Creative beginnings for tiny tots

Posts tagged ‘Old Town Alexandra’

Winter Sessions Shaping Up

A gentle reminder to locals…registration for winter classes in all 3 locations is now underway (and we are proud and excited that a photo of one of our very own artists is featured on the cover of this winter’s program guide for the City of Alexandria).

cover photo

Classes for Toddlers and Preschoolers:

And something brand NEW, that I have been brewing for years, and finally have taken the plunge and decided to offer…

An evening workshop, just for Moms.  An art-y Mom’s Night Out, if you will.  A gathering for some creative dabbling, with inviting materials for any eager participant (NO ART EXPERIENCE NECESSARY).  A chance to play, create, explore, socialize, and focus on YOU, in a supportive environment, with NO distractions from little ones!  This workshop is being offered this winter at the following locations:

We hope you will join us and bring a few friends along!

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We survived Sandy and so did “Leaf Man”!

The wind and rain swept through, but we were pretty lucky here in Northern Virginia, near Washington, DC.  No significant damage, and we were able to resume our regularly scheduled activities today.  Best of all, there were still plenty of colorful autumn leaves to be found, so my little friends were able to do some collecting on their way to class in anticipation of our Leaf Man inspired projects.

And inspired, they were.

I just love when our real life experiences, our stories, and our art all intersect.  This happens naturally, when we focus on the natural world around us!

See for yourself…

Getting to know the materials is a good portion of the fun, and an important part of the “work” to be done:

And there is great satisfaction to be had from squeezing and pouring one’s own glue (while building those hand muscles to be used for fine motor skills down the road):

With nature providing the materials, an artful adventure is inevitable ~

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ART IN HAND classes in action, art projects and media, Book recommendations

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In Memoriam

In loving memory of my first teacher,  my mother.  She was a role model of patience, gentleness, and nurturing with little ones, and instilled in me a love of children’s books from the very beginning.

Judi Altman
July 14, 1933 – August 30, 2012

My apologies for my absence from this site for much of the summer.  My attention was focused elsewhere, with my family, during this difficult time.  So much so, in fact, that for the first time, registration for fall classes got underway without my even realizing it!  However, I am now gearing up for an exhilarating fall season and looking forward to hopefully seeing lots of old friends as well getting to meet many new ones!  If you are considering joining us, there is still time.  Most classes start next week, and there are still a few slots open in each of our locations.  Hop over to the appropriate website to get full schedule and registration details:

City of Alexandria – Durant Center

Falls Church Community Center

Herndon Community Center

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Awakenings

The most powerful tactic…to awaken the curiosity of a child…is simply to head for the hands.
– Frank Wilson (1998)

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ART IN HAND classes in action, art projects and media, Early Childhood Education and Development

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Little Kids and Big Ideas in 3-D

In his whimsical tale of an ambitiously imaginative boy who invents a car with all the trimmings (including built in swimming pool, snack bar, and the capacity for sailing the seas and soaring through the skies, to name a few), Chris Van Dusen speaks to the wild imaginations of boys and girls everywhere, who dare to dream big.

Inspired by this engaging book, our toddlers and preschoolers expanded their visual vocabularies by tinkering with 3-D materials to come up with inventions of their own.

The range of experiences, lessons, skills, and designs were broad and delightful to watch unfold.

Each child received a brown bag filled with a variety of wood pieces and a rectangular cardboard panel as a work surface.  They were given ample time to simply interact with their pieces, without the notion of creating a permanent arrangement.

We witnessed:

SORTING…

STACKING…

BALANCING…

AND FINALLY….GLUING!!!

The end result was this veritable visual wonderland.  From chaos to order to symmetry and back, these creations conjure images of vehicles, contraptions, buildings, cityscapes and random fun. Our sculptors ranged in age from 20 months to 5 years old.

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And this post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the fact that the book also features a very spunky pup, who is the spittin’ image of my wonderdog, Chessie, in every aspect of appearance and winning personality!

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ART IN HAND classes in action, art projects and media, Early Childhood Education and Development

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Eric Carle would be proud

image

image

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ART IN HAND classes in action, art projects and media

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Gallery

These nests are THE BEST!!!

Here’s a little photo gallery of some of our busy nesters and some of the many delightful nests they created in our classes recently.

Written

on April 18, 2012

Gallery

Nature AND Nurture

Nothing like baby animals to bring out the nurturing side in us humans, and toddlers and preschoolers are no exception.  The essence of that nurturing spirit is captured literally and symbolically in the concept of the nest.   And the act of nesting itself, creating a warm, protective environment in which a new life can grow and emerge enveloped by its parents and the safe haven they so carefully crafted, is truly captivating for young children, as they identify with the babies in the scenario and also get to try the parental role on for size.

Toddlers and preschoolers are natural collectors…

… and gluers…

And as you can see, highly invested in creating their own unique nests.

An ambitious five year old got busy with scissors to create his own chipmunk from construction paper and flower petals (for eyes) to live in his nest.

I just love these nests, and look forward to seeing them emerge each spring!

Written

on April 14, 2012

Spring Session, Coming Right Up!

Spring just may be my favorite time of year for collecting stories and unique materials to share with my little students.  I guess the spirit of growth and possibility and new discoveries that accompanies springtime is the perfect context for exploring the possibilities of creating with materials.

 

There is still time to register for Spring classes that start NEXT WEEK in Alexandria and Falls Church.  Space is limited!  Registration for Summer classes is also currently underway in the City of Alexandria and those are filling very quickly as well.

Herndon friends, remember that a second Spring Session at the Herndon Community Center will begin at the end of April, and regitsration for these classes is currently underway as well.  Hope you’ll join us.

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Wordless Wednesday

Inspired by the paintings in this lovely wordless picture book:

the artwork that ensued needs no words…

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art projects and media

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