Visual Arts
The visual arts provide opportunities for children to use materials they know to engage in experiences and also create products that encourage expression and imagination. In the 100 Languages of Children, from Reggio Emilia, arts media are considered a primary means for expressing thoughts, feelings, and cognitive understandings (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1993). In early childhood classrooms, the art center is usually a hub of activity, fostering delight and satisfaction, invention, imagination, and problem solving.
Early childhood educators provide materials and experiences that encourage original rather than programmed or expected outcomes. The processes of engagement with visual arts media are worthwhile and satisfying in and of themselves (Edwards, 2009).
When young children produce works of art, they should be encouraged to use their own creativity and imagination in ways that are meaningful to them. They should not be asked or encouraged to reproduce patterns found in adult models, use precut materials (such as parts of a face and body to construct a bunny), or be directed specifically through a series of steps that result in identical products. This type of product is neither developmentally appropriate nor creative (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009; Edwards, 2009; Gestwicki, 2011).
Teachers can and should, however:
- Encourage children to explore the properties and possibilities of different kinds of media
- Demonstrate techniques for using tools and materials
- Provide inspiration with books, magazines, and print examples of realistic and abstract art that appeal to children, and photos of animals, birds, people, boats, and landscapes