"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once
he grows up."
- Pablo Picasso, visual artist
When children explore their world, they rely most on the sense of sight. It
is the visual world that gives children information about color, shape, and
form, and provides an opportunity to revise ideas based upon visual data
gathered from new experiences. The visual world also provides myriad
opportunities for language development, as words are associated with visual
images. Not only do children learn from visual experience, but they also
respond to what they see, often recreating ideas through artistic
expression when they color, paint, draw, or sculpt.
The visual arts can be defined as two distinct activities, art making and
art appreciation. The first is about expressing ideas while the latter is
more about responding to art. Both are important ways of learning and
should be supported and valued by parents and teachers.
The joy of making art is apparent in almost every home across the country,
illustrated by children’s paintings and drawings proudly displayed on
kitchen bulletin boards and refrigerators. In early childhood programs, the
art area is often a hub of excitement, providing opportunities for children
to explore and express ideas through artistic creations.
Art appreciation begins with the simple yet common practice of reading to
young children. During story time, parents and teachers can help children
develop visual literacy—the ability to interpret the visual world—by
encouraging children to respond to illustrations that engage, enlighten,
and excite them.
By exploring and experiencing the visual world, children have the
opportunity to:
- Gain insight from visual experience to construct meaning by
observation, reflection, and application of ideas.
- Recognize similarities and differences in the world.
- Attach visual images to words and abstract ideas.
- Grasp relationships in their environment.
- Think creatively while developing skills in drawing, painting,
sculpting, designing, and crafting.
- Communicate, represent, and record ideas and feelings related to
personal experiences.
- Reinvent the world in their own terms through art expression.
- Develop physical skills as they learn to handle tools and materials
associated with creating art.
- Recognize personal preferences related to individual works of art, an
early skill in the development of aesthetic awareness and critical
judgment.
Engaging Young Children in the Visual Arts
The visual arts reflect and interpret life. Artistic expressions can be
found everywhere, from illustrations in children’s books to images on
calendars to decorative artwork displayed in homes, schools, libraries,
businesses, and parks. In the formal art world,museums and cultural
institutions are environments where paintings, sculpture, and other works
of art are cared for and shared with the general public. Early experiences
with the visual arts foster important skills while providing a sense of joy
and excitement that can last a lifetime.
Making Art with Young Children
Opportunities abound for engaging young children in making art. Visit any
toy, craft, or art supply store to find child-friendly art materials such
as crayons, markers, colored pencils, paints, modeling clay, and
play-dough. Recycled materials found at home (scraps of cloth, old buttons,
bottle caps) can be used for making collages.
- Create an “art corner” at home. Choose a place that allows your child
to explore different media—paints, crayons, and clay—and lends itself to
easy clean up. Draft “art making” rules with your child so that everyone
knows the expectations. Younger children will probably need guidance for
use and clean up of materials. Art materials should be safe and
age-appropriate.
- Engage your child in the choice and selection of art materials. Vary
the art opportunities by changing the materials every few weeks. One
month the art corner can be a collage center with small containers of
recycled materials. Transform the space to a sculptor’s studio at another
time with modeling clay, play-dough, simple tools (Popsicle sticks or
plastic knives), and an assortment of objects that can be used with the
sculpting materials.
- Provide a place to exhibit artwork. A bulletin board or cork strip can
be used for displaying art. A clothesline or drying rack with clothespins
or clips can also serve as a place for children to exhibit completed
projects. Some children will prefer to keep their art in a box or in a
scrapbook for personal use rather thanexhibit for others.
- Plan an “art party” for your child’s next birthday. Your child may have
some wonderful suggestions for art activities that will appeal to his or
her friends.
For younger children, art is often more about the process of exploring
materials than about creating an end product. Exploration should be valued
for its contribution to self-expression and to learning. As children create
art that is representational, some will freely talk about their creations
while others will not. Some children feel more comfortable talking about
the materials or colors used rather than about the ideas expressed in the
artwork. Simply saying, “Would you like to tell me about your art?” gives a
child the freedom to talk about the work from his own point of view. It is
important to respect the child’s motives, preferences, and aims.
Encounters with Art in the Everyday World
Art is a natural part of our world. Explore art with your child by
focusing on your child’s interests as well as his or her aesthetic and
intellectual abilities. Find opportunities that encourage your child
to:
- Find art in the everyday world (calendars, book illustrations,
paintings in the home,murals in libraries, elements in architecture,
design of ornamental gardens, monuments, and sculpture). Play a game when
traveling in which your child searches for artworks in the
environment.
- Visit a library or bookstore. The librarian or bookstore clerk can
identify books honored for their outstanding illustrations.
- Look for patterns in the visual world (identify shapes or patterns
formed by artistic elements in buildings) or search for similarities or
differences in common objects.
- Talk about artwork by describing actual works of art. Most young
viewers relate a possible story that comes from the image. Other ways to
talk about art include exploration of line, shape, color, and
texture.
- Make up a story that is related to the content of the artwork (for
example, pretend to be a character in a painting and tell what is
happening).
- Express personal ideas and feelings about individual works of art.
Value your child’s perspective.
- Recognize art as an important aspect of life that represents different
places and different cultures around the world. Art offers children a
worldview.
Share and enjoy art with your child. Read about, look at, and talk about
works of art that you encounter. Conversations should be casual, not like a
test or lecture. Expose your child to art from different cultures and times
in history. Encourage your child to talk about works of art by making
comparisons, finding similarities, and identifying differences.
Museums, Galleries, and Art Centers
Museums house cultural artifacts, natural specimens, and works of art that
all have visual attributes. Children enjoy looking at and talking about
these objects by drawing parallels to their own lives and experiences.
