Posted on

Montessori – Using Visual Arts to Support Language Development

By Spramani Elaun

Montessori - Using Visual Arts to Support Language Development

In today’s Montessori classrooms, students often miss out on opportunities to express their thoughts and emotions about artworks. However, your classroom can be an exceptional environment for empowering students to develop critical thinking skills and proficiency in the language of art. By encouraging students to engage in open discussions and reflective exercises, you can enhance their communication skills and foster a deeper understanding of art while also meeting art standards. Emphasizing the importance of self-expression and thoughtful analysis creates a nurturing space to support language development.

When we look at art, we usually focus on what we see. But it’s also important to talk about art with friends, family, and teachers. As art teachers, we can help students understand how different elements of art fit together. This means they can learn words to describe their own artwork, like colors and textures. For example, they might say, “I used light blue in the background of my picture and made wavy lines to show clouds.” By using these special art words, students can explain their choices and practice language development.

Montessori - Using Visual Arts to Support Language Development, Art Lessons For Teachers

Art language includes specialized vocabulary for discussing art, such as elements like colors, shapes, lines, and the emotions evoked by artworks. Teaching art language in the classroom provides students with a valuable tool for expressing their thoughts and ideas more effectively. Engaging students in discussions about art not only enhances their ability to communicate but also fosters their overall language development. Through the exploration and use of art terminology, students can expand their expressive capabilities, broaden their understanding of artistic concepts, and develop a deeper appreciation for the power of language in the realm of art.

Using the language of Visual Arts can also have a profound impact on brain development! When children create art, their brains are buzzing with neural activity. Not only have neuroscientists, science researchers, and art therapists recognized the correlation between early childhood art and brainpower, but my own two decades of studio-based observations have reaffirmed these findings. Through art, children have the opportunity to enhance their cognitive abilities and bolster their brain function. By encouraging and supporting their artistic endeavors, we can simultaneously nurture their intellectual growth and language development. Art truly has the power to shape young minds in remarkable ways!

How to Get Started Teaching Visual Art Language:

If you’re looking to enhance your art education skills, my book “Defining Visual Arts” is a must-have resource. This book is specifically designed to provide a solid foundation in art literacy. Inside its pages, you’ll discover valuable insights, including:

  • The true meaning of art literacy
  • How to align with art standards
  • The connection between artist language and teaching children
  • Suitable art projects for different age groups
  • Recommended art mediums for children
  • The intricacies of teaching artist techniques
  • The importance of spatial understanding in the visual arts
  • A comprehensive understanding of the artistic process

[Order the book online HERE]

All rights reserved © 2023, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

Posted on

10 Fun Big Bang Art To Share With Your Montessori Students

By Spramani Elaun

Fun Big Bang Art To Share With Your Montessori Students, spramani art album

As a Montessori teacher, you know it can be overwhelming to choose the best art activities for your students. That’s why I’m here with some guidance on which Montessori art activities for Big Bang lessons are most appropriate for your classroom.

Art activities related to the Big Bang are some of my favorites to teach. They allow children to explore their imaginations and get creative in a concrete, meaningful way. From drawing explosions to painting supernovas, students can visualize and understand such a big concept.

Integrating art with science helps kids express ideas creatively, stimulates their senses and provides tactile experiences. And when it comes to teaching the universe’s and the Big Bang, there is no shortage of art inspiration.

To get started, take a look at some of your books for visual inspiration. One of my favorites is “Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story” by Jennifer Morgan. The illustrations are sure to inspire your students to create.

And for more ideas, download my top 5 Montessori Big Bang Art Activities. These activities can easily be adjusted to fit early childhood, lower elementary, or upper elementary classrooms. Click here to get started!

The Big Bang Theory is a fascinating science topic that Montessori teachers can incorporate into their art projects to make the learning experience interactive and fun. Below are ten art projects that Montessori teachers can use to teach elementary kids about the Big Bang Theory.

10 Fun Big Bang Art

1. Create a Cosmic Painting: Take your students on a journey through the universe with a cosmic painting activity. Discuss the Big Bang and the creation of the universe with your students, then have them create a painting depicting the birth of the universe.

