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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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My oldest is three and this is the first year I am trying to anything structured or schoolish.
I'm really relaxed, and when I say structured, I just mean I am making a conscious effort to introduce a few letter sounds at a time and do projects and things now that he is getting old enough to really crave and appreciate this type of thing.
I also don't want it to be twaddle.
Which is why I feel drawn to a lot of the Waldorf ideas as applied in the home. The art is *truly* beautiful. It is something that I can appreciate as much as he can. So, I feel I need to plan a bit in the art department.
Henry is only 39 months, but he has excellent fine motor skills. He has been coloring in the lines rather well since he was 30 months old, and he will sit focused on coloring and drawing with a pen for quite some time. Painting this week absorbed him for a LONG time. It isn't unusual for him to sit and draw, color, or build things for an hour or so.
He isn't all that interested in drawing creatively. His "coloring" is creative and thoughtful, but he usually wants a printout or me or dh to draw it for him. Is coloring about a million different WWI airplanes, space shuttles, and the occasional curious George (all in vibrant colors, mind you) "good?"
I also bought Lyra crayons last Christmas, and they broke a lot on our tile floor and finally the pieces got mixed in with some new crayola.
He doesn't like the lyra ones that have survived as much because he gets frustrated that it is so hard to stay in the lines. I see the crayon sharpener now, and will purchase that. Is it "okay" that he wants everything to be so precise, or should I be "encouraging" him to feel more free and creative?
If the precision is a good thing, are there any suggestions for good quality supplies that can stand up to a toddler but allow for the precision he craves?
I think that once I invest in nicer supplies for "school," I will save them for special times and leave the crayola for the plane printouts.
I don't know a lot, and I feel a bit overwhelmed at the resources available. I think he would love using the quality supplies, but even after having an idea of what to order, I am unsure of what to do with them. I am not buying $$$ supplies just so he can color in a coloring book, but I am unsure of where to start in guiding him with the paints, chalk, and crayons.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Sept 14 2007 at 6:45am | IP Logged
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I am bumping this and clarifying my question a bit.
I know I want to encourage my ds to do more art. Well, he doesn't need encouragement--he practically begs to paint, but I want to know *how* to encourage him.
So, for instance, I love the idea of getting the real water colors for him to work with, but I don't know what to do. Do I just hand him a blank sheet of paper, a brush, some paint and say, "here, go to town?"
Where is a source for *how* to introduce the art? I love the Waldorf idea that you don't leave white space, and I think my son would respond to that, but what is it we are "telling" them, yk? Do I say, "oh look at all this white space, what color could you fill it in?" With good paints, do I put the colors out for him to choose and mix, do I try to teach any kind of technique at this age?
Exactly what would theLearning Processes tell me? There isn't a description for the book. Is it lesson ideas or a philosophical overview? Will it help answer these questions? $30 is a lot, and I'm not holding my breath on getting it used, but if it helps me address these issues, it will be money well spent.
Also, again, how insistent should I be that my son attempt drawings on his own. I know he is capable. One day, he did big chalk drawings, and I could tell what they were. Of course, they were crude, he's 3, but it was quite good for 3, imo. However, I think he recognizes that they aren't as perfect as what dh or I draw, and he wants it to be perfect. How can I help him get past that?
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Elizabeth
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Real Learning
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| Posted: Sept 14 2007 at 6:55am | IP Logged
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I don't have Learning Processes but I do have the Home Teacher's Process Manual (Oak Meadow's K-3). This book teaches you how (and why) to teach:
recorder playing
crayon drawing
water color painting
form drawing
knitting and crocheting
working with clay
storytelling
singing
These aren't terribly in-depth "lessons" but they do get you going!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MaryM
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| Posted: Sept 14 2007 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Maybe this discussion will answer some questions (doesn't focus on Waldorf art) but rather preschool art development. It lists some of the resources I've found helpful.
Painting outside the lines
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Sept 15 2007 at 7:21am | IP Logged
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Thank you. The books referenced in that thread look like wonderful resources!
Thank you, Elizabeth, for helping me understand what would be covered in the oak meadow books.
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4Real Forums : The Arts in the Everyday
Topic: Where to Start? -Preschooler
