Montessori art curriculum, how to choose for students

Montessori art curriculum teaches children The Elements and Principles of Design. Across various art domains such as painting, drawing, and crafting. Montessori art curriculum introduces different elements like line, shape, form, and texture. As children grasp the rich artistic language of the elements and principles of design, they learn how to observe and communicate what they see in their artworks, as well as how to describe their process. 

Montessori art curriculum, how to choose for students

21st Century Skills

Another crucial skill children gain from Montessori art activities in their curriculum is the ability to use their imagination, plan, and problem solve. These activities nurture a child’s imagination and problem-solving abilities. Incorporating Montessori art activities cultivates independent, creative thinkers for the 21st century.

Curriculum Developer

Hi, I’m an artist, homeschool parent, Montessori art trainer and art curriculum developer for children. I’ve spent the last few decades teaching thousands of children through my art studio. Like you, when I first started out I didn’t know where to start teaching even though I went to fine art school!

I didn’t know what art lessons to start children with, what area to focus on, or how to teach the art standards. Plus I couldn’t find any Montessori stand alone sequential art curriculum that scaffold correctly.

In this post I want to help you understand how to decide on Montessori curriculum, and how to choose the right one for students. I will provide links to where to order Montessori curriculum and choose the right one for your classroom.

Montessori art curriculum how to choose the right one for students  by spramani elaun

How the curriculum came together

When I first started out teaching Montessori Students I became stressed and overwhelmed, I usually had to backtrack art lessons. I would later find out my students needed to understand a step better before we moved to the next step.

I bought tons of art books, researched libraries and the web for hundreds of hours looking for Montessori art curriculum ideas. My deepest desire was that my students had joyful creative fun learning. In the beginning I taught too advance. I made things harder than they needed to be, and without realizing I took away creative choices.

montessori art training, art teacher spramani elaun
Montessori art curriculum how to choose the right one for students!

After a lot of observation and understanding the child’s sensory system things changed in my teaching. Over time my art curriculum came all together. With an invitation to teach at a Montessori school with a hundred students all in different grades, with limited time.

I made the decision to give the same art lesson to all the grades, using the exact lesson. This gave them the same exact demonstration and isolated movement. I followed up with letting my students create what ever they wanted afterwards.

Montessori student painting with curriculum developed by spramani Elaun

Curriculum that actually teaches!

I could not believe the results… every single student engaged from start to finish! I’ve explored this art curriculum with studio practice with huge success. Even my adult learners loved learning this way. I accomplished this by making my lessons more digestible to understand. And even created lessons to flow with common Montessori Great Lessons.

Montessori clay modeling art curriculum for early childhood and elementary. spramani elaun how to homeschool art

5 Important Curriculum Things Learned Over Time:

  1. All children need to learn isolated movements first.
  2. You need to focus on easy step instructions that match the plane they are in.
  3. Montessori guides should plan demos around each new concept.
  4. Each lessons should build onto the next skill set you are teaching.
  5. All foundational key lessons can be taught to both planes of development.

I have tested these curriculums with small to large groups of children of all ages. I now offer proper scaffold sequential organized art lessons in all areas. My curriculums focus on isolated foundational skills sets. I now offer my art curriculum for sale for parent and school guides.

Montessori art activities, art curriculum and lesson plans for guides

If you are a Montessori guide or parent you don’t have to figure all this out on your own!

No need to jump online to get a bunch of lessons that don’t scaffold leading you to overwhelmed or stress! I created easy to follow curriculum you can purchase. Plus you don’t have to be an artist yourself to follow these lessons!

Order sequential art curriculum, any time printed or digital from a Montessori art expert!

