Art in Early Childhood Education
Lucille Fisher
As God used Spirit-filled craftsmen in the work of the tabernacle, so the Lord can use artistic talent today. We praise God for the creative touches that have enhanced our lives through day-to-day contact with fellow Christians as well as for those dedicated Christian artists who serve Him in local churches, Christian schools, and Christian publishing groups.
Art education should be offered in the Christian school curriculum to nurture the God-given artistic wisdom and talent of every young child - not as "art for art's sake," but as "art for God's glory."
Art strengthens the child's skills of observation and sensitivity to his surroundings, making him more aware of God's handiwork in creation. It enhances all subject areas - visual discrimination for reading, visual memory for spelling, the ability to see relationships for math and reading comprehension, as well as eye-to-hand motor coordination needed for writing.
Young children need understanding and supportive teachers who realize the developmental stages in children's art. The young two- to four-year old beings his art experience with random scribblings as he learns to manipulate art materials. This manipulation of the media is not an end in itself, but it contributes to the child's total development. The activity rather than the resulting art product is more important in this early stage. The importance of the art product will gradually increase as the child matures.
About the age of four or five the preschooler begins to purposefully combine lines and geometric shapes into representational symbols: for instance, the leg of a person often looks like a musical note. The child chooses color primarily for its emotional appeal. He has limited ideas of space and often draws an object proportionately larger because of his emotional attachment to the object at the moment. Therefore, the teacher must not expect adult proportions in children's art and should avoid discouraging and critical remarks.
When a child says, "I can't draw. Show me how to make a dog," we should not draw for the child. Instead we should extend his thinking and observational skills. "You make you dog the way you want it. There are all kinds of dogs. Do you want a big dog or a little dog? What kind of nose will he have?"
Teachers need to avoid asking a child what he is drawing. We must remember that he is primarily learning to manipulate the art media. Let's teach the young child early to use the phrase "It's just a design." This is a good answer for older siblings and even parents who unwittingly demand explanations of a child's drawing.
Teachers in early childhood classrooms need to offer a variety of art materials (clay, crayon, painting, cutting, pasting, chalk and snow and finger painting), provide time for art experiences, and appreciate the children's art products.
Reprinted from Balance, a publication of the School of Education, Bob Jones University. Used with permission of Bob Jones University. Please write BJU Press, for permission to reproduce this article.
