Class Info
Your child has a lot of time and pride invested in their work. Take a moment to celebrate their accomplishments. Here are a few questions you could ask when they bring art projects home:
- What did you use to make your project?
- How did you make it?
- What is one thing you learned?
- How long did it take you to make it?
- What is your favorite thing about your work?
- Did you give your art work a title? What is it?
- Where should we display it?
Please do not send your student(s) in their best clothes on art days! We have art shirts available to wear, but paint and ink has a sneaky way of getting around and under the art shirts. Some materials we use in art may leave stain on fabric.
- Here is the schedule for art classes:
- Tuesdays: Early Childhood (Ms. Bell& Mrs. Demirtas and Mrs. French &Ms. Campbell) Lower Elementary (Ms. Brandon)
- Thursdays: Lower elementary (Mrs. Brown& Mrs. Safri) Upper elementary (Mrs. Bradfield & Mrs. Sohani)
- Wednesdays: Middle school
Why Art?
Art has traditionally been an important part of Montessori classroom. According to Dr. Maria Montessori artistic activity is a form of reasoning, in which perceiving and thinking are indivisible intertwined. A person who paints, writes, composes, dances… thinks with his sense…Genuine art work requires organization which involves many and perhaps all of the cognitive operations known from theoretical thinking.
Children should be involved in both making their own art and enjoying the art of others. Making art and enjoying the art of other people and cultures are very important to the development of the whole child. Our curriculum includes activities that will help children develop their cognitive, social, and motor abilities.
Art and Socio-Emotional Development
Young children feel a sense of emotional satisfaction when they are involved in making art, whether they are modeling with clay, drawing with crayons, or making a collage from recycled scraps. This satisfaction comes from the control children have over the materials they use and the autonomy they have in the decisions they make. Deciding what they will make and what materials they will use may be the first opportunity children have to make independent choices and decisions.
Making art also builds children's self-esteem by giving them opportunities to express what they are thinking and feeling. When children participate in art activities with classmates, the feedback they give to each other builds self-esteem by helping them learn to accept criticism and praise from others. Small group art activities also help children practice important social skills like taking turns, sharing, and negotiating for materials.
Art and Cognitive Development
For very young children, making art is a sensory exploration activity. They enjoy the feeling of a crayon moving across paper and seeing a blob of colored paint grow larger. Activities centering around making art also require children to make decisions and conduct self-evaluations. Child artists have to make least four decisions during activity. First, they decide what they will portray in their art—a person, a tree, a dragon. Second, they choose the media they will use, the arrangement of objects in their work, and the perspective viewers will take. Children decide next how quickly or how slowly they will finish their project, and finally, how they will evaluate their creation. Most often, children evaluate their artwork by thinking about what they like and what other people tell them is pleasing.
Art and Motor Development
While making art, young children develop control of large and small muscle groups. The large arm movements required for painting or drawing on large paper on the floor build coordination and strength. The smaller movements of fingers, hands, and wrists required to cut with scissors, model clay, or draw or paint on smaller surfaces develop fine motor dexterity and control. With repeated opportunities for practice, young children gain confidence in their use of tools for making art and later for writing. Making art also helps children develop eye-hand coordination. As children decide how to make parts fit together into a whole, where to place objects, and what details to include, they learn to coordinate what they see with the movements of their hands and fingers. This eye-hand coordination is essential for many activities, including forming letters and spacing words in formal writing.
7 WAYS TO PRESERVE YOUR CHILD’S MASTERPIECES
In school, kids are encouraged to create, draw, color, paint and build. These activities can certainly stimulate children, and help them grow.
Very often, these masterpieces that your children create are brought home and proudly displayed. But what do you do when all of the artwork begins to take over your home? Here are 7 great ideas:
- FIND THE DIAMONDS. Rather than keeping every single piece of artwork your child creates, sit down with your child on a regular basis and ask him to choose the one or two he likes best. By the end of the year, you should have no more than 5 pieces of artwork that your child believes to be his 'best' pieces. This will help keep the artwork under control, and will still give you an opportunity to save his creations for future memories.
- A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. Take photos of the artwork that your child creates and keep these photos in a scrapbook. This way, even if the artwork is discarded for space purposes, you'll still have the memory!
- KIDS FILE STORAGE BOX. Office supply stores carry portable file boxes that hold hanging file folders. These generally have a cover and a handle for easy portability. Help your child create her very own filing system. Perhaps one file folder for 2nd grade artwork, one for 3rd grade artwork, and so on. Now, all the drawings, and any type of artwork that lays flat, will be kept safe and organized. You'll even be teaching your child filing skills! It's never too early!
- KEEP IT CONTAINED. For other artwork that does not lay flat, the perfect container may be a large, plastic container with a lid. Your child will have a space for shadowboxes, and other artwork that won't fit into a file folder. Again, be choosy. If you keep every single piece of artwork your child brings home for the next 15 years, your house is going to be overflowing with it.
- HANG IT. Get your child his very own artwork bulletin board so he can display his favorite artwork in his Bedroom. When organized on a nice cork board, this really adds a nice touch to a child's room. Plus, your child can very easily switch one piece of art, with another.
- SUPPLY MANIA. If your child produces a lot of artwork at home, she probably has tons of crayons, markers and other art supplies. Keep it all in a portable box, light enough for your child to be able to transport it from one room into the next. In addition, separate and organize the supplies into separate Zip-lock baggies before putting them in the box. This will keep everything organized and easily accessible.
- THE PERFECT GIFT. Kids artwork makes the perfect gift for grandma, grandpa, sister Jane, Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim, and so on. Rather than buying gifts for your child to give to family members, encourage them to give their creations away as special gifts to special people.