Art invites us to let out our creativity and imagination. Throughout life, creating marks, writing, drawing, and putting together art pieces to create a masterpiece represents what we think, feel, or have inside. Artsy Thursday gives you the opportunity to do just that—explore materials, get inspired, and work with your children to create a unique art piece.
Continue readingCreative Art Expression
FunShine Tells: The Purpose Behind Creative Arts
It is well known that children are interested in colors, textures, shiny objects, etc. These materials arouse curiosity in them and a desire to explore in depth. This is why crafts and different expressions of art tend to be attractive activities for children. But what is the purpose behind art and those shiny colors? What is behind those interesting textures and materials?
Arts and crafts awaken creativity, ideas, strategies, and ways of thinking in children that help them see the ideas in their minds become a tangible reality. From the moment a child is presented with all these materials, guided by ideas and suggestions, and the moment the child holds the first material, say a crayon, a pom, or a piece of paper, their brain gets stimulated, sending and receiving multiple messages that prompt them to create.
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10 Outdoor Pretend Play Ideas for Summer
by Katie Brazerol
Pretend play is fundamental to children’s development. During pretend play, children practice and try out new skills. Pretend play gives children an outlet to explore and process feelings. Taking pretend play outside can inspire children in new ways. The outdoor environment lends itself to new curiosities and different challenges. Outdoor pretend play may also enable you to incorporate props that may be hard to manage inside and leave children’s constructions set up in ways you cannot always accommodate. Head outside and celebrate summer by offering one or more of the following pretend play ideas: Continue reading
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STEAM Series: Applying A
The A in STEAM
The A in STEAM stands for Art. Art in STEAM helps little ones learn and think creatively, encourages children to appreciate the arts in many different forms, helps with self-expression, helps with exploration of emotions, increases cultural awareness, develops fine motor skills, and helps with problem-solving. Art can be encouraged in play and in hands-on, open ways. Art in STEAM mainly focuses on process and freestyle art. However, not all programs can incorporate process art all the time, so there can be moments to create more craft types of art. Art also includes music, dance, and pretend/dramatic play. Art can be incorporated into many other elements of STEAM.
Here are 9 easy Art ideas for your setting:
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Using Documentation Panels to Showcase Children’s Experiences
Documentation is a powerful tool in the early childhood classroom. Put simply, documentation is any evidence collected over a period of time that describes, narrates, or demonstrates a child’s experience. Documentation can involve teacher and parent notes, a child’s drawings and dictations, and recordings/photos of an event or interaction. Such evidence allows for parents, teachers, children, and other stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions about children’s learning and growing.
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