Schedule TourWell over thirty years ago when I was in college taking my teacher ed art classes the “new” mantra was “it’s the PROCESS not the PRODUCT.” It was a big deal then and thankfully, it still is today. What does it mean to children? When we, as early childhood professionals, live by the rule that “the doing” is more important than “the done” it conveys to our young students that we believe they’re capable of creating their own art. True creative art experiences for children allows them to experiment, create and build. They are encouraged to think, make their own decisions and express themselves through a creative outlet.
I must confess, I am hooked on PINTEREST. I wouldn’t call myself an addict, but I truly enjoy the visuals to aid me in finding the resources and ideas I’m searching for. The other day after admiring a large group mixed media mural that was done on our playground I mentioned to the teacher, who encouraged the process, that I believed the piece of art was “PINTEREST WORTHY.” She disagreed saying, “this is not the kind of stuff that’s on PINTEREST because it’s not perfect.” I assured her there were plenty of pinners, who believe as we do, that authentic art for children truly is the process and not the product.
While I agree, there are plenty of “cute projects” on PINTEREST, they’re NOT art. I like to refer to them as a “following directions project.” If used in the early childhood classroom they should be used very, very sparingly and never referred to as art. A “following directions” project gives children an opportunity to learn and practice a life skill. Comprehending and following directions is a key developmental task for the preschool child. It’s true, knowing how to follow directions is an important life skill, but still, we must NOT call it art.
Back to the mixed media outdoor group mural – it began with fingers in the paint, “we’re making fingerprint leaves.” The next day the teacher asked, “Do we want to add anything else?” “A tree!” Next, out came the glue bottles and magically, art and science became one. Children began experimenting with the glue. As the glue was puddling on the paper and coating their little hands, questions were pondered by the children, “how much glue will it take to make my rock stick to the paper?” and “how come it won’t stick now?” After many days of drying and much checking by the children they discovered they used just the right amount of glue because every rock, stick, leaf and grain of sand is permanently attached to their group “PINTEREST-WORTHY” masterpiece.