Surviving PreK Art
Tiny humans scare even the most experienced teacher. There's something about the wibbly-wobbliness of four and five year-olds that unnerves adults. A More at Four program was added to my first school in my third year of teaching. Technically I wasn't supposed to teach those students but with the consent of the teachers I had a trial run in the Spring semester of 2010. Once a week I would go to their classroom for half an hour during my planning or lunch and work with two groups of students for 15 minutes each*. Most of what we made would be considered crafts but it was fun and not nearly as scary as you'd think.
During that semester a job teaching only PreK and Kinder students was presented to me. Not only would I be teaching Art but I'd also be teaching Cooking. What? This was both magical and terrifying! I was nervous to be sure. With some good planning, some important integration, and some shear failure I have been able to navigate the choppy waters of tiny humans and art.
+ Break It Down
North Carolina standards and licenses are K-12 but they still align with what's being taught in private school, though I'm not mandated to teach from them. Take those objectives and break it down to a level that fits with the development of your PreK students. Begin with the elements: color, line, shape, form, space, and texture. Experiment within these boundaries because there is so much you can do. You can add layers that are reminiscent of the K standards but remember this is a time of exploration and growth. A lot happens this year, be flexible. This leads me to point two...
+ Perfection Not Wanted
If you're up on childhood artistic development you know a lot happens between age 4 and 7. I used to get comments like, "You should teach them (Kinders) where parts of the face go because they're tested on it." or "THAT doesn't look like a <insert noun here>! Aren't you the Art teacher? Shouldn't you be teaching them to draw?!" from early-childhood educated teachers. Children hit creative development milestones at different times and expecting two four year-olds to perform at the same level is ludicrous. Don't look for perfection, look at how the student is adapting the skill you've taught. Are they gluing the same way they have all year? Have they learned the difference between colors? Does their circle look more like a circle now?
+ Use Your Words
True fact: A four year-old can make a simple sandwich. No, really! At this point in their development they should be able to follow simple multi-step directions, identify common ingredients, and manipulate basic kitchen tools. If a four year-old can handle this much action then they can handle higher level vocabulary as well. Introducing and reinforcing vocabulary that will carry them through to graduation is invaluable. I get kids to learn horizontal, vertical, complimentary, symmetry, abstract, and more through early introduction and repeated use. Again, it's not about mastery or perfection it's about exposure.
+ Over-plan
Tiny humans, just like adults, run at differing speeds. I have my kids for an hour and sometimes have up to three mini-lessons planned to fill gaps that may come up. I've also developed some free-choice centers that I introduce gradually throughout the year: books, coloring books, magnets, Wikki Stix, scratch art, stencils, free draw, mobiles, and more. It's better to over-plan and push back than it is to come up short.
+ Review/Sample/Simplify
Isn't Pinterest the best?! Well, sometimes. You've seen those hilarious tumblr's with Pinterest fails. While it's funny to laugh at those failures in your spare time it is horrifying to have that happen mid-class. Wherever you gather your lesson ideas from do these three things:
Review: look at the blog post, directions, etc. Is this something you can afford, make time for, or is even relevant to your curriculum?
Sample: Make it yourself first. Not sure how you're going to teach a specific step? You will after attempting it yourself. Don't like how it turned out using the supplies you have? Maybe your watercolor palette will work just as well as their liquid watercolors.
Simplify: Are the directions too complicated or too wordy to translate to your tiny humans? What can you cut out, break down, and restructure? How can you make it work for your kiddos?
These are my guiding principles. Sure these aren't the only things I think about but they certainly help me to be a more effective teacher of those oh-so-adorable tiny humans! What tips would you add to the list? What helps you survive the wee ones? Happy Monday!
* They had the choice of working with me or participating in choice time/recess.