Art: Cultivating Creativity in the Classroom

Imagine that you could climb up on a rainbow to zoom back in time and travel to faraway places, meet famous people, witness exciting events, and come face to face with dragons and unicorns.  Wouldn't that be exciting?  We can take trips of the imagination that are nearly as exciting by including the work of famous artists in our preschool programs. Exploring great works of art and their creators from different times and different places opens new doors to learning for both teachers and young children. Traditionally, art in early childhood programs focuses on production, or the making of art.  People can interact with art in other ways.  In addition to making art, we can appreciate it, understand it and even evaluate it. Preschool programs that encourage these skills through a fine arts program expand a child's focus from simple art production to the appreciation, understanding and evaluation of art. Some experts feel children need opportunities to investigate what they see in order to fully appreciate and respond to it ( Gaitskell, Hurwitz, and Day, 1982). The addition of art related activities to the classroom provides another type of hands-on investigation.  Including fine arts in early childhood programs is often as exciting for the teacher as it is for the children.  Learning is a lifelong activity and teachers learn as they gather and prepare materials for their students.  Let your knowledge of child development be your guide.  Challenge your students to reach for new horizons, explore, create, and discover new things.  Then, challenge yourself to reach, explore, create and discover. Learn more about using art in the classroom. Visit ChildCare Education Institute to discover over 100 online child care training courses that meet the continuing education requirements of the child care industry.  Register for a sample course and try online learning today!