What can your child expect to learn in Foundation Stage art? Here we give you an idea of what the national curriculum requires in the early years of art, with helpful lesson examples and a few suggestions regarding simple homework ideas that will get your child ahead of the class.
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In the Foundation Stage of national curriculum art, your child will be taught to use his or her imagination by dismantling, combining and discarding ideas and materials.
The practitioner will provide a variety of materials and Foundation Stage resources to stimulate your child's curiosity and for your child to explore and research ideas, imitate and experiment, and develop their own ideas.
Practitioners will introduce appropriate vocabulary to help your child to talk about what they have produced, what they like and how they can make it better. Topics covered include colours (mixing, expression); marks (shapes, lines, patterns); texture and media (smooth, rough, shiny; paint, chalk, crayon). Children also begin to learn about the ways in which paintings and drawings can capture feelings.
Lesson examples
Alexander uses purple paint to make spiral marks on paper. He repeats the exercise using crayons, and then again later in his lunchtime custard.
Melanie tips white and red paint onto her mixing tray and stirs them. With much delight she announces: ‘Look! It's gone pink!'
After watching a television programme about dinosaurs, Philip uses different sized boxes to make his own dinosaur model. He searches in the ‘art scrap' box for something hard and scaly to finish off the dinosaur's back.
Help your child at home
- Point out pictures, paintings, building designs, and objects such as furniture and ornaments at home or your local community to feed your child's imagination and appreciation for how different sorts of art enrich our lives. Ask questions such as: What colours and patterns have been used? What about the materials and textures - is it fabric or wood, smooth or rough? How does that make you feel? What do you like or dislike about it?
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Use similar questions to help your child talk about his own artwork produced at nursery, school and home. Give plenty of feedback and praise, and focus on those parts that are most detailed to build on his strengths.
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A key skill at this stage is hand-eye coordination, so anything you can do that encourages your child to look first, then draw, and then look again will strengthen her art skills.
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Explore different materials with your child and let them experiment with the different effects they can produce.
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Try not to worry about it getting messy, most kids love tactile materials, and enjoy interacting with them! Just make sure you put plenty of newspaper or an old sheet down.
