| Art Center Materials | ||
|---|---|---|
| Media | Materials | Applications |
| Drawing | Pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, chalk/pastels, erasers, rulers, different kinds and sizes of papers to draw on (drawing paper, sandpaper, construction paper, mural paper). (Crayons are available in “chubby” or “block” versions for easy handling by toddlers.) |
Exploring line quality, using tools in different ways (such as the side of a chalk as well as its point), and creating forms and shapes, with different effects. |
| Print making | Print makingrollers, water-based ink, tempera, or finger paint; Styrofoam trays, heavy string or yarn, glue, sponges, wooden spoons; papers (see above). | Transferring an image from one surface to another (such as pressing a piece of paper onto an image made on another); using a tool or template to make multiple repeated images in different ways (such as using sponges or stamps to make a picture). |
| Collage | A variety of papers for cutting/tearing, such as tissue, construction paper; magazines, scissors (for children old enough to handle them); glue sticks, tape, stickers, fabric scraps, yarn, any small objects or materials that can be glued onto a flat surface, such as buttons, leaves, sequins, glitter, feathers, etc.; papers including cardboard or posterboard. Staplers, hole punchers, scissors. | Layering or using the kinds of materials listed to create an image design, or objects such as paper bag puppets. |
| Modeling | Play dough, modeling clay, air-dry or ceramic clay (requires firing); implements such as rolling pins, scrapers, tongue depressors, small mallets, or textured dough tools. | Rolling, cutting, and making impressions in modeling materials to construct three-dimensional forms or objects that might also be decorated with paints or glazes. |
| Painting | Finger and tempera paint, watercolors, paint cups, brushes, sponges, Q-tips, easel/clips and paper of different kinds/sizes, including easel paper, poster paper, construction paper, finger-paint paper. | Exploring color and the qualities of different kinds of paints with hands, fingers, or tools to create abstract or realistic figures, lines, and forms. |
| Sculpture | Small boxes, wood scraps, wire, pipe cleaners, straws, toothpicks, thread spools, etc. | Taping, gluing, or using other means of attaching materials together to make free-standing or relief creations. |
| Fabric/fibers | Yarn, string, twine, fabric scraps, strips or loops, felt, cotton or batting, tapestry needles (for older children), simple looms, socks. | Fabrics can be used for collage and, as children acquire the skill to do so, simple weaving or sewing projects. |
Table 7.4 Art Center Materials
General Strategies
The general strategies listed in Table 7.5 are organized according to the four themes in the national arts standards, but they are developmentally appropriate for young children of any age. These practices encourage open-ended exploration and creative expression in the art center and ways to promote exposure to the visual arts through environmental planning and informal activities with children.