Art Class: Form & Balance II

Stories serve as a useful platform to share about values and good habits. Since the children could tell me about the characteristics of Roberto in the story, there is a common understanding between us when I reminded them about helping friends in need using their skills and talents.

The children designed and planned their playground on paper and used Makedo components to saw and join the cardboard pieces to create 3D structures. A group innovated by using a girl's hair band to propel a marble down a ramp. Another group created a marble tube by using toilet paper rolls. The more ideas are shared, the more ideas they have! 

Art Class: Finding Balance (Part II)

The P1s children learnt about painting routine and off they go to practise. They were only given black paint to to ensure they master the routine and not be too overwhelmed by the instructions. They played with fingerpaint on one side of a folded paper and cover the other side down by giving the back of the paper a good massage. Next, they peeled open the paper and they get the print. We talked about balance and symmetry in an artwork AND since I have a girl who wrote her name and got a mirror-image print, we spoke about letters, numbers and invertion. I challenged them to write their name on a paper at home then stand in front of the mirror and tell me their discovery the following week.

Art class: Finding Balance

We were into our third week of a new school term and after meeting all 5 classes of 7 years old, I have finally met my youngest "revolt" in art class. It was during the end of art lesson and the children had to line up to return to their form class. A girl pull a long face and approached me, looking slightly distressed. She mumbled a one-word syllabus under her breath which sounds like "Ar...ar...". Finally, she exclaimed, sounding frustrated "Why don't we have Art lesson yet?" I couldn't contain my laughter and told her we had just finished one. In her exact words, she replied: "That's not Art. That's a game".

The child's comment is a great reminder for me to explore breath and depth in lesson planning as contemporary artists do work with materials, methods, conepts and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries.

In these lessons, the children worked in groups to make an artwork that show "balance" with an emphasis for teamwork and collaborative skills. They used some PE equipment, binder clips, cardboards, styroform peanuts and toothpicks, and plastic packagings.