I’ve noticed how children explore their creativity and expand their imagination through art activities. Art plays a important role in the holistic development of a creative child, with the cornerstone being process based art.
Upon my initial visits to Montessori schools and interactions with teachers, particularly those in Plane 1 and early childhood education, many tend to overlook the idea of teaching art to young children. They are both right and wrong in their approach. While this may seem contradictory, let’s delve deeper into this concept together.
When it comes to instructing art to toddlers and students aged 3-6, the actual act of teaching them specific art concepts is not always necessary. Why is that? Children need to engage in the process of creating art before delving into formal art instruction.
Understanding and recognizing process based art can be challenging. The objective of this blog post is to provide you with clarity on what process art is for early childhood education. Let’s explore what process-focused art encounters should entails.
Understanding Process Based Art
Process art revolves around the experience itself; the emphasis is solely on engaging in art activities. In process art, there’s no concern about the final appearance of the artwork. Young learners are not expected to produce realistic or visually appealing pieces at this stage; they will delve into more intricate skills as they grow older. Currently, they are in a phase of exploration.
Exploration and experimentation play pivotal roles in process art for toddlers and young children. Their problem-solving abilities evolve through their involvement in process based activities.
By allowing youngsters to explore, experiment, and learn from mistakes, a stream of unique and imaginative artworks emerges. When children have the freedom to play and express themselves, they develop creative thinking skills. Additionally, process art enhances their fine motor skills, spatial intelligence, and cognitive reasoning.
For early childhood learners, engaging in the artistic process through process-based projects holds greater significance—it is the fundamental way in which children truly grasp art concepts.
Teaching Process Based Art
Process-based art is all about giving students room to explore their own art-making techniques. However, there should be a light, very simplistic introductory instructions on how mediums can work or be used. (This helps mitigate any messes and empowers children with the confidence to create.) I recommend showing early childhood students how mediums might turn out and the different techniques that can be achieved with each.
When teaching process art making, encourage students to experiment. Inspire them to be unique and original. Make sure they know that any type of exploration is great, and there is no wrong way to use mediums and attempt whatever they choose to create.
With process-based art, time is irrelevant, meaning they can go back and add to an older project during a different art-making session.
Common Mistakes in Process Art
When it comes to teaching process-based art, educators, despite their good intentions, can sometimes make errors. Here are some dos and don’ts to enhance your students’ process art experiences:
- Don’t: Present art lessons as step-by-step instructions (reserve this for older students);
- Do: Allow children the freedom to create without strict guidelines.
- Don’t: Impose a right or wrong way to create a project;
- Do: Encourage exploration and validate all creative outputs.
- Don’t: Expect children’s artwork to mirror samples or be recognizable images;
- Do: Appreciate that young learners are still developing their artistic skills, resulting in unique creations.
- Don’t: Discourage students from experimenting with unfamiliar mediums;
- Do: Provide space for creativity and individuality.
- Don’t: Correct or push children to replicate examples;
- Do: Embrace the idea that process art values the journey over the final outcome.
Free Mini Digital Video Course!
I hope this help gives you a understanding of how process-based art can work in the Montessori classroom. If you would like to learn more how to nurture children in the visual arts, register for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development Video.
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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.
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