Out of the Classroom!

I like seeing children learning beyond the four walls. To consider the environment as the third teacher, we've got another art room this year and we are doing away with furniture so that children can move more freely. Some small desks were bought with the intention of doing our class work in other parts of the school (like the school garden). The children can move around easily with the desk and make group work more convenient. Simple safety briefing were conducted first before usage and so far even the 7 years old are using them responsibly.

Art Class: Building Spaces (Part II)

Part 1 of this post is here if you've missed it.

After the children started to use masking tape to attach the cardboard. I've also showed them 4 different ways of cutting and joining cardboard. The samples are secured onto the wall so that they can use them as reference. It's also important to make them see that we have to begin with the end in mind. For example, I've explained to them that we are not using clear tape because it'll be harder for the paint to stay. Ever since I muttered the word paint, some kids were asking me ARE WE PAINTING TODAY? at every lesson until we actually start painting...

I have other boys who followed him and started inserting the smaller toilet paper tubes into the big ones to make bullets.

"It's a tank"

A secret entrance to the house

"This is how the elevator moves"

"Flying House"

"A special way of locking the bigger rolls by inserting the smaller ones inside"

The last GIF that I've shown has an interesting background. When the children were doing this, I remember thinking that they really shouldn't waste my smaller toilet paper tubes by inserting them inside the bigger ones since they were not going to be seen anyway. At the same time I was also telling myself not to interfere with their work just because I don't have enough tubes. So, can you imagine my internal struggle?

I was really glad that I did suspend judgements about how things are supposed to be and asked for an explanation. He started to show me excitedly about his discovery being able to act as a locking mechanism and I knew that I would never have thought of this. And this was done during the times when the children were not given any adhesive yet. Thus, this encounter reinforces the idea that children are able to think for themselves when given the appropriate tools and opportunities to support their growth.

At this point, I would say my favourite question of the day was from a girl who asked me: Ms Huang, when are you going to start teaching us real art? HA!

Art Class: Building Spaces (Part I)

The Primary Ones children were given a theme on Space for their artwork this semester. At 7 years old, learning to work well together would definitely be a more important skill than learning what the primary/ secondary colours are.

To begin the unit, the children played Space game - making enclosed space with their bodies. The more adventurous children would try to explore making space with multiple planes (see the boy at the bottom left making a bridge) rather than just standing up and flexing their arms. Each time I beat my drum, they would have to change the kind of space that they have made. This would encourage them to think on their feet (quite literally!) as the speed of their next move would depend on my drum rhythm.

Next, to allow more time for them to incubate their ideas, the children played with different kinds of recycled cardboard (toilet paper rolls, tissue boxes etc) without adhesive first. I usually stopped my lesson 15 min in advance so that I can have a debrief session to talk about their problems when doing group work.

Teamwork is just as important as literacy. Once they have mastered teamwork skills, there'll be nothing they can't do in art class. Wasting some time in the beginning to gain more time in the end should be okay. These children have limited opportunities to work in groups as they have just started primary school this year and are just getting to know their friends. I really had to slow down my lessons to ensure that I spend more time talking to them about the important of relationship management. Groups that worked well together would be asked to share their "secrets" in front of the class. The children have no qualms about speaking in front of their classmates! They are sure better speakers than their art teacher when she was 7! I'm maintaining my class routines and hopefully they will be better listeners in the weeks to come.

After which, the children were tasked to brainstorm on the theme of Space. Some children were very knowledgeable, they could talk about black holes and milky way! If you've noticed, this particular art room has chairs or tables removed to create a space where children are not destined to become table artists. I'm looking forward to observe how the children would have progress in the subsequent weeks.