Art in our Montessori classrooms is woven throughout the curriculum and is one of the many ways children express themselves; it is a way for children to communicate their feelings. Through art children develop their fine motor skills and build concentration. In our Montessori classrooms, we provide open-ended art activities that help children explore and use their creativity.
Not only do our classrooms include a rich art area for the children to experiment with, but also we offer a one-of-a-kind Art Program taught by professional artists. Our talented and fun-loving Mr. Charley and Ms. Barbara thoughtfully share art history, appreciation and also technique to the children. The children work with various mediums: paints, pastels, clay, pencils, crayons. They have a variety of supplies for gluing, various tools like decorative scissors and paper punches, clay for sculpting in three dimensions, inspirational examples to spur drawings of self-portraits, landscapes, etc., and opportunities for abstract art. The possibilities are endless and up to the child!
Children interact with the world differently than we adults do. They are driven to explore, investigate and discover the world in order to develop themselves. When it comes to art, the process of creating is the child’s goal, not the finished product.
Consider the next time a child completes a piece of art and shows it to you. Instead of responding about the piece, comment on their effort. You could say something like, “Wow, you were really focused on your work” or perhaps “I notice your details and lovely color choices”.
The human hand, so delicate and so complicated, not only allows the mind to reveal itself but it enables the whole being to enter into special relationships with its environment…
— Maria Montessori