2. Constellations: Give your students a chance to create their own constellations using paint or clay. Educate them on how the Big Bang gave birth to stars and how stars are the building blocks of constellations.

3. Paper Mache Planets: Introduce the concept of planets and solar systems by having your students make paper mache planets. You can use this opportunity to discuss the origins of planets and how they were formed following the Big Bang.

4. Galaxy in a Bottle: Encourage your students to learn about galaxies by creating a galaxy in a bottle. This can be a great way to explore the vastness of space and how galaxies form after the Big Bang.

5. Moon Phases Art: Discuss the moon phases and how they are caused by the changing position of the moon. Have your students create art that depicts the different phases of the moon using paint or chalk.

6. Starry Night Sky: Teach your students about stars by creating a starry night sky mural. This activity can help them learn about the different types of stars and how they are formed.

7. Cosmic Collage: Give your students an opportunity to create a cosmic collage by cutting out pictures of planets, stars, and galaxies from magazines and newspapers. Discuss the Big Bang and how all these celestial bodies came into existence.

Big Bang Art Montessori

8. Sun Catchers: Discuss the origins of our solar system’s star, the sun, and have your students create sun catchers using colorful tissue paper. This can be a great way to explore the different colors of the sun and how they are visible to us.

9. Universe Mobile: Make a universe mobile to showcase the Big Bang and the creation of our universe. Students can create planets, stars, and galaxies to hang from the mobile.

10. Astronaut Art: Discuss space travel and astronauts’ role in exploring space. Let your students create astronaut art that depicts them exploring the galaxies and space beyond, giving them a glimpse into the vast universe beyond our planet.

By incorporating these art projects into your Montessori lessons, your students can learn about the Big Bang Theory and explore the vastness of space in a fun and interactive way.

Montessori Art Activities | Big Bang Art Lessons
montessori art curriculum

Order my Montessori Art Books & Curriculum HERE

Posted on

Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book

Some times it’s hard to think about how you’re going to teach art to Montessori early childhood children, but I promise it’s much more fun and easier than you think. And if you use a fun book to tell a story it becomes even more exciting

In this blog I want to share a fun idea I came up with in my art class. I have shared this idea on instagram and facebook and many parents, bloggers and Montessori guides have shared their inspired stories of how children loved this Montessori art activity using the story book Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Some Montessori parents have written me to say…

“We read the book together and I created a fun art space for drawing with different types of purple crayons, thank you for such a great idea, my daughter loved it!’

“My son loves doodling and this book was an instant hit, in fact he started to draw parts of the story!”

“My child loves purple, and this was such a fun adventure for them”.

“I loved how this was so easy to set up by just reading the book, and choosing purple art supplies we had around the house.”

One of my favorite things to do is combine children’s story books with art activities. If you would like to learn more on how to do this check out this free training How To Theme Art Activities With Story Books. This Montessori video training will show you how simple this concept can be.

Recently I had a chance to to take this into an 3-6 classroom in Vietnam. Wow what fun we had after story time.

Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book, spramani elaun
This is a classic book I’ve been using for years. The author of the book is Crocett Johnson. You can find this book in paperback and a thick board book. The children loved it so much in Vietnam that I left my copy and had to buy a new one!
Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book, spramani elaun, how we montessori

To set up this Montessori art activity, all you have to do is find some purple drawing mediums like:

Crayons

Oil Pastels

Dot Stampers

Markers

Color Pencils

Paint

Ink Stamp

Tempera Paint Sticks

You can start with a purple crayon, but you can also use any color you want. Typically when I share this activity, my young students will sometimes choose other colors they like. Let your students choose any other color they like even if you only offered purple. You want to promote the idea of doodling and drawing.

Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book

Watch my mini video

drawing and doodling for montessori kids art activities with art teacher spramani elaun how to montessori

This is a great way to stage a montessori toddler art shelf and introduce the color purple.

If you are currently teaching your students colors, they will love this story.

This book is fun for all ages, not just for little kids. I use this book also with lower and upper Montessori elementary kids.

Children love reading the same story over and over, so you could read this book, and introduce a new color like orange, red or green.

Try to use lots of different mediums easy for children to control.

You can choose to use one color to isolate the concept.

I have a tray with lots of different color purple mediums in my examples above.

