Art In The Early Years Classroom
We’ve all seen it. The scribbled-on paper our children excitedly hand us after a day in school. To us, it's nothing more than a brown blob, but to them it’s much more. Michaela Reid, an early years educator, explains how beneficial these art projects are to the young mind.
By Michaela Reid
I remember being picked up by my mother on my first day of nursery and proudly handing over my first ever painting – a series of blue and yellow lines on an A3 page. I was extremely proud of my boat as it hung in my playroom for years to come, and I remember how my mother’s reaction made me feel wonderful. Now, as an early years educator, I take great pleasure in seeing children take home their own little masterpieces. Whilst it is known that the role of art in the classroom is integral and something that we value greatly, how does it really support the development of our children?
'A recent study found that the role of art in the classroom had a positive impact on the development of certain competencies such self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.'(1) This journey begins in the early years classroom and educators strive to enhance their provision to provide children with as many opportunities to access art materials freely throughout the day. Here’s how art benefits our little ones:
Sparking curiosity:
Children are naturally curious, and their desire for meaning can be facilitated through creating visual art. A successful creative area will have a huge range of resources from paints, painting tools, paper and junk, and children will be encouraged to explore these resources to imitate what they have observed in the world around them as they recreate their own realities.
Fine motor development:
As children grasp and manipulate tools, they begin to strengthen the muscles in their hands. These actions help develop children’s fine motor control, and as they do so, the quality of their art work becomes more refined and they gain speed in completing tasks. Fine motor skills are required for everyday tasks such as buttoning clothes, unscrewing lids and turning book pages. Actively creating artwork gives children ample opportunities to unknowingly build upon these skills in the classroom, all while having fun!
Cognitive development: including decision making and calculated risk:
Engaging in art activities helps to develop children’s cognition – they learn cause and effect and classification of objects such as shapes, colors and symbols. Children’s ability to problem solve, memorize and visually analyze are also improved. Not only this, but children develop their concentration skills and ability to persevere. Allowing children to access the art resources in a no-pressure environment gives them the opportunity to explore freely and move at their own pace – the perfect way to learn!
Relationship skills and social development:
As children begin to learn to collaborate with one another, they partake in group initiatives to complete art projects. I often find children will naturally work together when junk modeling or creating larger pieces. Naturally, their communication skills develop as they articulate how to complete tasks and support each other. As an educator, it is wonderful to hear children offer words of support or compliment their peers. Children learn how to give feedback to their friends and offer opinions on final pieces.
Self-awareness and expression:
Children are able to express their thoughts and feelings through visual art. Some younger children will mark-make to create images which make sense to them. Mark-making refers to the different lines, dots, patterns, textures, etc. we produce in an artwork (2). What may appear to be a scribble to us, can be a representation of something a child has experienced, for example, a storm or a feeling. As children develop their mark-making, their visual representations become clearer. Children enjoy drawing their family or memorable experiences like a trip on an airplane, or a birthday party. They begin to identify their family members, friends and familiar characters in their representations. When mistakes are made or outcomes do not go as planned, children learn how to regulate themselves emotionally and continue to persevere.
Photos courtesy of Bangkok Prep
References
- Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dymnick, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.
- Tate (2021) Mark Making Coursework Guide. tate.org.uk/art/student-resource/exam-help/mark-making#:~:text=Mark%20making%20describes%20the%20different,gestural%20or%20controlled%20and%20neat.
About the Author
Michaela is a nursery teacher at Bangkok Prep. She has been teaching for ten years and has a first class honours degree in Primary Education. She is currently studying for her MSc in Psychology, specializing in Education and Child Psychology.
The views expressed in the articles in this magazine are not necessarily those of BAMBI committee members and we assume no responsibility for them or their effects. BAMBI Magazine welcomes volunteer contributors to our magazine. Please contact editor@bambiweb.org.