Montessori professional development by spramani elaun, international art teacher trainer

Buy the right Montessori Art Curriculum For Children, Painting & Drawing:

Drawing Curriculum For Elementary Grades

Drawing Curriculum For 3-6 years (Early Childhood)

Clay Modeling Curriculum For Children

Painting Curriculum For Children

Color Mixing Curriculum For Children

DOWNLOAD FREE Color Mixing Art Lesson

https://www.ecokidsart.com/homeschooling-art-before-you-plan-art-activties-identify-your-desired-outcomes/

Choice and Self-Pacing in Montessori Classrooms

early childhood montessori boy drawing, self pace activity

In a Montessori classroom, children have the freedom to explore their interests. Montessori children learn at their own pace. Montessori education has been transforming parents, educators and students over a century. In this blog I will focus on why the Montessori method emphasis c and self-pacing. And how it leads to more engaged and confident students.

The Montessori Philosophy: A Brief Overview

Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, the Montessori method is a child-centered educational approach. Montessori education focuses on nurturing the whole child. This includes cognitive, emotions, physical and socially. By hands-on, experiential learning in a carefully prepared environment. Guides and facilitators rather than traditional teachers. One of the core principles of Montessori education is allowing children to choose. Students have the freedom to choose activities that interest them and work at their own pace.

montessori student working independently at table with clay

The Importance of Choice and Self-Pacing in Montessori Classrooms

1. Fostering Intrinsic Motivation

When children have the freedom to choose activities they develop a natural curiosity. This intrinsic motivation is a powerful driving force, leading to more engaged learning. The student takes ownership of their education. Intrinsic motivation also promotes love for lifelong learning. A Child will develop a genuine interest in acquiring knowledge and skills.

2. Encouraging Self-Confidence and Independence

As children make decisions about their learning, they build a sense of independence. They trust their instincts, and follow their passions. Taking responsibility for their own growth. This prepares them for future success by fostering resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.

Choice and Self-Pacing in Montessori Classrooms

3. Catering to Individual Learning Styles and Needs

Each child is unique, with different learning styles, strengths, and needs. Montessori children work at their own pace. Montessori education acknowledges and embraces these differences. This ensures that every child has the opportunity to progress at a speed that suits them. It also enables teachers to provide personalized support, further enhancing the learning experience.

4. Cultivating a Collaborative Learning Environment

In a Montessori classroom, children often work in mixed-age groups. This encourages collaboration and peer learning. They can learn from one another, share ideas, and develop essential social skills. This collaborative environment fosters empathy, communication, and respect. Qualities that are vital for success in an interconneced communities.

Choice and Self-Pacing in Montessori Classrooms

The Lasting Impact of Choice and Self-Pacing on Learners

The Montessori approach’s emphasis on choice and self-pacing has many long-term benefits. Fostering intrinsic motivation, self-confidence, and independence, children develop strong foundations. This effects their lifelong learning and personal growth. They become adaptable, resourceful, and innovative thinkers. Montessori children grow to be able to take on challenges of today’s complex world.

The Montessori method’s focus on choice and self-pacing. Which sets it apart from traditional educational models. Creating an empowering and engaging learning environment. By embracing each child’s unique interests, learning styles, and needs. Montessori education cultivates confident, motivated, and well-rounded individuals. Preparing them to thrive in all aspects of life.

Want to learn more about Montessori Education:

Families & Montessori Education American Montessori Society

Association Montessori Internationale

Montessori Foundation Families

PREPARING A MONTESSORI ART ENVIRONMENT AT HOME

Montessori Art Guide – BUY NOW ONLINE

All rights reserved © 2024, 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.

Montessori Curriculum | Art Planning Tips

The start of a new school year is the time to get organized for the next nine months (or so) ahead. Of course, you know the general subjects and lesson themes you’re going to teach, but doing your Montessori curriculum planning for the entire school year, or even the next month, can seem overwhelming.

In all honesty, coming up with art lessons for Montessori students just takes a bit of preparation and basic knowledge of what your students are capable of learning and understanding.

I’ve worked with Montessori teachers from all over the world. I know that far too often, art curriculum can take a back seat to other presentations like science, practical life, or language arts. However, it’s SO important for children to be introduced to visual art! You don’t have to deviate far from the Great Lessons to teach it either, in fact, I recommend using a Great Lesson theme as art idea inspiration when you’re creating your Montessori curriculum.

