9am Wonder Arts: Oil Pastels, Clay, and FingerPainting

I tried to teach my child with books,

He gave me puzzled looks.

I tried to teach my child with words,

they passed him by, often unheard.

Desparingly, I turned aside,

"How should I teach this child?", I cried!

Into my hands, he put the key,

"Come", he said "Come play with me!"

-Anonymous

We began this week's class with oil pastels. Oil pastels are a wonderful medium for a toddler new to "drawing". They are easy to hold and the bold colors that appear without much strength or pressure create a feeling of satisfaction in the child.
Notice she is paying close attention to the pastels before she gets started. Children show us the beauty in a material before they even use it. Luckily, they have no frame of reference for the medium and they are free to discover it's "possibilities".
I love teaching Toddlers because everything is so new to them. If we are able to hold back our own expectations, they often show us how to be creative and "artistic".

In an article, Children's Art Must be Child Produced, by Suzanne Gellens,
she states that "Art must be the child's own work from beginning to end. An adult's hands should never touch the artwork. If a child can't cut it out, then the task is too difficult for that child. The art must meet the child's developmental level and offer a risk-free environment where the child can create."

This is indeed the type of atmosphere I try to create for young children! Suzanne further states, "Since there is no right or wrong to an open-ended art program, children gain confidence, and they experience joy at the creative expression."

"Sometimes young children ask adults to draw for them. The act of drawing for a child gives an unspoken message, "I'm glad you asked me to draw for you because you don't draw very well." It makes the child dependent on the adult and sets the child up for failure. There is no way the child can, on her own, make a picture at the same level as the adult; therefore children give up and don't try to draw. "

Suzanne Gellens

Kathleen Bailer lists 5 Developmental stages of art:

1. Exploratory (Children explore the art material itself using their senses, how does it feel, taste, smell, sound, and what is it capable of doing?)
2. Energy (Children have a basic understanding of the art medium and use it very energetically.)
3. Shape Stage (As the child's visual-motor coordination increases, shapes begin to emerge.)
4. Design Stage (As they master shapes, they begin to intentionally create well thought out designs)
5. Representation Stage (the child begins to make the people, animals, and objects in their world.)

The clay was set out this week as two big blocks. The children created many ways to interact with it. Lots of joyfulness in these faces (the grown-ups too)!

I'm always reminding myself (with my own daughter) the importance of giving children time to observe. We say we want them to have a long attention span, but how often do we "hurry" them along and tell them (not in so many words... but basically), "Don't take the time to think about this, just jump right in." Then when they are 16 we will hear ourselves say, "Why didn't you think about what you were doing first?"

He says, "Ball" !!

"G" wants to explore what will happen if I put some clay into the water?

What a look of pride!

I love to look back upon these pictures and see the "Story" that took place for each child. When you are in the moment of the class, it's hard to see what connections each child might be making. For some of the children, it's all about using the senses, for some it's a social adventure, and for others, it's a time for wonder and reflection.

Enjoy!