You can guide children to make lines, textures, patterns and simple shapes.

This is just a fun creative way to introduce an isolated color.

You can find this cute book Harold and The Purple Crayon – Story Book in book stores, barnes and nobles, amazon, used online book stores.

Order purple crayons here!

Order square block crayons here!

Order purple colour paint here!

Learn why I make square block crayons here!

Love to hear your feedback!

Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book
Montessori Art Activities | Color – Colour, Harold and The Purple Crayon Story Book

Blowing purple with a straw creates so many fun shapes.

Montessori Toddler Art Environment | Setting up, by Spramani Elaun
Montessori Toddler Art Activities | Staging Environment
Posted on

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun

It can feel a little overwhelming—maybe even silly—to try and introduce your toddler to montessori art concepts.

Some toddlers might still be learning how to talk and hold a spoon, so how are you supposed to have a full on art conversation?

Here’s the good news: How-to talk to toddlers about art making is not something you need to worry about.

You don’t have to use “art language,” proper terminology, or fancy words in order for your toddler to start appreciating and experiencing art making.

Art does have its own type of language, it’s called the ‘Elements and Principles of Design” but that’s way too advanced for toddlers to understand!

If you start using this strange art terminology, you’re going to lose your child’s attention, and likely get frustrated yourself.

When you talk to your toddler about montessori art—”Art Talk”—it’s really just describing what you see in artworks, like color, shape, and form, etc.

Before I get into how-to talk to Toddlers about montessori Art let me break that down an easy way your toddler will understand, I want you to have some basic knowledge.

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun

The Basics: How-to Talk To Toddlers About Montessori Art

For a young child, exploring through art play is something natural.

Children gain a sense of their physical world by using each and all of their senses—seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and hearing. This is how knowlege is first learned.

The enthusiasm a child feels while dipping a paintbrush into a paint palette, or creating brushstrokes across a blank paper is exciting!

It’s a curious mix of senses.

Learning montessori art is about discovery and exploration.

By allowing toddlers to explore art (without any expectations), is a natural way for you to introduce toddlers to art concepts.

Playing and experimenting can help them build confidence to start expressing art terms.

This type of art exploration can come in many art activities like: doodling, painting, color mixing, and clay modeling.

(For more detailed information on how to teach toddlers art, read this post.)

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography | aquarium.ucsd.edu

How-to Start talking To Toddlers About Montessori Art Images

OK, lets get started on how easy it is to talk to toddlers about art!

When you’re first introducing art talk to your toddler, keep things basic and simple. Start by describing what you see or what’s going on as you make art.

As your toddler starts exploring, art talk will become easier and easier.

More than likely, their inquisitive little brains will start making cognitive connections (like, “if I use this purple paint, with this paintbrush, it’ll come out like this”), and they’ll probably start asking questions (such as, “what color is this?” or “why did this do this?”).

You don’t necessarily need to use these exact terms, but let me share how simple this talk can be with toddlers.

Describe basic aspects of art:

  • Color
  • Shape
  • Texture
  • Line

Keep these concepts in mind as you talk to your toddler about art:

Examples of how-to talk sounds:

Here are some examples of how to start talking and describing what you see in montessori art activties: While reading story books you can point out colors like this:

“The bear is all brown, do you want to color something brown today?”

“Let’s cut out some shapes, like circles and squares, with scissors.”

“Hey, what about making some fun textures in our clay, watch me!”

“Let’s make squiggly and straight lines with crayons.”

“How many different colored lines can we draw together?”

“Let’s mix yellow and blue, what color did you make?”

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun

Why Is It Important Toddlers Do Art Activities?

  • Toddler Art talk supports confience
  • Toddler art talk supports experimental curiosity
  • Toddler art talk can boost brainpower

Art talk—especially when it’s positive and encouraging—can be the foundation for building up your toddler’s creative confidence.

Remember that most artworks made by toddlers are just simply led by their own curiosity and art play.

For them, the point of art is just to have fun, and their finished pieces of art won’t look like anything realsitic.

If you encourage them and answer their questions, they’ll grow bolder in their exploration and will ultimately have the self-confidence to continue learning— even beyond art.

Art talk will stimulate your child’s imagination.

Art talk can boosts brainpower!