Let’s back up a second, though. I know it can be challenging—stressful even—to try and come up with Montessori art lessons when you have no art experience. Look, I’m a professional artist, I’ve done it! However, truth be told, I rarely get to show off the complete extent of my skills to elementary students, because they’re too young for this type of instruction and aren’t developmentally ready for these types of lessons.

It’s been the norm to think we need to be teaching children the classical Masters along with the elements and principles of design—but that’s not the case! Students struggle to learn those high-level, in-depth concepts because they need a foundation of simple art curriculum first. The truth is you CAN present great art lessons without being an artist!

Montessori color mixing curriculum for first and second plane

Montessori Curriculum – Art Planning

Isn’t that great news!? You don’t have to be an artist to teach your Montessori children art literacy and concepts. (But I do have an online course, Art Teaching Blueprint, that does train you in how to teach art if you’re interested.) As an adult you have enough experience and knowledge to teach a basic one- to two-step Montessori art lesson sequence and activity.

But I know without the proper art training it’s hard to know what a quality art program should actually cover. Or how to go about choosing art lessons, setting up for activities, and creating a schedule for the year. I get it! Let me fast track you with some tips on creating Montessori art lessons. 

how to create Montessori curriculum for art

What you decide to present for your art lessons is entirely up to you. I always suggest trying to integrate art lessons with other lessons you’re already presenting. You might also want to think about cultural special events or the Great Lessons as you map out your Montessori art curriculum lesson plans. For instance, U.S. Earth Day is in April, so your lessons that month can focus on nature and the earth.

Download 3 Step Montessori Art Lesson Planning How-To Guide

Montessori free art lesson guide to building art curriculum

One of the most important factors when it comes to Montessori curriculum planning is staying organized. When I’m training Montessori teachers how to bring art into their classroom and create an art lesson plan, I try to keep it simple by breaking it down into three easy steps. 

Basically, you can make art lesson presentations much easier on yourself by:

  • Planning and scheduling ahead of time
  • Keeping organized
  • Ordering materials ahead of time
  • Integrating important Montessori subjects (to keep you from struggling on what to teach about)
  • Giving children their own unique way to learn topics
  • Downloading my Montessori Art Lesson Plan Guide

Because I’ve been in your shoes and know exactly what it’s like to spend all your time searching for Montessori art lesson plans and ideas, I’m helping you out with this handy guide. Download it, keep it in your desk or folder, and refer to it whenever you’re mapping out your curriculum or planning your next art activities. Click here to download the guide.


two drawing curriculum covers, best curriculus for drawing and painting lessons for students 6 12 years of age

Best curriculums for drawing and painting grades 6 – 12 years

These curriculums meet and exceeds the national and international core arts standards for children. It teaches the Elements and Principles of Design and the artistic process through the Science Art Method™. These are sequential step-by-step, drawing lessons that are easy to follow in scope and sequence. So you can save time with prepared lessons that are ready to schedule weekly, biweekly, or monthly. This is the best Montessori art curriculum for early childhood/elementary grades. Children love these fun drawing lessons.

Yes this is a stand-alone curriculum.

Yes this shows you how to teach progressive art skill sets

LEARN MORE:

Drawing Curriculum – ORDER HERE

Painting Curriculum – ORDER HERE

Color Theory Curriculum – ORDER HERE

Clay Modeling Curriculum – ORDER HERE

Publisher: Nature of Art®

All rights reserved © 2024, 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.

Start Teaching Montessori Art In The Classroom

Have you ever considered how to introduce Montessori art lessons in your classroom? Perhaps you tried an art project before, only to face chaos and a mess. Maybe you felt overwhelmed by the amount of work you thought was required. Or it’s possible you avoided teaching art altogether due to uncertainty on where to begin.

