This resource book brings together ideas worked out by the team of teachers that includes Smt. Divya Jothi, Smt. Kamala Bhat, Smt. Sarojini Bhat and Smt. Rebecca John at Sita School in Silvepura. They have been creatively involved in art activities with children over a number of years. We would also like to thank the many children who have contributed to this book because it has only been through their eager responses that these ideas have come to life in practice.
I would like to thank the staff of NIAS, especially Dr. A.R. Vasavi, the Director of the District Quality Education Project, who has been actively involved from the beginning and Smt. Leena Pascal who initiated the project. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the fifteen primary school teachers from Chamarajnagar district who attended the workshops and are not only actively putting into practice the ideas in this book but are also creatively extending and developing ways of using art in the classroom. Shri Shivananju Hombai and Shri Raghu, who are in the Art in Education team, have given constructive and critical comments and contributed to the final outcome of this book.
My thanks to many friends who have worked in the school with the children. I would like to mention especially Ms. Janet Lord and Ms. Apurva Sancheti.
I must thank Ms. Sandy Feinzig and Ms. Alethea D'Rozario for painstakingly reading and re-reading the proofs of this edition.
In addition I would like to thank the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, and the India Foundation for Arts, Bangalore, for giving financial support and encouragement to this project.
Finally, I would not have started this book without the help and collaboration of my son Roshan Sahi and my husband Jyoti Sahi, both of whom are professional artists. Roshan Sahi has given the writing of this book a context and a meaning through his involvement with the teachers of Chamarajnagar. He has also, during our many discussions, given fresh insights into an approach to art as a way of learning and living.
This book aims at helping teachers to integrate art activities into school life as it provides children with opportunities to express feelings, explore ideas, record observations and have a direct experience of materials and handling tools. Art is perceived here as an active way of learning and sharing and not as something additional to the normal curriculum. The activities are designed to include all children and enrich regular lessons of language, math and environmental studies.
In this book art has been given a much broader definition than the one that is commonly used. Hence the inclusion of games, stories and observational exercises alongside the more conventional art activities of drawing and painting Dance, drama and music complete the experience of art, but have not been specifically touched upon. Children gain experience and knowledge about the physical world directly through their senses. Therefore sensory experience has been given a central place. An invitation to children to be more aware of their senses is the beginning of many of the activities.
The first part of the book offers some guidelines about stages of development in children's art. This is followed by some practical suggestions about organisation of art activities. This includes organising materials, evaluation and display. Suggested activities under five sections-Senses, Lane and colour, Art and the environment, Art and math, and Language and art-form the main part of the book. The last section provides teachers with some ideas regarding the linking of art in the curriculum and poses questions about the place of art in the school.
The activities have been set within the framework of broad subject areas with cross references to show the overlaps and connections across the curriculum. The range of suggested activities is very wide but it is hoped that this will enable the teacher to select what is practical, appropriate and useful for a particular class. Some preparatory activities have been suggested in relation to particular topics.
All the suggested activities have been tried and tested in the classroom. The book ends with a list of reference books that have been useful and from which I have drawn inspiration over a number of years. Like any teacher I have gleaned ideas from several sources and adapted, modified and extended them to suit the context of the children and the school. I hope that you would adopt these ideas, too, and change and adapt them to suit your particular situation.
There has been a conscious effort to keep in mind cutting costs by encouraging the use of natural and waste materials. There are a number of suggested activities that require no specially bought materials. However, it is hoped that some provision would be made to allow children to enjoy the experience of painting and crayoning with colour.
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