There’s a lot of neural wiring happening in the brain when children make art. Other branches of scientists like neuroscientists, science researchers, and art therapists, have also made connections to how early childhood art contributes to brainpower. Over my twenty years in process, studio-based observations, I have observed these same connections to how children get to improve their brains by creating artwork!

(For more detailed information on how art boost brain power, read this post.)

If you have any questions or get stumped on answering one of their art questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at info@Spramani.com

And for more ideas and tips for bringing art into your toddler’s life, sign up for my Montessori Art newsletter.

With practice you will get good at taling to toddlers about Montessori art.

A Short Cut Just for You …

Order paperback or digital book  Early Childhood Art Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guidefor 13 Months – 6 Years Old

This book includes:

✅ My proprietary art teaching method

✅ The proper and complete list of art materials

✅ A guide for staging and setting up a successful art environment

✅ Tips and art lesson ideas for early childhood

✅ A convenient three-ring binder presentation

Order book online HERE

montessori books by spramani elaun
Posted on

How-to teach children age appropriate art activities

I get questions every day on how to teach age appropriate art activities.

I’m going to share some tips to get you on the right track.

I’ll also be sharing lots of resources.

There’s only four important things you should consider when teaching age appropriate art activities:

  1. Use only safe non-toxic children’s art supplies
  2. Focus on discovery exploratory type of activities
  3. Keep steps very minimal
  4. Focus on introducing the basic 7 elements

Early Childhood Art Activities

Very young children from toddler to six years can not plan art ideas out yet. So their art activities should be very exploration and discovery in style. They should only do process based style art activities. These lessons should generally introduce art mediums and art tools. You should only be introducing the very basic elements of art like line and colors etc. If you want to understand what art programs should consist of you can order:

Defining Visual Arts. This book explains what art literacy is for children and what you should be focusing on teaching. If you want to learn all about early childhood art programming you can order: Early Childhood Art Guide, this book shows you how to design an age appropriate art program.

Elementary Art Activities

Elementary age students can plan and create with intention. They are able to imagine an idea and plan it out. They can also follow one to six step instructions. These ages should also work in an exploratory discovery fashion. Allow children full freedom to express their own ideas. This means you should allow them to change the final outcome of their creation and not insist they follow an exact example.

Safe Non-Toxic Art Supplies

I recommend children under the age of 12 years old not use adult grade fine art supplies. Many artist grade supplies may contain hazards pigments like cadmium, lead, formaldehyde, solvents. Some paints may add additives, mildew resistance or other chemicals. Or also have special instructions for handling. These chemicals could be harmful to children not aware of special handling instructions. Pick non-toxic kids products that bare the ASTM D 4236 on them. This is a U.S. labeling law to protect children from dangerous chemicals.

If you start with these four suggestions you will be starting out on the right foot. If you need more guidance I have many training videos, books and professional development. 

Warmly,

SpramaniE laun

Sign up here to watch for free: Phases of Art Development Video


READ BLOG: 

Montessori Early Childhood Materials List

Montessori Upper Elementary Materials List

Order Art Teaching Books HERE

Virtual lessons

Get professional development by taking the ART TEACHING BLUEPRINT

Need to train your teachers?

Book a free zoom consult call, email Spramani @ info@Spramani.com

Posted on

Montessori Practical Life Activity | Winter Wrapping Paper Collage: Cut, Tear & Glue

Wrapping paper collage

Get ready to save all your wrapping paper scraps for a winter wrapping paper collage!
Bring them into the classroom and recycle them to give students the opportunity to create unique pieces of art. Ask your parents and students to collect their home wrapping paper scraps for this Montessori art activity.
This is one of the simplest Montessori practical life activities to keep kids busy. And while I put this into the winter art projects category, you can really do this any time of year, with any type of recycled scrap paper. This art activity is great for all ages, early childhood, lower and upper elementary.
And you can actually teach scaffold tasks while building essential foundational skill sets.

  • Coordination
  • Independence
  • Scissor cutting or tearing
  • Gluing & Pasting
  • Composition
  • Problem Solving

For more Montessori activities related to this project, download my Ultimate Winter Arts & Crafts Idea Guide and check out page 9.

