Art and Design

At St. Monica's Art and Design is a vital part of your child's education and involves exploring the properties of materials and their textures, experimenting with different effects, and having the freedom to create. Creativity is an important part of the national curriculum, as it encourages children to work independently.

How can you support your child with Art and Design?

1. Get messy!
Try to get hold of as many different types of drawing and painting resources as you can to let your child get creative and explore creating art using different materials. Paints, chalk, crayons, pens, pencils, modelling clay and much more can be found in discount shops. Just don’t forget to put lots of newspaper down first!

2. Use household objects creatively
Alternatively, instead of buying materials, let them get creative using things around the house – for example, pasta and pulses to create pictures using glue. You could even experiment with colour-changing art – find out more here.

3. Keep a sketch book
Encourage your child to keep a sketch book. Suggest that they take it with them when they go out so that they can look for things to sketch – a tree, a building, a scene. Alternatively, if they see something they would like to draw, take a photo on your phone and let them sketch from it when they are home.

4. Celebrate your child's art
Praise your child’s creations and encourage them not to get disheartened if they feel they have made ‘mistakes’. Explain that art is about being creative and trying out different things. There is no right or wrong way to do things. You could even ‘frame’ their work using coloured paper or card and create a little gallery on the kitchen wall or in their bedroom to display their work.

5. Discuss and enjoy art together
Find out about local art galleries or museums that you can visit with your child. Encourage them to talk about what they see and to share their opinions – about subject matter, colours, what materials the artist used, and so on.

Links

https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/zyg4d2p

https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/games-quizzes/street-art

Files to Download