Art Ed Wednesday is written each week by Rachel Johnston, a local fiber artist and early childhood art educator. Right now my students are learning about pointillism. They love learning new techniques and this is one they particularly enjoyed. This week I did an introduction to pointillism by providing cotton swabs that they could use to make dots. We also experimented with round sponges and pom poms for different sized dots. Since many of the kids I teach have been painting and drawing landscapes lately, next week I will offer them the opportunity to create pointillism landscapes. I notice that several of my oldest preschool students are ready to move on a bit in their art education. Pointillism is good for the stage they’re in now because it provides some structure for them, but still allows the creative freedom they need.