toddler and Early Childhood students
For young children, open ended art provides unlimited possibilities for creativity and concentration. Rather than provide detailed instructions or coloring books, offer different mediums like watercolors, crayons, colored paper, scissors and glue. Providing small amounts of several different materials will make clean-up more manageable for children. More materials can be added if a child runs out, but too many of the materials at once can be overwhelming for not only creating, but for cleaning up as well.
Here is example of an art shelf designed for up to 9 children, so an art space at home will not require as many of each item. Small pieces of construction paper, liquid glue and paint brushes for collage, watercolors, scissors, colored pencils, and oil pastels are all separated and organized so a child can retrieve their own materials as needed and return them to their designated space.
Provide a large bowl or bucket of clean water and an empty one for a child to dispose of dirty water. The Toddler and Early Childhood classrooms all have these so a Montessori child will be accustomed to using these if there is not full access to a sink.
Kindergarten and Elementary students
For more structured art projects for older children, these are some artists that can be used to inspire new creations. In Extension Art, we begin class by observing copies of famous artworks by a single artist and discuss what we notice. Then materials are offered and the children can create their own piece how they please. Providing a print of examples or viewing them on a tablet allows children to view them as they work. Some children like to recreate pieces while others interpret the artist’s work in their own way and merely use it for inspiration. Each way is an appropriate creative outlet while still enriching their art history knowledge.
Project Ideas
Hannah Hoch
Hannah Hoch was a German artist who popularized photo-collages. For this project, provide a large piece of paper, some magazine pages, scissors and glue (liquid glue and a paintbrush will refine their motor skills further, but glue sticks will work). Keep a recycling bin near by for scraps. Whole magazines will likely overwhelm children, so providing a handful of pages is appropriate.
Ancient Architecture
Discuss buildings like the Parthenon, the Pont de Gurd aqueduct, and the Colosseum and highlight the differences and similarities. Then use cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, or any other reusable recyclables to create a structure. Duct tape is most effective for this, so cutting some pieces and setting them out ahead of time will be easier for some. To extend this project, paint the structure.
Jackson Pollock
Splatter painting, which might require more supervision, is messy and is best completed outside. For easier clean up, mix some washable paint with a little bit of dish soap. If you notice it’s not splattering much, you can add water to the paint.
Some other artists our Extension students have already studied:
- Pablo Picasso – Blue Period: mixed media collages with everything blue, colored paper collages to mimic Cubism
- Ida and Georgia O’Keefe: use rulers or colored paper for Ida’s Lighthouses, watercolors for Georgia’s flowers
- Wassily Kandinsky: colored paper shapes or using objects as stencils like cups for circles, boxes for squares
- Claude Monet: watercolor water lilies
- Georges Seurat: Q-tips bundled up with rubber bands, separate bundles for each color
