Making Art-making Meaningful

Careful work goes into making art-making meaningful for children.

Sometimes it feels like the work of a little elf leaving beautiful things out to entice children to explore them.  The environment is crafted in a way that enables the children to access materials and supplies when they feel inspired to do the work.

Susan Striker talks about this in her book, Young at Art.  We cannot expect all children to be motivated to paint the moment the teacher puts painting materials out.

When materials are available throughout the day, children express their ideas with chosen materials when they are ready.  With careful observation, we who learn alongside young children might notice how each child approaches work in a different way.  Some children dive right in to whatever they set their eyes on.  Others prefer to preview the work, watch how others use the materials, turn the work over and over in their hands.  And then, after a long while they are ready to explore!  We lose out on so much by assuming that a child that chooses not to participate is simply not interested.

For me, the work I do feels worth it when I see spontaneous art-making happen.  There is an idea or a desire that needs to be expressed and nothing can stop the force.  The child has only to choose what medium feels most natural for the occasion.  Loris Malaguzzi's description of the Hundred Languages says it all.

Here at Creatures, the oldest child in our mixed-age group has been working on embroidery every day for two months.  I am really enjoying watching her work evolve and become more complex- different stitches, adding buttons, ... Today she decided to make a shirt by sewing panels and straps together.

Today, another child expressed the desire to draw out an idea.  He began drawing it out with markers and narrating as he went.

Others saw it and wanted to join.  <Who can resist Sharpie markers, anyway?>  Each child was captivated by her own work.

There was no need to "hook" the kids or try to get them interested in the planned project...though we sometimes do that here, as well ;)