What is the value in having Primary children express themselves through art at Northbridge?

What is the value in having Primary children express themselves through art at Northbridge? During our How We Express Ourselves unit in Grade 3 at Northbridge International School Cambodia, students have been gaining new knowledge and developing their skills. We learnt about famous artists as well as why and how they created their art.

During our How We Express Ourselves unit in Grade 3 at Northbridge International School Cambodia, students have been gaining new knowledge and developing their skills. We learnt about famous artists as well as why and how they created their art. 

Throughout this unit, the children created art inspired by these different artists and expressed their emotions in several different ways. They used different types of materials, images, colours, strokes and markings.

Children were able to think about and discuss using different colours and light or dark marks to show their chosen emotions using pastels.

The children were open-minded about other people’s ideas and how certain emotions can be represented by different colours. They discussed whether they shared the same perspective or not.

Children express themselves verbally and in writing on a daily basis in school, yet there are many other ways in which they can express themselves and their ideas. As children created their art, much thought went into what they were trying to show and how they could do so.

Learning the true meaning of an artist’s work or the perceived mood they are trying to show has given the children a deeper understanding of the power of artistic expression. This applies to their own work, the work of peers or classic pieces of art. 

Children created Impressionist art outside while looking at how the sun lit up the trees. They also experimented in the style of Jackson Pollock by dabbing, streaking, dripping and splattering paint using the classroom windows as a canvas.

The value of art is enormous in learning. It gives children an additional way of expressing themselves and their thoughts. It is an alternative way of thinking to those which they use when speaking or writing and nurtures creativity and imagination.

Through art, children also use maths and science skills, such as estimating, measuring, using lines, shapes and tessellation. They also experiment with different textures, mixtures and effects.  

Next time your child creates a piece of art, ask them what they have created. Ask them why they chose the colours they did. While art is a lot of fun, there is much more thinking involved than just decorating a piece of paper.