Need more Collage ideas? Read my Collage Ultimate Montessori Collage Guide

wrapping paper collage
Early Childhood Group Collage

Preparing the Environment for Wrapping Paper Collaging


Supplies

  • Wrapping paper scraps
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Paper
  • (Optional) pencil and eraser

How to:

There are so many reasons you want to give your students the opportunity to gather their own materials, one is truly allowing the child to work creatively. Gathering allows children to create their own individual creations. Second, this supports problem-solving skill sets. Children will go back and forth working out their design elements.

This project can be done two ways:
1. Let students choose the paper designs they want to work with.
Cut or rip pieces into different shapes.
Using these pieces, they can aim to create a specific object/design or keep it abstract.
Have them move the pieces around their paper and experiment with the design.
Once they’re happy with their image, have them glue the pieces onto their paper.
Or,
2. Have students decide on an image they want to create (fish, butterfly, face, mountains, etc.). Lightly draw an outline of the design onto their paper.
Cut the wrapping paper into shapes that will fit within their image.
Once they’ve put the pieces together to their liking, glue them onto their paper drawing.

winter collage kids arts and crafts

Toddler/Early Childhood Group Collage

Gluing and pasting are essential art practices for young students that lead to advanced craft skills. Here is a simpler setup for early childhood grades as a group activity. You can have a couple of students working at one time, or have one student walk up to this activity table.
For more information on setting up for early childhood children, be sure to read my Early Childhood Art Collage Guide https://montessori-art.com/montessori-early-childhood-art-collaging/

Basic table set up steps:

  • Tape down a large paper filling up a tabletop
  • Tape masking tape down on paper into interesting sections so children can collage inside the open spaces
  • Prepare materials like wrapping paper scraps, glue, scissors in a basket or tray for children to reach easily
  • Demonstrate the movements of tearing, cutting, and gluing onto the large paper
  • When it’s fully covered, slowly pull take off, hang in the classroom as art the children can look at and be excited they took part in

Have fun creating your Winter Wrapping Paper Collage Art!

Posted on

5 Reasons Making Art Boosts Children’s Brainpower

art boosts children's brainpower


Did you know that making art boosts children’s brainpower? You can help boost brainpower by supporting art activities at home or in the classroom. It’s true, and it’s supported by new science! There’s a lot of neural wiring happening in the brain when children make art. Other branches of scientists, like neuroscientists, science researchers, and art therapists, have also made connections to how early childhood art contributes to brainpower. Over my twenty years in the process, studio-based observations, I have observed these same connections to how children get to improve their brains by creating artwork!

5 brainpower areas:

  • Problem-solving
  • Fine motor development
  • Memory development
  • Spatial awareness
  • Stress regulation
fine motor development, art boosts children's brainpower

Let’s review these 5 areas of how early childhood art helps:

Problem-Solving

Art making is a great place for children to go through lots of problem-solving situations. They usually start with designing problems, deciding what materials and tools they need, how to construct their artworks, and what size to create their artworks. They then analyze their artworks to decide if they need to find a different way to get the results they desire. The artistic process is a great way for children to become problem-solvers. Creative activities are directly linked to problem-solving.

Fine Motor Development

Fine motor development is a physical attribute that advances a child’s growth. In addition, fine motor skills help with creating children’s art projects and in using art materials. By developing these muscles, children develop better dexterity with paintbrushes and crayons as well as constructing movements and putting together their crafts. (Science Art Method © 2021 Spramani Elaun)

Montessori art activities

Memory Development

When kids learn repeated movements, they’re reinforcing implicit memory; the actions are wired and become linked in their brain. Fortunately, that means they don’t have to consciously think about every minute action. They will see a paintbrush and instinctively know to pick it up, dip it into the palette or water, and start painting. The next time they engage in an art activity, their memory kicks in and their hand movements will come naturally. (Science Art Method © 2021 Spramani Elaun)

Regulate Stress

Most art activities offer multi-sensory engagement and can help kids relax and work calmly. Tactile art-making stimulates touch neural input, visual pathways communicate with both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. And, auditory and smell sensory systems also collect information all while entering an active multi-sensory learning state. (Science Art Method © 2021 Spramani Elaun).

