Smiles and laughter flooded the halls at Giving Tree Early Learning for our Friends and Family Day.  Families were able to attend performances by Hasten Hebrew Academy students and the children in the Oak classroom.  They also had the opportunity to participate in a breakfast offered by our PTO.  

Following the performance, families were invited into the classrooms.  The teachers set up family friendly experiences in the classroom for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to do with their family members.  Some classes created sensory bottles while others made family portraits.  It was a wonderful time to share with families in our school community.  

Art falls under the umbrella of creative expression in early childhood education.  It is viewed as a way children communicate with their caregivers, peers, and the world around them.  In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, art is considered one of the many "languages of children" for self expression as described by Loris Malaguzzi.  At Giving Tree Early Learning, we strive to incorporate art into everyday activities in the classroom while introducing children to new materials and mediums in our Art Atelier.  

Every classroom has an easel for gross motor art and an art center.  A toddler art center looks different than a preschool art center because each classroom's art area is developmentally appropriate for their age group.  Teachers plan invitations that allow children to explore different materials with various mediums like bubble wrap with paint, clay with collage materials, and tissue paper with glue.  ​

The Art Atelier is a space that is specifically focused on exploring, manipulating, and creating art through self expression.  This space contains a plethora of art materials that engage children and promote curiosity and creativity.  Teachers set up different invitations in the Art Atelier for children to participate in or allow for free exploration of the materials.  Materials that are not commonly found in classrooms are stored in the Art Atelier.  Children have the unique opportunity to manipulate various fabrics, clay slabs, ceramic tiles, or large cardboard and styrofoam panels in our Art Atelier.  The art activities are child-led and are supported by the teachers through the introduction of additional materials or questions directed towards furthering a child's natural thought process. Children have freedom to create whatever they wish to create as authentically as possible.  

Art, not only allows children to express themselves creatively, it also aligns with many early learning foundations.  Early learning foundations are a framework for teachers  to reference when creating developmentally appropriate activities.  The experiences children participate in allow them creative freedom while reinforcing important skills in their learning journey like language, fine and gross motor skills, sensory input, and cognitive processing skills.