How to Create an Art Enrichment Program for Elementary Students

Activities usually included in standard art programs for children can be taken as a basis for an art enrichment program: drawing and painting, collage, paper mache (including origami), weaving, sewing, 3-D construction, printmaking, mask and doll making and ceramics. To enrich children's knowledge of art, you can choose two different methods: to teach art's history, taking into account the comprehension abilities of children, and to include new types of aesthetic activities in your program. An understanding of the visual arts presumes knowledge of composition, material and color.

Instructions

  1. Teaching Composition

    • 1
      Cardboard is the best material for installations.

      Introduce installations to your program. Installation is a variant of 3-D construction. Enrich it with conceptual meaning by asking your students to make an installation of a doll house or a circus.

    • 2
      Teach composition through floral design.

      Add "ikebana", or floral art in general, to your program. "Ikebana", or Japanese flower arrangement, develops a feeling for space and color in children.

    • 3
      Building houses of matches was a popular hobby a few decades ago.

      Make constructions of matches part of your program.

    • 4
      The art of photography also teaches children about composition.

      Include photography in your art program. Ask students to take pictures of each other and to explain the importance of composition and the conceptual approach in each portrait.

    Teaching Children to Work With Different Materials

    • 5
      Using straw and other non-traditional materials develops children's imagination.

      Introduce how to work with unusual materials, such as straw. Making dolls of straw is a popular folk craft in Eastern Europe. Additionally, it is possible to use straw as a decorative material for the incrustation of wooden boxes (a sort of collage).

    • 6
      Shells are used for traditional crafts by many peoples.

      Strengthen your art program by offering students shells to use for embroidering (it is an ancient Indian craft). Ancient Indians used small shells with natural holes in them. For this activity, any shells can be accurately perforated.

    • 7
      Manipulation of small objects develops hand-eye coordination in children.

      Add to your program making decorations from beads. It will give children an idea of jewelry art and will develop their aesthetic feeling.

    Teaching Color Combinations

    • 8

      Give in your art program definitions of simple (spectral) and compound colors (like electric blue).

    • 9
      Color combinations in folk costumes represent traditional understanding of beauty.

      Make sure to discuss within your art program color combinations. For discussing this topic, use traditional costumes of diverse peoples reflecting their traditional color preferences. As it is said in Saga about Deirdre, Celtic folk tradition emphasizes three main colors which symbolically represent the concept of beauty: red, white and black.Compare this color combination to color combinations found in other folk traditions.

    • 10

      Explain within your art program main principles of color combinations; stress that one color can intensify the other one (like blue and orange).

    • 11

      Include into your art program an experiment which reveals how different color combinations may influence people's mood. Show, that yellow, orange, and red can irritate people, green usually makes calming effect,dark blue and grey make people feel sad. Encourage children to use optimistic color combinations in their dress and creative works.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved