Creative Art it's the process

What is Process Art?



Process art emphasizes the “process” of making art (rather than any predetermined composition or plan)


Why Process Art?


When working with process art children are able to explore, create and develop their own original ideas. They are able to feel the dough, see the colors and touch the textures. Teachers are only there to facilitate giving inspiration, materials, guidance and tools to inspire them to be creative. When teacher practice using process art the children will create original art work which reflects his or hers own personal interpretation.


What they learn in the process of creating


• Balance and design
• Depth perception
• Form
• Color mixing


Teachers who respect children’s ideas help them to learn to think and solve problems for themselves. Children who feel free to make mistakes and to explore will also feel free to invent, create and find new ways to do things.


To have a successful process art program in your class you will need to have a well-stocked cabinet of art supplies.


Creating a house with found materials

Creating their very own Big Red Barn

Creating birdies and nest 

Creating their very own version of a Giraffe 

All of this by just allowing them time and their own imagination. The possibilities are endless for them if you just provide the materials.

When I create art I am learning:

• To exercise my imagination and creativity.

• About how colors mix and to form new colors.

• Concepts of shape, size and location.

• Eye-hand coordination.

• About things that are sticky and things that have different textures.

• How to create patterns and designs, a math skill.

• To distinguish patterns from background, a reading skill.

• To express my feelings and ideas

• That my ideas have value.

• An acceptable way to make a mess and have fun sharing ideas with others.

Science Discoveries

Discovering the world around you!

Young children’s innate curiosity about investigating their world makes them natural scientists.


Young children are born scientists, whose boundless curiosity and developing skills give them the motivation and capability to investigate and better understand their world.


To learn about science is to….


• Learn how to think
• The abilities to comprehend
• To Apply
• To Analyze
• To Synthesize
• To Evaluate


To learn about science is essential for higher-order of thinking and problem-solving skills. These skills are needed to form the foundation of all learning.


When we teach preschool children science we are teaching the skills children will need throughout their lives to think about a problem and to explore its possible answers.


When teaching science to preschoolers you are also incorporating Math, Literacy and Motor Skills.


As we teach children to “experience” science, remember that it’s an approach to learning and life.


These science activities are designed to be open-ended. Remember that hands on learning, is the most appropriate way for children to explore and learn about their world.

Color Rain/Color Mixing

Discovering Goop

Discovering Bones

Making Discovery Bottles

Rain Meter

Observing Snails

Observing Worms

Ice and Rock Salt Experiment

Exploring Bubbles

Environments which facilitate exploration, cultivate creativity, encourage wonder and problem solving, are environments that plant the seeds for a love of life long learning.

Our job is to connect the experiences to the concepts in a manner that allows the children to be actively involved in their explorations and discoveries about the world around them.

Digital Camera in the Preschool Classroom

My digital camera is a valuable tool in my preschool classroom.  I use my digital camera to organize the classroom, for project boards, documentation of learning experiences, classroom portfolios, class picture books, name cards, and picture slide shows for parent nights.

Organizing classroom shelves for the children’s centers

I take pictures on the items in each container and place one picture on the container and one on the shelf.  This allows for children to pick up on their own knowing what goes in what container and which shelf to place the items on.  I also type out the word for each label for a print rich environment.

Organizing their own personal space.

Marking an area to sit while at carpet

Documentation  

Pictures are taken of each child through out the year for documentation of their learning experiences.  These pictures show the growth of each individual child through out the year.  At the end of the year we take all the sample work and pictures and create a portfolio for each child to take home at the end of the school year.

Project Board 

Name cards to help promote writing 

We make a name card for each child in the classroom and place them in the writing area so that children know how to write one another’s name.

Class Books

We create familiar children books using pictures of each child in the classroom.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Brown Bear Brown Bear

I went Walking

These titles are just a few that we use with children’s pictures.

 

More class books to help promote an interest in writing and building is to take pictures of children do those things and turn it into a class book.  We have one in the writing area (Look at what I am writing) and one in the block area (Look at what I can build).

Classroom Management 

I like to use pictures of the actual children in the classroom because it gives a since of ownership and that it is their classroom and their rules not just the teachers.

Keeping Glue Bottles Clean

What child likes to use a glue bottle when no glue comes out?  The answer is no child does. 

Here is how we keep our glue bottles working like champs.  Everyday to every other day we remove the lids from the bottles and place them in a pan of water.  We then bring the water to a boil with the lids in it.  Once it comes to a boil we turn off the heat and remove from the burner. 

We remove the hot pan from the stove and cover it with a damp cloth so that it keeps steaming. Once the water is cool we make sure that water goes through the opened lid.

I know that this sounds like a lot of work (about 10 minutes) but you will be glad that you do it when it is time to work on a small group project that requires glue. Every thing will run smooth and you won’t be messing with unclogging the bottles.

The bottles in my classroom have been there for 2 years now and are still like new.

Here are the glue bottles that we use in our classrooms.

Nancy™ Paint Bottles Twist Tops, 2 oz. - Set of 12

Item #: 8WWNANTWS

Your Price: $8.49

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