rachel johnston

Art Ed Wednesday: Pointillism for Preschoolers

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.

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Art Ed Wednesday: Creative Freedom

Art Ed Wednesday is written each week by Rachel Johnston, a fiber artist and early childhood art educator in Lincoln Parish.yarn13 200 I sometimes work with kids who have what I call the “coloring book mentality”. By that I mean they want to be told exactly how to do an art project. Sometimes this seems to come from coloring books being a child’s most common art material. If that’s the case, they often think there is a “right” way to paint, draw, etc. and they aren’t confident in their own creativity. Coloring books can even be frustrating for some children if they don’t yet have the motor skills or coordination to color within the lines, but they think they are supposed to. I am not opposed to coloring books in general, but I don’t use them in my classes because I want kids to have the opportunity to express themselves and I feel that starting with a blank page is a good way to do that.

Some kids really enjoy coloring books and if that’s the case, they should have them. But encourage the kids in your life to explore their own creative process, and to create art that reflects how they see the world around them. When you're 3 years old, there is no "right" or "wrong" in art.

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Art Ed Wednesday: Recycled Materials

Art Ed Wednesday is written by Rachel Johnston, a fiber artist and early childhood art educator in Lincoln Parish. A grocery bag and some felt scraps makes an instant costume

Hi everyone! Today I’ll be sharing a few ideas for using recycled materials as art supplies. If your children go through art supplies quickly, it can be handy to keep a container filled with recycled items that they can use. This will provide them with free materials, and it will keep a few

things out of landfills. Recycled materials can be used for collages, sculptures, and many other projects. Let your kids decide what to create based on the materials you have!

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The List:

Cardboard (from food packaging, shipping boxes, etc.)

Tin cans (make sure there are no sharp edges. These can be painted and used to store pens and pencils.)

String, ribbon, rubber bands

Bubble wrap

Fabric scraps

Oatmeal containers

Cancelled postage stamps

Magazines, catalogs, junk mail

Spice containers (reuse by storing dyed sand, rice, etc. in these)

Broken jewelry (use beads for new jewelry, chains for collages, etc.)

Objects from nature such as pinecones, leaves, acorns, small sticks, feathers, rocks and shells

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Use this is list as a starting point, and put together your collection of materials based on what you have, and what your children will enjoy. Finding new uses for items like these will help stretch your child’s imagination and creativity.