Amazingly enough, your day care center children may be the perfect audience for the arts. Children have a natural appreciation for beauty and they would probably have a really good time in any type of museum or art gallery you bring them to. Your young pre-schoolers will be excited by a trip outside of your day care facility and parents will appreciate that you are trying to hone their kids into well-rounded individuals. In some states, museums have stepped up a notch by making their art kid-friendly and accessible; they have started to give out free art workbooks to children that capture all the art pieces they have in the museum.To make sure that you and your children are ready for a day in the museum, here are some tips you might want to consider:
1. As a day care center provider wanting the best for her day care kids, you should first investigate the museums in and around your facility’s area for the most suitable gallery for the children. The museum’s director or docent should be more than willing to guide you through the displays so you can do some pre-work on introducing your kids to the artwork they will encounter.
2. Do not expect to keep to an adult-like schedule on your day at the museum. Typically, you can only stay a half hour before the kids start fidgeting and looking for other ways to amuse themselves. This is not because the kids are not having fun; it’s just that it is quite natural for kids to have short attention spans. Do not stay in one area of the museum for a long time trying to strike up a philosophical conversation with your kids. Just ask about the colors and the shapes they see, and maybe how the painting or artwork seems to feel (happy? Sad? Angry?).
3. Make sure that you bring the children to a museum that houses paintings and artwork that have recognizable shapes. Abstract paintings are for later. The kids will be more curious with pieces that have faces, maybe fruits, flowers, and animals. Pre-schoolers would not be able to give their own take of what the painting is about; however, you can ask them which of the artwork is their favorite and why they like it so much. If they cannot choose yet, start by saying which your favorite is and give simple reasons why you like it. Reasons could be because the color is mostly red and red is your favorite color so the painting makes you really happy.
4. As post work, you can have the kids try to copy their favorite paintings in your day care facility. Only encourage and never criticize. Post the drawings all over the walls and have a mini-museum of your own.
5. Follow up on art appreciation by having regular but short exposures to other artists and artwork through DVD’s and CD’s.
For more info see: How to start a day care center
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