Wait--- it's Art!

Do you ever wonder why your child sometimes 

comes home looking like this?

....and why your child's folder/backpack contains a massive amount of this?

Well, it's because Mrs. Powell finally got brave enough last year to make our art center completely open ended!!! I will admit, it took me a long time to be ready for an entire classroom of preschoolers to be responsible to take out any art material their little hearts desired, create, create some more, and then clean everything up AND put it back where it belongs!

To my greatest amazement, our four year old friends are more than capable! I now have a soft spot in my heart for open ended art, and soon I hope you do, too! Open ended art is having a variety of materials readily accessible to students to use at their own free will, in any way they choose. What looks like it may have been slapped on a piece of paper in 2.7 seconds, is really well thought out art with carefully chosen materials and resources. Our little friends often spend a great deal of time creating one piece of art at the art center. 

Here's what our art center looks like....

An assortment of paper, glue, foam, paint, yarn, fabric paint brushes

More! Ink pads, stencils, noodles, stickers, markers, colored pencils, bingo dabbers, feathers, cotton, glitter, and googly eyes!

So, when your little artist comes home with *interesting* art, ask them how they made it! What did they use? Why did they choose those materials? Refrain from asking "What is it?" Instead, say "Tell me about it!" There's always an interesting story, memory or meaning behind their art!