Spatial Awareness

Visual arts are a significant way to improve spatial intelligence. Visual art creation relies on spatial understanding. Art-making teaches kids visualization. When children make art, they become aware of the spatial relationships among objects in the realm of their own experiences. As children learn through two-dimensional and three-dimensional art-making, their long-term memories create sight patterns stored in the mind known as “spatial memories.” (Science Art Method © 2021 Spramani Elaun).

Art Activities and Mediums to Start With

Now that you have a good idea of how art-making can boost brain power, here are the best types of art projects to start teaching. These types of art activities will help develop children’s fine motor control and the small muscles in their fingers and hands.

  • Drawing: crayons, color pencils, graphite pencil, oil pastels, etc.
  • Painting: watercolor paints, tempera paints, acrylic paints, watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils, etc.
  • Color Theory: primary color mixing, dropper color mixing, etc.
  • Clay Modeling: earth clay, non-harden plasticine clay, air-dry modeling clay, beeswax forming, etc.
  • Crafts: paper folding, nature and paper collage, mosaic arrangements, sewing basics, wool felting, string weaving, nature crafting, 3D constructing, etc.

All art supplies are available online in my Nature of Art for Kids online store.

To learn more about how art boosts children’s brainpower you can order my art teaching books here: BUY BOOKS

Get my free Materials Lists for Children’s Art Projects Below:

free download children's material lists for children's art activities

Early Childhood Materials List – PDF

Lower Elementary Materials List – PDF

Upper Elementary Materials List – PDF

Spramani ELaun
Spramani ELaun, Owner, Artist, Montessori-art & Nature of Art For Kids
Posted on

How-to PAINT PAPER like Eric Carle | Montessori Art

How-to PAINT PAPER like Eric Carle | Montessori Art

A fun Montessori art activity: Paint paper like Eric Carle

Every summer, I host art camps in San Diego, and my students’ top favorite project to do with me is to paint papers! In this post, we will teach you how to paint paper and collage like artist and author Eric Carle.

So I thought I would share this fun Montessori art activity you could introduce to your students.

I like to give my students unusual tools, bright paint colors, different colored papers, and crazy things to make interesting textures and patterns.

This also prepares papers for future projects that can be cut and collaged into interesting shapes.

Teach the Elements and Principles of Design concepts

This is also a great way to teach the Elements and Principles of Design concepts texture and patterns, a vital art standard topic children should learn in Montessori art lessons.

The artist and author Eric Carle is famous for doing this fun and vibrant method in his book illustrations.

Eric Carle is famous for PAINTED PAPERS and collaging them into beautiful creatures featured in all his books. 

Eric Carle, artist and children’s book author

Paint paper like Eric Carle
How-to PAINT PAPER like Eric Carle | Montessori Art

What is paint paper?

Painted paper is basically paint applied onto paper. 

You can paint plain white paper or colored paper. 

Paper painting can be created with different mediums like watercolor, gel paints, tempera, or acrylic paints (any paint). 

Children painting colors

What can you do with painted paper?

Like Eric Carle, the famous artist, paint the papers first, let them dry second, then third cut them up into new collage artworks.

Collaging with painted papers
ColColl

Eric Carle’s famous painting papers created The Very Hungry Caterpillar book with this unique painted technique.

Montessori art painting supplies

What tools do you need to make painted papers?

  • Paint mediums
  • Paper
  • Paintbrushes
  • Interesting objects that make patterns and textures
  • Drying rack
  • Interesting tools
Painting supplies

Painted papers can be taught in a process-based manner

Process-based painting is more about the experience rather than following directions.

When kids paint process-based, they are able to go in any direction they choose.

They can explore any texture, use any color, and have any outcome happen, but have very cool painted paper; they can later cut turn into another art piece.

Process-based art lessons and painted papers are a great way to start teaching Montessori art lessons.

Spramani Elaun

Early Childhood Guide – Book

You’ll learn:

  • The importance of early Art Literacy
  • How to speak the ‘Artist Language’
  • The art subjects students need to know
  • The characteristics of child artists
  • Methods and approaches to teaching
  • How to create art activity environments
  • The best art materials for your classroom
  • How to plan level-appropriate activities

Buy Guide Now!

