b'How do young childrenEarly Literacy is soIn the Art Room Connecting Art to our Worldlearn best? important!We are learning about the Elements andRead the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar Principles of Art: line, color, shape, form, valueand have them do a drawing of the caterpillar or and texture, along with much more butterfly. Young children learn best through play or byRead daily with your child, ask your childWe read a book or look at a piece of artworkDiscuss the life cycle of the butterfly (science) or being engaged in fun activities, whether that isquestions about what you have read; buildsrelated to the topic of our lesson how something beautiful come from a bug (SEL).with their parents or others in their lives language and comprehension. We learn to be good artists by using ourDiscuss healthy eating.They learn best in an environment where theyAllow them to read the pictures in a book to tellimagination, being creative and neat, and byTake your child to the store and let them count can explore materials and do activities thatyou the story; builds confidence. following directions. items at the grocery store; math connectioninterest them. Have children retell a story through drawings orIn the art room, young artists learn about art,Involve your child in daily household tasks like They also learn best through doing activestop before the end or even different parts of alaugh a bunch and love discussing their artworkcooking; building self-worth.learning; play is the best way of offering themstory so they can draw what happens next; buildswith others.these hands-on experiences and connections toprediction skills.the world around them. Recite and practice spelling high frequency wordsPractice writing their complete name, letters, Example; by picking up a funnel andnumbers and sight words.pouring sand through it, kids learn aboutBuilding Confidence as an Artistgravity and their own power. Learning isIt is important that students learn that art does happening at multiple levels not have to look like a perfect pictureStudents need to learn about voice and their own power to create. Learning is happening at multiple levels in the art room; language development, fine motor skills, cause & effectTREASURE THIS TIME TOGETHER! Using childrens books, pictures/ visuals and art reproductions of related artists, give young learners a reference to build on or refer to during the art lessonDisplaying their artwork builds pride and self-worth.Arts Education why is it important?Art supports their learning Colors and how we feel Skills to do at home dailyThe arts enable children to grow in confidence and learn how to think positively about themselves and learning. It also helps developYoung children need to make connections toYou can learn a lot by the colors children decideRead: stop & ask questions about what you have motor skills, language skills, social skills, risk- their world; to what they are learning and throughto use.read, have your child retell what you have read taking, and inventiveness. art we support positive experiences whileChildren can tell you how they are feeling with& draw a picture about the story will help them The arts give children on-hands on experiencesintegrating other content. colors when they do not have the words todevelop language and comprehension skills to make sense of the world around them or makeYoung children do not always have the words toexpress themselves.along with pride and self-worthsense of the information being asked of them toexpress their thoughts & ideas, or the words toReading a book like My Many Colored Days andMath: count & sort anything; toys, groceries, connect to or know. convey what they know or have learned. Theyasking them what color they feel like today andcandy, help cook & measureConnecting the arts to early literacy allowscan communicate through their artwork and therepeating this routinely can give you insight on aWriting: practice letters, numbers & their name. learning to be fun, provides visual supports,colors they use to create their artwork childs emotional state.Use a highlighter and have them tracegives students voice when they may not haveArt gives children an opportunity to illustrateDo this all the time and they will start telling youParents are their first and most important the language yet to convey what they mean, andtheir thoughts & feelings. on their own. teacher. They are watching, listening, and helps make real world connections. Read to young children often or have themlearning about the world around them through all Young learners are often willing to take riskspicture read to you than have them draw atheir daily interactions.on their own.discussing their artwork, which builds self- picture and tell you about it like a story; write confidence and their vocabulary for early literacy. their stories on the back of the picture.TRENDS // PAGE 22PAGE 23 // TRENDS'