Firstly, kudos if you tried to teach an art lesson. This step is significant, and with some good direction you can tackle an art lesson with better results. With three decades of experience in visual arts, I’ve crafted a unique approach to teaching children art lessons.

While I go much deeper into the development and functionality of my art teaching method, more blogs, books and my curriculum, today I want to just, highlight the key element you need to know—regardless of your prior knowledge. These are important ideas to being successful in teaching Montessori children in the classroom.

Naturally, adding some structure or purpose to art projects is important. Also it’s beneficial to find ways to link the Montessori art lessons to the Great Lessons.

I know getting your students to work independently and creativity is key, but most important is knowing where to start and whats truly important in a quality art literacy program.

Teaching Montessori Art In The Classroom

Art Education

When starting out teaching art in the Montessori Classroom, having a clear roadmap is essential. There are key areas to familiarize yourself with initially. Firstly, grasp the concepts taught in art literacy, such as the Elements of Art. Secondly, understanding the areas of visual arts to tach, like painting and drawing. Thirdly, learn about the art materials to and stage. Fourthly, creating an art-friendly environment is necessary. Lastly, identifying the primary Montessori art key lessons to introduce first is crucial.

Getting familiar with these foundations will get started on the right path for teaching art lessons. I’ve dedicated countless hours to developing art teaching resources for you through books, blogs, curricula, video tutorials, and even art certification programs if you’re interested in professional development.

Teaching Montessori Art In The Classroom, books, training and curriculum

Fostering Independence Through Art Creation

One common belief among Montessori educators is the value of fostering children’s independence. Therefore, it’s crucial to start off on the right foot when incorporating art lessons into your school. Once you grasp art literacy, you can move into other important concepts. Like learning how to set up for art demonstrations. Or how to stage art material presentations. And art teaching tactics that allow students the freedom to explore creativity. And lastly, you can get good at integrating all art lessons with The Great Lessons with ease.

Art Teaching First Steps

Get acquainted with art standards by exploring a user-friendly book that outlines visual arts for Montessori education. This resource will help you grasp the significance of teaching visual arts and what specific areas to concentrate on. Consider ordering these three Montessori books to access all the necessary knowledge to kickstart your journey into art education.

Defining Visual Arts

Montessori Art Guide – Early Childhood

Montessori art Guide – Elementary

Free Video Art Training

Montessori Art Certification

Ultimate Montessori Art Lesson Guide

Montessori Art Resources

1. 5 Ways to Integrate Art Activities into Montessori Great Lessons

When you combine the concepts of art and the Great Lessons, you can seamlessly support your students learning without any disconnection!

2. Building a Montessori Art Lesson Calendar to Keep Students Busy Every Month

If you take some time to plan out your calendar, presenting art lessons will be so much easier for you during the school year. The best part of all this? There’s a simple, stress-free way to break it down, this blog shares how.

3. 5 NEW Ways to Tackle Montessori Art Projects

This article is a little inspiration for tackling art lessons, activities, and projects. Because, sometimes, you need a different way of looking at things to come up with fun, creative art lessons for your students. 

4. Montessori Art Lesson Planning How-To

Without the proper art training, it’s difficult to know what a great art lesson should actually cover and include. This post sets the foundation to help you choose lessons, set up for activities, and create a schedule for the year.

5. Montessori Art Activities | Big Bang Art Lessons

There are so many different art activities you can present to your students that incorporate the lessons about the Big Bang. Combining art activities with science is the perfect way for students to explore their imaginations and support traditional learning methods.

6. Montessori Art Lesson Planning: My Beautiful (Disastrous) Trip to Bali

Teaching art in Bali was, hands down, the most beautiful art trip I’ve taken this year, but that doesn’t mean everything went exactly as planned. Hopefully you will read about my experience and understand a few ways to work through difficult lessons—and maybe even learn from my mistakes! 

