Visual Arts
- mahameed9
- Sep 22, 2021
- 3 min read
How educators can support children’s drawing process? When children are drawing they are making a connection between their drawings and their thoughts. As they progress their drawings develops from simple to more complex. Simple process of drawing helps in creating higher mental functions. Children’s drawing is a powerful meaning tool in understanding how they feel, think and function.
In visual arts educators engage children with different use of materials and sensory activities. They also engage them with activities that are exploratory and experimental such as:
· Balloon painting
· Marble roller painting
· Hand and foot prints
· Finger paint
· Play dough
· Mixing colours
· Clay work
· Sculpture
· Carving
· Drawing
· Exploring colour and texture
Using different materials to create something.
These are really fun visual art activities as well as having the potential to lead children to growth. Educators provide these opportunities for children in order to be able to communicate what they know and who they are into a visual art piece.
Using play dough in visual arts.
Family theme! Using play dough to create My family.
Creativity in Play dough.
In visual arts children learn in many ways
Communication
According to EYLF outcome 5: children are effective communicators. This can be a challenge for non-English speakers and pre-literate children. However, use of visual arts helps communicating ideas that it is difficult to express verbally. This is also very important for Arab children those that have limited English. When children create a piece of work it encourages them to talk about it. This helps educators to learn more about the child’s work, understanding and thinking.
Using drawing to communicate the story of Karbala.
Children also can develop their verbal language through visual arts in particular this is evident when they are sharing their artwork with other children, they tend to explore common interests together, they exchange ideas and consider solutions and share meaning together. When children draw it creates a desire for them to tell the story behind their drawing hence it helps them to express their ideas and emotions through oral language as well as through their art work. This helps children to build a strong foundation for their schooling and beyond.
Every artwork has a meaning.
Thinking
Vygotsky’s theory (a famous cognitive developmental theorist) suggests that language is a tool for thinking. This is true in relation to children visual arts where their work is closely connected to their thoughts than to their verbal language.
Imagination and creativity
Visual art is a gateway for imagination and creativity as well as engagement in playful thinking ideas. Their imagination is important for learning and their creativity is important in developing unique ideas that are meaningful.
Using creativity to create an Eid card.
Using Creativity to create a mini Hajj Project.
Literature
Children in visual arts learn to understand that images like stories are created and they can have meaning and communicate messages. Creating drawings and talking about them helps with writing skills. As young children struggle to write words, the complexity of writing can prevent them from documenting all their thinking. However, when they are involved in visual arts the limitation of literature skills expands.
Learning literature through Art.
A best way for educators to assess children’s visual art is to collect samples of their artwork and to present it towards the end of the year to their families as a child’s portfolios. Educators can use a range of children’s work from painting, colouring, drawing, and so on from their artwork to show children’s learning to parents, wider community and children themselves. To assess children’s artistic development educators can present the portfolio in a way that shows children’s interests, their use of materials or ways of thinking, demonstrate their development in relation to what concepts they present and what forms is appearing in the children’s artwork. In some points, the educators along with children can create the portfolio and add to it together. This way children can evaluate their own artworks as well.
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