PMI Newton

Art class
27 July and 3 August 2023

*Description in some of the photos*

20 July 2023

Today we continued part 2 of our soft clay project. Everyone was happy to hear that and especially the children who missed this satisfying tactile play last week.

First, I showed a 3 minutes clip from the clay animation “Pingu”. The characters do not speak actual words – which is good as it stimulates the imagination of the child. Most things in the series are made from clay, this is inspirational and shows them what can actually be done with clay.

After teaching them some basics on the different ways of mixing, rolling, forming and sticking clay, they were given a choice to let their imagination run wild. To create a fantasy animal or whatever they fancied.

We encourage children to trust what their own ideas and so, what comes out of that is that everyone’s design is different and their own.

The important thing was not for them to create something they ‘know’ – like a unicorn or a realistic butterfly etc. At this early stage, the aim is for them to encourage experimentation and explore the material first. Get their fingers and hands moving and happy. This gives children a good foundation of confidence to embark upon more complex work as they grow up.

Some made many different forms before settling for their final one.

Enjoy their creations!

13 July 2023

Today the children explored playing & creating with soft clay.
The texture of this clay is very delightful to the touch and everyone loved it.

They were given a glass container (so they had to learn to be mindful of how they handled that & everyone was!)
They learnt how to roll it into large and tiny ball forms, long and thin and how to create layers and also how to apply the forms securely to their main structure.
They also learnt how to wrap the clay around another structure – which was a toothpick.
They also learnt how to mix the different colours.

What was created was literally – eye candy!
They then added their surprise element: little tiny visitors to their colorful mountain.

They all named their piece – ask them about it!

06 July 2023

Today, the children painted on both large and small areas.
They completed their palm trunk with little embellishments of shapes and patterns. Once that dries, these will be placed in the school’s garden for all to enjoy! After that, they painted and decorated on little recycled boxes.
Playing with paints can be a chaotic mess when it comes to cleaning & tidying up but all the children did excellently. They learnt how to do an initial rinse of their brushes first and then doing a full clean after.

Partners in Art
We will be starting to pair older children with younger ones, to act as simple guidance partners. Older children will not be ‘’doing’’ for younger ones but only explaining or showing whenever needed.

This is beneficial on multiple levels. Besides building confidence, improve verbal communication, creates awareness & focus, forms compassion, care and is an excellent bonding exercise between peers.

Dress Down Thurs Art
Gentle reminder to children to dress down on art Thursdays. Instead of bringing a change of clothing, would highly appreciate it if you could put your children in their ‘’old & worn out’’ clothes. This will be the easiest way for all. As we have limited time for art, it will save time from changing when class starts and also after.
We want to maximize our art time! Thank you! - Ms Dipa