7. Montessori Art Lesson Plan Cheat Sheet

One of the most important factors when it comes to lesson planning is staying organized. Download this FREE, handy, three-step cheat sheet and refer to it when you start planning your next art lesson.

The Value of Art Journaling for Kids, Montessori Activities

I’ve shared with you the importance of stimulating positive art talk in your Montessori classroom. It’s one of the easiest ways to get students interested in art. Once they’ve been allowed to explore their creativity through visual art, chances are, they’re going to be hooked and want to learn so much more. I’ve see it happen so many times! One of the best ways to keep them captivated, allow them to explore even more, and track their progress is through art journaling.

What I love about art journaling is that there’s no minimum talent or skill required—students of any age can benefit. All you really need is a journal, some simple art materials, and the willingness to get creative and have some fun.

What is Art Journaling?

An art journal is a book kept by artists as a visual—sometimes verbal—log of their thoughts, ideas, and creations. Art journaling the same concept as a written journal, but it combines writing with art and visual aspects. It’s a way for children to record their ideas and observations or respond to information they’ve learned with simple drawings and basic written descriptions.

It also gives them a space to explore. With art journaling, anything goes! Every style, medium, and technique can be used.

Art making is also powerful and therapeutic. Journaling gives students a healthy outlet to express their feelings and work through their emotions. For example, communicating through doodles can be much easier for children than talking.

How Art Journals Works

There’s no right or wrong way to do art journaling because they are personal to each artist! Students can use it to try out new techniques, document what happened to them that day or week, or artistically express the different emotions or issues they’re experiencing.

Students can keep their art journals with them or you can store them in a specific place on your art shelf or in a cabinet where they can grab them when they’re feeling creative. They can use the art supplies you put out on your art shelf to fill in the pages of their journal.

For the most part, journaling is an independent project and doesn’t require any lessons to complete. However, if you want to, you can provide simple prompts to inspire them; some examples may be: elaborate doodling, depicting poems, illustrating specific emotions, and creating patterned pages.

Make & Decorate Your Own Art Journal

Making an art journal is simple, all you really need is the journal itself—preferably filled with blank, un-lined pages.

Composition notebooks—although lined—usually cost about $1 or $2 each, and bulk pasts can be even cheaper. But I know purchasing a journal for each child in your class can still add up…so I’m offering you two solutions to cut down on costs.

1. Ask parents to donate journals. You’ll be surprised at how many parents will be willing to donate a few notebooks for your classroom.

2. Create a mini art journal out of plain paper:

  1. Take 4 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 plain white copy paper
  2. Cut sheets in half (8 1/2 x 5 1/2), then fold in half into a mini booklet
  3. Bind loose pages with a rubber band or stitch together (along the fold)
  4. Stitching Instructions: get a thumb tack and press to make 3 holes along the fold; bind pages using a simple string stitch (watch video below).

Once you have your journal figured out, give students the opportunity to decorate their notebooks. If they’ll be using their own individual books make sure they put their names on them. Then put out a few basic art supplies (markers, stickers, glue, scissors, colored paper, beads, ribbons, etc.) and let them have fun. These will more than likely be the same supplies they’ll use to decorate the inside of their journals as well.

If your students choose to share their art journals with you, make sure you offer them supportive and nurturing language.

You never know…creating and encouraging your students to keep art journals might inspire you to start one yourself!

Learn more about teaching kids art lessons

Want more information on the types of techniques your students can handle or ideas for art projects outside of journals? Sign up for my absolutely FREE mini course, Phases of Art Development Guides & Art Project Ideas. It’s a quick guide to what your students are capable of and what to teach them at each age. They’re bite-sized videos that have proven helpful to many other Montessori teachers and they’ll give you a solid foundation to begin teaching art in your classroom!

3 to 6 Art – Early Childhood Montessori Teaching Resources

Sign-up to receive video

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.

Of course, if you want to stay up-to-date on more teaching tips and art project ideas, make sure you sign up for my newsletter!

All rights reserved © 2024, 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.

