Hands on Art Aproach to Learning

Art and creativity were practiced since the beginning of humanity. From the caveman to today’s electric cars, Man has relied on creativity to satisfy his curiosity and drive for evolution. We now live in a society that idolizes perfection, we can be easily enticed to follow step-by-step and color within the lines trends to avoid making mistakes, the biggest catalyst for learning!

To better understand how we can help our children to become creators of any form, let’s start by understanding what art and creativity have in common.

Art /ärt/ is the expression or application of human Creative skill and imagination. Furthermore, to be Creative requires the use of original ideas, especially in the production of artwork. While art requires creativity, originality, and imagination, “Craft” only requires the skill of making things by hand, to recreate a project.
Hands on Art focus on fostering creativity, authenticity, and originality. Through the process of creating, children use observation, exploration, and discovery, to problem-solve, and we also see mistakes as a great opportunity to discover new ways to create.

We emphasize the importance of making mistakes as a great opportunity for learning. One of our practices is the avoidance of erasers during the process of brainstorming ideas. We encourage retracing until the idea is established. Getting comfortable with messy work release a lot of stress and allows the benefits of the art practice to established healthy belief during childhood.

After years of research, Hands on Art’s teaching approach was established with the goal of building confident creators. Its unique teaching approach allows our instructors to facilitate lessons while providing a full art experience. This system is based on 4 important steps; Inspire, Demonstrate, Facilitate and Seal the Learning.

The Hands on Art teaching approach’s main focus is to preserve children’s creativity and to create awareness of the different elements that are part of the creating process, such as;

Inspiration: At the beginning of each project, children are inspired through questions that will tap into memories, feelings, emotions, studies on famous artists, or art trents.

Problem-Solving: Children are encouraged to look for different solutions to difficulties during the process of creating.

Independence: Children are allowed to explore different ways of creating. After the inspiration and demonstration process, we open up for exploration of materials, choice of materials, color, etc.

Risk-Taking: Children are encouraged to take a risk when they want to explore different ways on the application and building of projects, a discussion of possible outcomes generally takes place to prepare the student for the exploration of new ways and possible failure. After all, Hands on Art is the safest place for children to make mistakes and learn from them. And what about if the results are a complete success!

Innovative thinking: Kids are encouraged to explore and apply the materials in different ways, oftentimes we get really surprised by new ways we are introduced by our students.

Effort. Through our teaching approach, children established the foundation of creating with confidence in knowing they have control of the elements above.

The greatest benefit of regular creative practices under the direction of a program like Hands on Art is to build a foundation for confident creators. This valuable skill will support your child throughout their years of development and approach adulthood with a set of skills for success.

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD’S CREATIVE GROWTH.

– Never set expectations on your child’s final product

Remember, your child will create based on their age and skill level. Appreciate their precious scribbles, and blobs, because they will grow out of them quickly.

– Avoid drawing for your little one

Drawing for little kids only teaches them the inability to draw like an adult or older sibling. It will create a misconception from a young age.

– Scribbles are the early stage of drawing and reading

Appreciate scribbling, like crawling, you don’t want your child to start walking before crawling.

-Try not to intervene in your child’s creative process.

There is a lot of exploration, problem-solving, and discovery during the process of crating. The real learning experience happens when they are working on their own.

-Encourage originality

Display more appreciation for original marks than a copied, beautiful form. Emphasize your admiration for your child’s own ideas, even when those marks might look less refined. Remember, the process to become a creator is more important than the final product. Plus, realistic drawing or painting is not the only form of art.

-Lead by example, model what you would like to see in your child.

Avoid complaining about your inability to do art in front of your child. While you might think you’re busting your child’s confidence, the moment he/she can’t draw the same way as a peer, he will drop the practice of creating.

– Pretty, cool or nice is not enough!

Show interest in your child’s creation, take a moment and sat with your child and ask questions about the process of how the project was done.

– Don’t assume or try to identify forms on your child’s art.

You might be wrong in your perception. Instead, ask questions about simple elements you can identify, it can look something like; can you tell me more about this vertical line, yellow color, circle, etc., and show genuine interest in the response.

You made it! I am excited you are interested in supporting the next Katherine Coleman, Mary Blare, Nikola Tesla, and Walt Disney. I am here to support you!