On the blog today we would like to share some wisdom from Art Educatory Mary Ann Kohl. We've referenced the following passage for years in our preschool program and want to share it with our entire community. These are fantastic questions and observations to keep in your pocket for when your child or any child shows you their art. Young children "do" art for the experience, the exploration, and the experimentation. In the "process" they discover mystery, creativity, joy and frustration. The resulting masterpiece, whether it be a sticky glob or meritorious gallery piece, is only a result to the young child, not the reason for doing art in the first place. Art allows children to explore and discover their world. Sometimes the process is merely feeling slippery paint on the fingers, other times it is the mystery of colours blending or the surprise of seeing a realistic picture evolve when blobs were randomly placed. Sometimes adults unknowingly communicate to a child that the result is the most important aspect of art. Encourage discovery and process by talking with a child about his or her artwork. 1.Tell me about your painting. 2. What part did you like the best? 3. You've used many colours. 4. Did you enjoy making this? 5. How did the paint feel? 6. The yellow looks so bright next to the purple! 7. How did you make such a big design? 8. I see the painting is brown. What colours did you use? For more from MaryAnn F. Kohl visit: http://maryannfkohl.typepad.com/blog/
0 Comments
Ok, your dance uniform may not be the most exciting thing to wear, plain leotard and tights, or black jazz pants. Warm up gear provides some more stylish and fun options, but dance teachers are not always one hundred percent behind warm up gear and inevitably they tell you to take it off long before the warm up is over. What’s the deal? When should it really come off and what kind of gear will teachers accept?
1) If you are really using the warm up to it’s fullest potential (wink, wink) you should be almost sweating by the end of your plies! I know it sounds like you would have to do killer plies but it’s true. During a plie exercise practically every muscle in your body has to work, so if you put energy and focus into your plies it will warm up your muscles fast and furiously and then warm up gear can come off! 2) That being said… sometimes our dance studios get cold, especially if you are the first class of the day, so it’s best to choose some warm up gear that teachers will accept. The main question to ask is "Does it allow the teacher to clearly see what’s going on?" The scary thing is, if a teacher cannot see what your muscles are doing, you might be doing something that can cause serious harm to your body. So, choose gear that emulates your dance uniform only in heavier or knitted materials. Some classic options are wrap sweaters, leg warmers or long sleeved fitted t-shirts. Remember most of your teachers will prefer a colour that matches your uniform! |
Archives
April 2024
|