How to Teach Art and Craft at Foundational Stage 3-8 Years Learners

• For young children, the process involved in art and craft is more important than the product.

Uninhibited artistic expression: Children must be allowed to create visual arrangements, artworks, tunes, songs, role-play, dramatic play, dance, and creative movements from their
own imagination; as well as through guided exercises facilitated by the Teacher. Notions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in terms of artistic expression must be avoided.
Instead, different viewpoints, experiences, expression, and imagination are encouraged and celebrated.

National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage-2022

Exploration of materials, mediums, and tools: It is important for children to develop and apply their curiosity in exploring a variety of materials and expanding the possibilities of using them as tools and mediums in the arts in multiple ways. A brush might be used as a tool in the visual arts but might also have the possibility of being used as a musical instrument, or a theatrical prop. Within each arts discipline too, children need to be encouraged to discover their own methods and techniques of using instruments and materials, in addition to conventionally accepted methods.

• Observation: Children not only need to observe their surroundings visually, but also become keen observers of their own thoughts, feelings, emotions, expressions, actions, and overall behaviour. Introducing children to the basic elements of the arts provides them multiple frameworks to organise and understand multisensorial stimuli and develop their aesthetic sensibilities. Simple exercises based on elements of sound, colour, or movement, can be applied to their everyday contexts to corelate these with emotions, thoughts, and actions.

Conversation and dialogue: The Teacher should ensure that the arts classroom is always an inclusive environment. The Teacher must pay keen attention to children’s verbal and non-verbal communication, appreciate their visual and performance artwork, and ask questions that merit personalised responses from every child.

Aesthetic appreciation: The art class must include regular conversations and discussions around the appreciation of what we like personally, what is appreciated collectively, and what is desirable aesthetically. These conversations must be based on the practical work done in the class and aesthetic experiences that children can relate to from their everyday lives (e.g., their preferences in colour, clothing, food, dance, festivals, performances). The teacher’s role in these conversations must be participatory and non-judgmental. Discussions need not take up more than 8 to 10 minutes during an art class.

For Grades 1 and 2, planning for blocks of time for arts and craft may be useful. Since the arts require time and opportunities for exploring a variety of materials, their preparation, organisation, distribution and cleaning up, one-hour blocks that focus on making art, can be scheduled on alternate days (Block 2). Arts processes related to performance, presentation, conversation, and appreciation can be organised into shorter time blocks of 20 minutes every day (Block 1).