex Chiu Winter is an especially opportune time to delve into the wonderful world of art with children. Time spent outdoors is sometimes more limited than in warmer seasons, and families often look for creative activities to do together at home. While Maria Montessori did not create specific Montessori materials for art activities as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[205,10,47,144,54,78,145,147,9],"coauthors":[13],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7icff-cL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/01\/110-years-of-montessori\/","url_meta":{"origin":791,"position":0},"title":"110 Years of Montessori","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"March 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Montessori schools around the world are celebrating Montessori Education Week this week. Parents and visitors to The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy (MCA) will notice festive banners on display at our schools and an excited buzz in the air as we begin this week-long celebration in honor of Dr. Montessori and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Events"","block_context":{"text":"Special Events","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/special-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MONTESSORI CHILDRENS ACADEMY","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/MEW-cover-photo.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":522,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/26\/the-language-of-montessori\/","url_meta":{"origin":791,"position":1},"title":"The Language of Montessori","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"September 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By:\u00a0 Alex Chiu If your family is new to Montessori, you might think you hear your child speaking a \u2018new language\u2019 when he or she returns home from school each day. As the children are learning their new classroom routines, they are also learning some of the terminology unique to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/wordcloud-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1304,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/12\/understanding-montessori-math\/","url_meta":{"origin":791,"position":2},"title":"Understanding Montessori Math","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"June 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Arati Joshi, Early Childhood Head Teacher \u201cChildren display a universal love of mathematics,which is par excellence the science of precision, order, and intelligence.\u201d~ Maria Montessori Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori Method of Education, believed that a child is born with a \u201cmathematical mind\u201d. 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