I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
– Pablo Picasso
At Burnopfield Primary we love being inspired, getting creative and getting messy with paint and clay! From ticklish handprint painting in Nursery to stylish self portraits in Year 6, the children always look forward to picking up their paintbrush or pencil and diving straight in!
In our Early Years Foundation Stage the children are given opportunities to develop their ideas and practise controlling their skills when painting, drawing or using clay! They also enjoy getting their wellies on and experiencing outdoor Art work and make their own collages. Art materials are always available in our Foundation Stage, so our budding Artists can start from an early age! Our Nursery Children get to experience work with a Cartoon Artist and our Reception children get to experience work with an Observational Artist, so by the time our children leave Foundation Stage they have had valuable experiences of different styles of Art!
The children are not only given the opportunities to draw, paint and sculpt, they are also taught exactly what skills they need to develop in order to be the best Artist they can be! Further up the school from Year 1 to Year 6 the children study a new Artist each term, giving the children inspiration and knowledge about the subject.
Our Art curriculum includes Famous Artists, Local Artists and Art from different cultures so that our children leave our school with a wide breadth of experience and knowledge about a range of different artistic styles and cultures.
Our children study Local Artists so they can appreciate that anyone is able to become an Artist and so we can provide the children with inspirational visits to local galleries and workshops delivered by real Artists!
Our children study Art from other Cultures so the children can experience how different cultures express Art in different ways and boost their Cultural Capital.
Our children study Famous Classic Artists such as Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali (and many more!) so they can take inspiration from the greats! The children enjoy learning about the famous Artists and start to describe similarities and differences between different Artistic styles. They then take this knowledge and feed it into their own work, creating some outstanding pieces of Artwork!
The children have their own sketch books which they often look through to see how they have developed their skills and style. We are sure to have the next Picasso in our school…Watch this space!
To see our Art lessons in action, visit our Twitter page.