All rights reserved © 2023, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

Posted on

Montessori Early Childhood Art Collaging

Collaging gives students the ability to express their creativity and even helps them develop their fine-motor skills. That’s why Montessori early childhood art collaging activities are great to introduce to students! The activity involves the process of selecting, assembling, and pasting a variety of materials down into a unique arrangement. 

Montessori Early Childhood Art Collaging

It’s an ideal craft for early childhood students because collages are intuitive arrangements; they’re the perfect artful playground for kids to craft in.

This is part of a larger post, The Ultimate Montessori Art Collaging Guide, goes into further detail on the benefits and provides tips and resources for all Montessori levels.
You can read the blog by clicking here.

Montessori first plane students, 3-6 years, are ready for simple collage making crafts. This is an exciting age for art making, since they’re likely crafting and exploring different art mediums for the very first time!

Montessori Early Childhood Art Collaging, how to

Early childhood students are able to hold materials, practice scissor cutting, and explore the different collaging mediums tactilely. They can dip a paintbrush into glue, learn to paste, and make simple arrangements. It’s best to keep instructions simple—giving them just one- or two-step instructions. (For example, cut and paste; or paste and arrange.)

It’s best for early childhood students to work in process-based mode (or creative-mode), which means art making focuses on the process, not the outcome. Again, any copy-mode creating should be basic; with simple instructions meant to build implicit memory. You should allow students to try Montessori early childhood art collaging without any expected outcome. [You can learn more about process-based teaching by clicking here to read more about the method.]

Where to Start: Simple Montessori Early Childhood Art Collaging Activities

Children at 3-6 years are very curious about materials and how they can be used. At this age, they’re very quick learners! By introducing art collaging you can actually help refine their small motor muscles, since the activity involves making controlled movements through cutting, pasting, and manipulating the collaging mediums. 

Keep collage materials very basic at first. I’d suggest starting with light-weight paper and glue sticks. This gives students the opportunity to learn more about how adhesive works, and they’ll be able to build upon that skill as they create more and more. After they’ve had a few chances to explore this type of art activity, you’ll see that they’ll likely have a decent understanding of how collaging works, and will want to create with new types of materials.

Collaging can be done with any type of material: paper, fabric, natural elements, recycled objects (buttons, tiny beads, pieces of cardboard, etc.), sequins, foil, glass, wire, and burlap. However, since young children are still developing their fine-motor skills, make sure the objects are easy to grasp, pinch, or hold. 

They can also be a little impatient at this age, so you also want to make sure the objects they’re crafting with can be easily pasted onto their working surface. (You don’t want things falling off their canvas, and you don’t want to have to use a glue gun to make sure their designs stay in place!) Tape can also be used in place of adhesive glues and pastes; washi tape comes in a bunch of fun designs and can add to the art they’re creating!

Be sure to give children plenty of time to experiment with making different arrangements. It takes some time to understand how to paste, arrange, and press down or hold their design objects into place to create the look they desire.

Montessori Early Childhood Art Collaging natural items

One Step Further: Register for My FREE Online Mini-Course

Introducing your lower elementary students to collaging concepts is just one Montessori art activity out of thousands. Lower elementary students are capable of so much when it comes to art! But if you want to keep your students interested in your demonstrations and keep the mess down to a minimum, you have to understand how they learn. That way you can find the perfect balance of teaching them without overwhelming or boring them. And I’ve developed a FREE digital mini-course—the Phases of Art Development—to help you do just that!

It’s an online course that explains how art making helps students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. Not only will it help you teach your students, but I make it easier on you by giving you some examples of art projects lower elementary kids will enjoy creating.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You: Early Childhood Art Guide

montessori early childhood

Art collaging is just one of the many art activities early childhood students are capable of doing. If you want more ideas, and more importantly, if you want to better understand how early childhood students actually learn art, check out my book, Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide. It lays the groundwork for what your students need to know about art and provides tips and tricks for setting up an art environment, using proper art materials and mediums, and planning age-appropriate art lessons.  Click here to get your copy of my Early Childhood Art guide!