Building a Montessori Art Calendar to Keep Students Busy Every Month

Building Out an Art Calendar to Keep Your Students Busy with Something New Every Month

By Spramani Elaun

“Teaching” art can seem overwhelming, and creating an art calendar to keep your students busy with art all year long can seem impossible. The beginning of a new school year is both exciting but stressful for that very reason. While you’re mapping out all your projects and lessons for the year, art can sometimes take a backseat.

But I don’t want that to be the case for you or for your students! All it takes is some simple planning to get you going. I promise you, if you take some time to plan out your calendar, art lessons will flow better and be so much easier for you during the school year.

The best part of all this? There’s a simple, stress-free way to break it down.

In my course, Art Teaching Blueprint, I go over in detail how to create an art schedule (and the specific resources and materials you may need!) but here’s the basic idea to it.

Building Your Calendar

You’re going to start by counting up the number of teachable weeks in the school year. That may mean excluding the first two weeks of the year (when you’re still getting your class situated), weeks where you’re off for the holidays, and the last couple weeks of school (when you’re likely busy with testing). This number can vary depending on your schedule.

Now, you’re going to follow this formula:

# of teachable weeks / 5 domains = # of lessons per domain

  • You might be asking, what’s a domain? The way I’ve developed my art training is by breaking down visual art into five different categories, or domains. Here is an example of two:
    • Drawing
    • Painting
  •  

Let’s say you’ve counted 30 teachable weeks for the year, that would mean:

30 / 5 = 6 lessons for each domain

Knowing you only have to teach six lessons on drawing, six on painting, and so on already makes your calendar seem a bit more manageable, right?

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you here. This formula is just the basis for your calendar, you now need to fill it out with more specific lessons, or themes.

Inspiration for Your Calendar

What you decide to teach for your lessons is completely up to you, but here are some tips and monthly theme inspiration to help you finish filling in your calendar.

I’d suggest trying to integrate art projects with the lessons you’re already planning on teaching, like the Great Lessons, astronomy, physical science, etc. With this information, decide which domain makes sense for each topic. For example, if you’re learning about dinosaurs, put clay on your art shelf for students to create their own tyrannosaurus; or let them experiment with watercolors as they learn about the cosmos.

You might also want to think about holidays or special events as you map out your lessons. For instance, Earth Day is in April, so your lessons that month can focus on nature and the earth.

Here are a few other themes for each month to get you started.

  

Monthly Theme Ideas:

September

  • The Big Bang
  • Cosmic Education
    If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for my FREE mini-course—I share a lesson on cosmic rock painting

October

  • World Peace
  • Fall Leaves

November

  • Outdoor Nature Crafts (leaves, rocks, sticks, natural paints)

December

  • Cultural Geography
    Think about crafts from different cultures around the world, like Japanese origami, skull paintings from Mexico, etc.

January

  • Winter Snowflakes
    Students can cut out snowflakes from pieces of paper, or paint a sheet full of them—each with its unique shape and design.

February

  • Zoology (like dinosaurs, birds, insects, etc.)

March

  • Geography
    Students can create maps of places they’re learning about in other lessons this week.)

April

  • Botany (seeds, plants, trees, etc.)

May

  • Astronomy

Summer

  • Beach or Ocean

Hopefully this is enough to get you started!

There are SO many ways to organize your lessons, and that’s the fun part of all this!

You can teach each lesson in succession (six straight weeks of drawing, followed by six straight weeks of painting, etc.) or rotate each lesson throughout the year.

I cover a few specific ways in Art Teaching Blueprint, and even give you a few sample calendars to follow.

So if this still feels overwhelming, make sure you check out my art certification, to enroll or email me directly at info@Spramani.com with any questions.

I’ll also be sharing a specific art project each month on the blog, so make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter for even more ideas throughout the year.

3 to 6 Art – Early Childhood Montessori Teaching Resources

Sign-up to receive video

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.

All rights reserved © 2024, 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.