SCARBORO DAY CARE CENTER

ART LEARNING CENTER

Rationale:
Children need to express themselves through painting, drawing, modeling, and other forms of creative art. The young child is most creative when he works with materials such as water, sand, clay, paint, finger paint, crayons, paste, soap, fabrics, and paper. As children work, they can revise and structure these materials with th ehelp of such tools as pemcils, brushes, crayons, ans scissors. Art projects, when initiated by children, express authentic feelings and ideas that have originated within the child.

Skills, Attitudes, and Concepts Developed in the Art Center:

• Enjoyment of the creative process
• Experience with several arts and crafts media
• Expression of feelings or ideas using a variety of art media
• Observance of movement, texture, color, or line composition
• Development of visual perceptual skills
• Development of positive self-concept
• Observance of a story or mood represented in pictures
• Learns to respect different ideas and different ways of working
• Learns to handle art media tools appropriately

Equipment and Materials:

• Easels
• Tempera paint
• Finger paint
• Brushes
• Paint containers(milk cartons, cans, etc.)
• Paper(assorted kinds, colors, sizes)
• Paste and glue
• Sponges
• Scissors and scissors holders
• Large colored chalk
• Crayons
• Clay(potter's and plastic)
• Containers for clay
• Cutting and pasting materials
• Miscellaneous materials(buttons, yarn, shells, ribbons
  metallic papers, assorted string, spools, beads, etc.)
• Print design materials

Implementation:

• Locate center next to a sink.
• Limit number of children in the center dependent upon space, materials, and activities provided.
• Provide easy to clean floor coverings.
• Provide storage area for materials.
• Teach proper use of each material before it is used in the center.
• Provide a variety of materials to invite and challenge the children.
• Have materials for 3 or 4 art activities available.
• Provide experiences that will generate original art ideas and projects.
• Mount and display each child's work from time to time.
• Provide materials for and teach proper clean-up methods.

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