Posted on

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide

How to Teach Important Scissor Skills to Early Childhood Students

If I told you that I often lead students in Montessori early childhood scissor cutting, I’m sure you—and many other teachers—might be a little concerned (to say the least). Giving scissors to a young child might seem crazy, or dangerous, at the very least. But it’s an essential skill everyone needs, and if it’s taught correctly, early childhood students can master it too.

You see, using scissors is a great way for young students to develop their fine motor skills. So while it can be a little scary to hand a pair of (blunt-tip) scissors to a three-year-old, it’ll eventually help them perform many other activities around the classroom. 

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide, spramani elauj

In fact, the earlier a child can learn to use scissors, the better. The activity provides so many benefits to early childhood students! Being able to properly use scissors opens the doors to many other important skills, such as writing their names or ABCs, tying shoes, zipping jackets, cleaning up, and feeding themselves.

So, how do you know when your early childhood students are actually ready to start using scissors?

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide, activities

If your students can sit and focus on an activity for at least 15 minutes, they should be able to learn and start practicing their scissor cutting. You’ll need your students to be able to sit through a complete Montessori early childhood scissor cutting demonstration, where you present the basic movements and show how to safely handle the tool. So, if they can keep their attention on your presentation and understand the necessary outcome, then they can start practicing. Just make sure you’re supervising early childhood students any time they are using scissors.

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide

Importance of Scissor Cutting to Early Childhood Development

By showing young students—even as young as two or three years—how to use scissors, you’re helping them reach critical milestones that directly related to other areas of childhood development. The dynamic motion that comes from cutting activities—specifically, opening and closing scissors along a distinct path—helps them build muscle control, develop eye and hand coordination, deepen their tactile spatial awareness, and hone their fine-motor movements. It also helps them develop the coordination needed for handwriting, eating, dressing, and holding and carrying small objects. 

A child that has scissor practice will be able to excel in complex steps to create and work independently. And they’ll be able to do so many artful and creative things in the classroom, such as cutting paper, following patterns, cutting strings and yarn, and cutting fabric.

Montessori Early Childhood

Where to Start: Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Lessons

You can’t hand your early childhood students a pair of scissors and then walk away expecting them to create, it’s an early childhood art material that needs to be taught how to use. It’s important to give them time to practice the simple movements of just using scissors. Once they have that down, then you can start introducing students to cutting for copy-mode or process-based activities. 

Materials:

  • Safety scissors (with a blunt tip)
  • Soft, thick yarn
  • Styrofoam sheets
  • Construction paper
  • Clay
Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide, arts and crafts

Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Lesson Ideas:

  • Have children cut small and large lengths of yarn
  • Students can cut large shapes from styrofoam, and then glue them onto paper
  • Show students how to roll out coils of clay, and then cut those into small pieces
  • Give students pieces of construction paper that have lines or shapes drawn onto them (or ask the kids to draw their own lines and shapes), and have them cut along the lines

Try incorporating some of these lesson ideas with other topics you’re already teaching in the classroom. For example, make some of the shapes organic, like leaves or simple animal silhouettes. 

One Step Further: Sign Up for My FREE Art Phases Mini-Course

Knowing that your early childhood students are capable of safely using scissors opens up so many doors for all the amazing art projects and activities you’ll be able to do in your classroom! In order to keep them interested in the lessons you’re presenting—and able to handle whatever it is you’re teaching—you have to first be able to understand exactly how they learn art. I’ve developed a FREE online mini-course to help you do just that!

Sign-up to receive video course & Montessori art teaching e-newsletter.

The Phases of Art Development is a quick digital course that explains how art making can help students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. More importantly, I share what types of projects students at every age are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

The Phases of Art Development is a quick digital course that explains how art making can help young children develop their fine-motor skills. More importantly, I share what types of projects early childhood students are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You – Early Childhood Art Guide

And if you want an even fuller picture of how to really help your young students learn art, check out my new book, Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide. It’ll help you understand the importance of art language for early childhood students and lay the groundwork for what your students need to know about art. I also provide tips and tricks for setting up an art environment, using proper art materials and mediums, and planning level-appropriate art lessons. Click here to get your copy of my Early Childhood Art guide!

Montessori Scissor Cutting for Lower Elementary
How to Teach Montessori Scissor Cutting to Upper Elementary Kids

All rights reserved © 2023, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.