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10 tips for success

Art at home: Setting up to learn

  1. Keep all you art materials in a designated basket, tubs, special drawer or cupboard. This way, you can keep everting in one spot. It makes it easy to find things and simple to clean up.
  1. Utilise different areas of the home to do lessons. This diversity will also help students engage in their learning. Think about the activity you are doing and what area of the home would best suit: Kitchen, bathroom, garden, living room floor or at the kitchen table. Eg. Painting with Watercolour or wash n wear acrylic can be done on tiled areas in the bathroom or shower. Sculpture or modelling is sometime most enjoyable outside.
  1. Setting up a general space to work is important too. Is the room/environment conducive to learning? Consider light, ventilation, noise levels and comfort.
  1. It’s handy to have a drawing board or piece of thick cardboard you can use as a “take anywhere” art table.
  1. Use music to help set the mood for art making. Sometimes fun energetic music is useful, sometimes relaxing soothing music will help children tune into their creative selves.
  1. Start or finish the day with art – it’s both a great way to engage and get motivated, and also a perfect way to winds down and relax.
  1. It will be important to establish a routine that works for your family and circumstances.
  1. If you are able,  work with your children to support them – create art with them. This way you can monitor the work and understand what they are learning. Keeping track of the information coming from teachers and schools.
  1. Understand what resources and equipment are necessary for you children to succeed.
  1. Invest in some basic art materials – rich learning and sophisticated outcomes can be achieved using a few simple art materials and household items.

Click here to download The At-Home Art Room – Tips for Success as a PDF.

Zart also provides free support art lessons to use here.

 

Engaging Children at Home: Inspired learning spaces, sensory experiences and promoting creativity.

 

Art Making

Art making encourages innovative thinking and creativity. Through this, children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, dexterity, self expression, decision making and self esteem.

arts and crafts

Clean Mess

Working with modelling dough and clay allows children to investigate 3D forms through the sensory experience of touch. A variety of tools, found objects and crafts can be used to model, embellish and pattern the modelling surface.

Modelling & Clay
Decorative Crafts

cleanmess

 

Inspired Windows

Observe how natural light plays on different textures, colours, liquids and surfaces. Add torn and translucent papers to windows, draw on glass (Slicks – Paint Sticks), place jars and bottles on window sills (either empty or filled with coloured water), and hang stringed beads across a light source. These are all easy and effective ways to explore light, shadow and reflect a kaleidoscope of colour into a room.

Beads
Decorative Paper
Window Decoration
Food Dye

window

 

Sensory Experiences

Multi-sensory learning develops: nerve connection in the brain; fine and gross motor skills; language, problem solving and inquiry. The simplicity of these experiences allows children to be present and in the moment.

sensory

Swollen, spongy and slippery sensory beads provide a fun tactile experience for children of all ages. Sensory Water Beads
Make a scented mobile using bay leaves and orange segments to stimulate the senses of sight, smell and touch.
Create a mindfulness jar: Fill a jar with Eco Gel and add drops of food dye to colour. Glitter and beads can also be added. The jar represents the mind (thoughts) settling. Children can use a mindfulness jar to support breathing exercises and encourage them to be present. Eco Gel

sensory

A feely box is a fun way for children to explore, identify and describe (language skill development) ‘mystery’ objects and surfaces through the sense of touch e.g. hard, soft, fluffy, rough, smooth…

 

Investigations

Encourage children to investigate, ask questions, problem solve, explore, create, seek, inquire and respond.

sensory

 

Exploring Nature

Incorporate elements of nature into learning and child development. Being outdoors encourages children to focus and be engaged, and promotes their physical and mental wellbeing. It also activates the five senses.

sensory

Create mandalas out of found objects.
Discover different textures and patterns by imprinting natural found objevcts into clay.

 

sensory

Here are some outcomes to outdoor experiences:

sensory

Decorate trees and branches with a variety of yarns, fabric scraps, pom poms, assorted collage materials, and paint.

sensory

Weaving into found objects.
Explore outdoor weaving.
Dreamcatchers

sensory

Hang beads outdoors to reflect colourful light into the surrounding environment.
Explore colour, shadow and light.
Use the outdoors – concrete driveways and footpaths, wooden fences as brick walls as a canvas.

sensory

Yarn Bombing

 

Multidisciplinary Learning

Encourage multidisciplinary learning through visual stimulus and prompts.

window

 

Indoor Play

Imaginary play (e.g. blocks, dress up, games, puzzles, role playing etc.) encourages word & sentence development, decision making and the development of social skills.

sensory