Creating an Art Center in Primary Educational Settings

Age/Grade Level of Children (highlight one of the following) a) Older toddlers, 2 -- 3 years b) Preschoolers, 3 -- 5 years c) Young school age children, 5 -- 8 years Number in Group The design of this art center will allow a maximum of 20 children at any one time due to space limitations. Goals of the center The goals of this art center are based on expression and freedom.

The art center is available as the curriculum allows, with a goal of providing a safe and creative environment for children to express their inner selves through various art media, including drawing, painting, clay modeling, working with plaster of Paris, charcoals and chalk. Placement of the center Creating a diverse art center requires the center to be located in an area where it can be easy for diverse children to attend.

Urban areas provide the most diversity in many cases, and placing the center in a heavily trafficked area of town will create the desired effect Rules of the center Since artistic expression and rules often do not mix well, developing a general sense of guidelines is appropriate for this art center. Focusing the rules of behavior more on sharing, expressing and loving, will allow for the necessary artistic energy to freely flow and produce a creative and dynamic art center. 6.

Specific materials to be used in the center The art center will require a number of different materials to make it a useful resource, including water color paints, chalk (sidewalk and blackboard), colored charcoals, standard and colored pencils and water-soluble markers, easels, drawing boards, brushes, clay, plaster of Paris, and other media that are safe for use by children aged 5 to 8 years. 7. Storage of materials It is important that the children have immediate access to these supplies and are stored in a safe, responsible, yet accessible location. 8.

Placement of materials Materials will be stored in common areas to allow for all children, and any with special needs can simply touch and have at these supplies (Germain, 2008). 9. Maintenance of materials Daily and weekly maintenance checks will be done on all supplies. Reordering or fixing certain materials or instruments can be done at this time. 10. Daily art activities available On a daily basis the children that attend this art center will be encouraged to draw, paint, model clay, or otherwise express themselves creatively in a safe and encouraging environment.

Most young learners are enthusiastic artists who will apply their imagination in creative ways, but others may need some suggestions to help get them started. Some examples of daily activities that can be inspirational for the creative process include suggesting themes for the day's.