1. Teacher’s Notes<br />Curriculum Connections<br />Art is a powerful tool that gives children the ability to express their thoughts, and emotions long before they can fully express themselves with words. When children participate in activities in the arts, they are involved in using both non-verbal and verbal forms of communication. (Pelo, 2007)<br />Painting, drawing, and making models; music, movement, and dance encourages children to express themselves. Access to resources for drawing, and mark making encourages children to draw pictures of their ideas and symbolic language. (Pelo, 2007)<br />In early childhood, educators introduce children to many experiences through practical hands on activities, including the arts forms of dance, drama, media, music and visual arts. Opportunities for arts area specific learning and integrated arts learning should be provided in all areas of the curriculum. <br />Children build their arts ideas on their experiences, through their senses, emotions and observations. They learn through observing, modelling, repeating and imitating, as well as through working both individually and collaboratively. They use skills, methods and procedures to make and communicate meaning to fit their interests and development. <br />Art tools provide early learners with pre-writing experiences, as they master tools that later help them hold a pencil. Children who draw pictures about stories they have read improve their reading comprehension, and understanding of stories. <br />As discussed by Kolbe (2005), drawing and art experiences assist in the development of creative ideas and problem solving, and develops the portion of the brain that visualises. Visualising or imagination is used in all kinds of creative planning activities including charting, graphing, mapping, planning structures, planning communities, and design of every kind. <br />Effective learning involves hands on experiences. Children’s learning and knowledge is retained longer when an art experience is used to reinforce learning. Art media, and tools, provide skill development, and the potential for new discoveries by children.<br />Investigation and experimentation of science concepts such as cause and effect, changes of state, and physical attributes can be explored with art materials. Components of science can be added to art experiences by providing magnifiers, and experimenting with the physical attributes of art media using the five sense to explore paint, and clay, or by predicting what will happen when different art materials are combined, such as glue and paint……Educators can ask children questions such as, Will it go hard? What is your prediction? What do you think ?.........<br />Children should be allowed the opportunity to experiment with a variety of materials, media and tools to allow them to express ideas, thoughts, observations, and emotions. Quality visual arts programs encourage children to use a range of subjects, including objects, people, and plants, created from observation, from photographs, and books, real, or imagined, and provide a variety of tools and creative media to foster and promote creativity. (Reyner, 2011)<br />Art develops expressive and reflective skills that enhance writing, and also promotes print awareness, spatial skills, visual literacy, and creativity. (Reyner, 2011) Art activities contribute to literacy, and language development, and maths concepts, through positive and negative space, classification, sequencing, and pattern recognition. (Russell-Bowie, 2009)<br />3 D Media<br />Three dimensional media encourages, and challenges children to consider the variety of ways that lines, and shapes take up space, and expands possibilities for children confident with drawing, and painting. Three dimensional media supports children’s language development as they learn new names for tools, techniques, and materials. <br />Clay, objects, and wire are physical media which require children to press, bend, pull, squeeze, twist and tear. First encounters with clay take place over time, and support children in understanding the identity of clay. Encouraging children to dig, gouge, press into it with their elbows and knees, allows children to experience the responsiveness of clay. Inviting children to expand their physical knowledge of clay by adding water assists children to notice the change in texture, and malleability of clay. <br />Children’s interactions with three dimensional media may include freestanding artworks which may be viewed from all sides, or relief sculptures which are viewed from the front and attached to a wall or other surface. Basic sculpture can be made from boxes, masking tape, glue and paint. <br />Through creating sculptures, and other three dimensional artwork from paper, cardboard, textiles, wire, and other assorted materials children can develop their thinking skills, develop spacial awareness, learn to plan and design, and develop the ability to assess size, shape, and suitable construction materials. Children can create sculptures such as masks, play dough creations, and puppets to be used in drama lessons, using three dimensional media. Educators can encourage children to plan, and design the proposed sculpture / artwork beforehand in order to determine size, character, shape, and construction materials. (Russell-Bowie, 2009)<br />