Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Letting kids experiment with art
One of the most important things I learned about art during my practicum was to let kids experiment with art (and really with everything). Because I was in Grade One, we had quite a bit of centre time every week and while some students went to the lego every time, lots went to the art centre and made things with paper and markers, tape, glue, yarn, pipe cleaners and anything else they could find. When we used paper plates with our counters in math (during a carpet math lesson) the first thing they wanted to do after the lesson was make something out if their paper plates. And when the kleenex box was empty a few wanted to make something out of that and they worked together to turn it into a dog (with popsicle stick legs). I think learning through play is important and experimentation should augment formal art lessons so that kids do not lose the imaginative creativity they are born with.
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I was in kindergarten for my practicum Nicole, so there was a lot of centre time too! We had a 'make-it' centre with random supplies so the students could make whatever they wanted. It was really neat to see how each student used their imagination differently! I asked my CT what I could bring for the make-it centre and she laughed and told me anything that you or I would never think of re-using, the kids will love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, what can be better than free play time and kids with imagination...and paper plates and toilet paper rolls, etc! lol
ReplyDeleteAhhh...I missed a great opportunity to have a "make-it" centre in our 406 class this year! Hmmm...wonder how we could fit that in?
ReplyDeleteThat's my favourite kind of art for kids, when you just give them the supplies and let them go at it. They almost always come up with far more creative ideas than I ever could anyways. That's what I do in my kids' program. It really increases ownership too. They are making the creative decisions, rather than just copying your sample.
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