It was always the objective of Active learning to make art at our nursery an integral part of the learning process and to introduce our children to the study of the subject in its own right. So many nurseries send home pieces of ‘so called’ art work which is either pre prepared by staff or at the other extreme a few daubs of paint on a piece of paper which is meaningless to child an parents alike.

We wanted children not only to enjoy learning all the different techniques with which they could explore their own levels of creativity, but also to have a little understanding about the very famous artists who have gone before them, to discover what art is about and how it enhances the world we live in.

Every child spends a section of their day within the Art Studio. We allow for significant amounts of time there so that children are not limited should they want to pursue a project or complete a piece of work. Alternatively, it is not every day that children want to beaver away on their next artistic creation and therefore there is also plenty of flexibility for them to do other activities during this time too. However, each week, there will be a focus activity for the children to follow and complete either as a single project or sometimes as part of a larger ongoing theme.

Details of focus activities and themes are always on the notice board within the studios and in the main entrance. You should also receive details on the active updates and newsletters.

Additionally, there are always other creative activities available in case the children want to paint, draw, construct or deal in any other media.

Children are also introduced to the stories about famous artists, and have an opportunity to study their individual styles and imitate them, i.e. painting in dots (Monet). From time to time, in order for the children to show off their work to parents and visitors, we hold art exhibitions, again to intoduce the children to this part of the art world.

An example of this was last Summer when we featured the Children’s interpretations of Kandinsky and Picasso. Art work was sold to parents with the proceeds going to a children’s charity.

Children will also become involved through their art classes in assisting the music and dance studio in designing sets for shows and with costume design.

As part of our practitioner in residence programme, we also have an artist in residence who visits the children from time to time to help with workshops and also to tell children about their life and how they spend their days.