There are many wonderful books that introduce museums and encourage
children to think about their role in the world.
A successful trip to a museum requires some thought and planning in
advance, but the rewards will be well worth the time invested. The museum
visit should build on specific interests of your child. Kids enamored with
collecting bugs in the backyard will probably be interested in collections
of insects at a science museum or a nature center to learn more about these
unusual creatures. A budding interest in ballet expressed by a young child
taking dance lessons might suggest a visit to an art museum to see
paintings and sculptures of dancers. Whatever the preference, it is
important to select exhibits or works of art that have a common idea or
theme for your tour.
A visit to a museum should be fun and inspiring! Beyond planning your
visit with your child’s interests in mind, remember that selecting a few
pertinent exhibits or galleries is typically more effective than touring
the entire museum.Value your child’s responses. It is likely that your
child will show an interest in something not included in your plans.When
you demonstrate respect for your child’s point of view, you enhance your
child’s overall experience and attitude about museums.
Museums have different types of presentations. Look for interactive
exhibits, special tours or programs designed for young children, and
publications that offer suggestions that relate to specific exhibits.
Family guides often highlight exhibits that appeal to the young visitor as
well as suggest activities for engaging the child in a meaningful encounter
with the art.
Art museums are often the most challenging environments for young
children. For young children, keep the gallery activities simple. Think
about those that would engage your child:
- Read a children’s book that relates to your museum visit. Reading can
take place at home or at the museum. Select a book that has a theme that
relates to the art you plan to see. Some works of art actually have
children’s books written about them.
- See several different artworks that relate to the same theme.
- Create a personalized tour for your child using postcards from the gift
shop. (Purchase the postcards before you bring your child to the museum.)
Your child can look at and talk about the postcards before the visit to
the museum. Encourage your child to think about the artwork. Since the
postcard doesn’t show the actual size of the artwork, it is fun for a
child to guess whether the actual work is large or small. During the
visit, finding the works of art will add an interesting dimension to the
experience.
- Orient the museum visit in a different way each time you go. For
example, plan a “shape” day and look for shapes in art. Each time your
child spies a particular shape, let him or her pretend to draw the shape
in the air. Look for shapes in your environment on the way home. Once you
return, let your child make a drawing using different shapes or create a
collage using cutout shapes.
- Ask your child to strike a pose similar to that of a figure in a
sculpture.
- Encourage your child to use his or her imagination through storytelling
or pretend play. For example, when looking at a painting of royalty, let
your child pretend to be the king. Ask your child to wear a majestic robe
and crown and make up a story about the king.
- Allow your child to pick a favorite art postcard from the gift shop
following the museum visit. Buy two of the same card and help your child
begin a collection. After several visits, the cards can be used for a
matching game at home. Cards can also be used for storytelling games or
for planning future museum visits. Returning to see old favorites at the
museum is often fun for a child. When relatives visit from out of town,
your child can plan the tour using favorite artworks.
- Encourage an older child to sketch with pencil and paper something
interesting found in the art galleries.
Education and Special Programs in the Visual Arts
Schools, art centers, and museums offer a wide variety of special classes
that relate to art appreciation. Look for programs that engage your child
in age-appropriate experiences. For the young child, art appreciation
should provide opportunities for art making as well as looking at art. The
actual process of creating art gives a child a better understanding of an
artist’s work. It is also important to remember that young children take in
information through a variety of senses. Programs that respect the learning
style of the young child are probably the best choices.
An Introduction to the Museum
• Miffy at the Museum by Dick Bruna
• You Can’t Take a Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline
Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser
• I Spy Two Eyes: Numbers In Art by Lucy Micklethwait
• Bonjour Mr. Satie by Tomie dePaola
• Museum ABC by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Mon petit Orsay by Marie Sellier
• Dogs’ Night in the Art Museum by Hooper & Curless
• The Shape Game by Anthony Browne
Family Guides to Museums
Many museums offer guides for parents and teachers that introduce visual
arts to young children. Teachers and parents should ask their local art
museum about similar publications.
- Museums & Learning: A Guide For Family Visits by the U.S.
Department of Education and the Smithsonian Office of Education
- Family Guide by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Behind the Lions: A Family Guide to The Art Institute of
Chicago
- Looking Together: Introducing Young Children to the Cleveland
Museum of Art
Resources
Books for Children Introducing Arts and Arts Elements
My Name Is Georgia by Jeanette Winter
Picasso and the Girl
with a Ponytail by Laurence Anholt
Harold and the Purple
Crayon by Crockett Johnson
A Color of His Own by Leo
Lionni
Tout Le Monde Est En Formes by Ed Emberley
Parent Resource Books
Considering Children’s Art: Why and How to Value Their Works by Brenda
Engel (available at www.NAEYC.org)
Oxford First Book of Art by Gillian Wolfe
Preschoolers and Museums: An Educational Guide by Sharon Shaffer (available
through the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center)
Web Sites
Smithsonian Institution
www.si.edu
The Web site of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum
complex, contains activities, games, and information for children.
Kids' Space
www.kids-space.org
Kids’ Space is a nonprofit Web site that provides activities to encourage
artistic expression in children.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
www.hirshhorn.si.edu/education/interactive.html
The Hirshhorn Museum’s Web site includes an education section with
interactive features for children, including a Create a Sculpture
feature.
National Art Education Association
www.naea-reston.org
The National Art Education Association's membership includes K-12 teachers,
arts administrators, museum educators, arts council staff, and university
professors from throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad. One of
NAEA's services is to provide information on arts education, including such
topics as the National Visual Arts Standards for students.
View Full Article
Reprinted with the permission of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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