As
preschool kids get older, art appreciation will focus more and more on history and the biographies of influential artists, but early art appreciation is a much more basic process that includes doing as much or more than remembering.
Making Art
In
Montessori preschool, your son will probably spend more time “mimicking” the styles of great artists than actually trying to retain which artist is best known for what style. To this end, drawing pictures, coloring pages, and experimenting with self-expression in an artistic form are key instruments in learning to appreciate art as a medium.
Discovering Styles
Splatter painting, using stencils, and painting using non-standard instruments like styrofoam are all acceptable artistic styles that children will enjoy dabbling in. It is fine to explain to them that these styles were the specialty of famous artists, but early learning should focus more on making art than knowing why that type of art is popular.
Learning Masters
Jackson Pollock pioneered splatter painting as a legitimate art form, and Monet brought impressionist art to the mainstream. By providing children with bits of background information as they experiment with different types of art, you encourage them to both delve further into the masters of art and to experiment with their own expressive ideas. There will be plenty of time to focus on the great artists of the past once a love for the diversity of art has become an accepted part of life and learning.
Types of Art
Painting is only the tip of the artistic iceberg. Paper mâché, playdough, and building blocks are also forms of artistic expression, and that’s before you even begin to explore music as art. Encourage your children to express themselves in many different ways, including fingerpainting, drawing, building, and things like sculpture and clay modeling.
Enjoying the excitement of making art is a vital first step in teaching preschoolers how art has been shaped by great minds. Children need to know who the great artists were, but they will
retain that information better once they have learned to appreciate the art they are using rather than viewing it as an academic endeavor.
