As an Experience Early Learning Blog Ambassador, we receive the Experience Early Learning preschool curriculum in exchange for sharing our honest and authentic stories resulting from our personal experiences. As always, our opinions on amazing things for children are 100% our own. Keep in mind that all preschoolers do things in their own time and on their own terms. What one is ready for, another might not be. Please use your best judgement when planning activities for your children.
We recently started using Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time) and we've been having a great time with all of the amazing process art experiences that are included with the preschool curriculum.
What is Process Art?
Do you remember creating as a kid and getting lost in the process of what you were doing? I'm willing to bet that you weren't at all concerned about the end product.
You enjoyed watching the colors swirl together, exploring supplies and experimenting with techniques.
Oh, and let's not forget the mess that you made while you were at it. Did I mention that's half the fun?
At that point, you just wanted to make something. Regardless of the outcome, you were happy.
That's process art. It's open-ended and has no definite end product. There are no directions to follow and no example to recreate.
Children thrive on creating this way! They enjoy using their imaginations, getting messy, and trying new things. Not to mention, it's a great way to build their confidence.
Today's Snowstorm Invitation to Create Process Art Experience was a perfect example of that. The children were all given the exact same supplies and yet every one of their projects looks totally different.
There are all kinds of wonderful benefits that come with process art and it's such an important part of the preschool curriculum that we're using in our classroom.
Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time) includes tons of process art activities with each month's theme and of course the children are loving them!
Why Is It Important?
By now you're probably wondering why you might want to focus on process art. How does open-ended art benefit children? Why are process-based experiences so important?
Here are just five of the many reasons why process art is important for kiddos.
5 Reasons Why Process Art Is Important for Children
1. Inspire Creative Thinking - Preschoolers are naturally curious and they thrive on being creative. Giving children lots of opportunities to express themselves helps to build confidence and self awareness.
2. Encourage Problem-Solving Skills - Let's face it, most STEAM careers rely heavily on both creative thinking and problem solving skills. These are the skills that our little kids will need to be successful in college as well as in their adult lives.
3. Provide Sensory Experiences - Play is vital for children's development and getting messy is an important part of that. Messy play allows children to explore the world around them in a variety of different ways. They get to experiment with new textures and sensations.
4. Increase Fine Motor Skills - So much of what we do is dependent on fine motor skills. From eating to writing and everything in between, fine motor skills are critical for children. And of course the more we practice. the easier these things get.
5. Explore New Materials and Mediums - What a better way for kiddos to explore new materials and mediums than to let them get familiar with them in their own time and on their own terms. After all, every child is unique.
Isn't it amazing how much children can learn from just one simple activity? And like I said, that's just a few of the reasons why process art is so important.
It's actually kind of crazy when you stop to think about it.
If you haven't already tried open-ended art experiences with your children, here are a few ideas to get you started. And of course make sure to check out this amazing preschool curriculum to get even more ideas for using process art in your classroom.
Don't forget to stop back in the coming weeks to check out what we're up to with our new blogging adventure! We'll be sharing even more of our experiences using Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time).
