Mindful art with kids
Discover mindfulness and be confident with your creative-self.
In 2020, I became a mam and discovered a new motherhood journey.
This new life experience has led me to teach art to pre-schooler and age-schooler art.
In my first year of teaching history and art techniques, I created a curriculum called
"PAINT LIKE ....."; I had a lot of fun introducing children to a famous artist each week
and letting them express their creative selves inspired by art techniques such as
pointillism, expressionism, monochromatic art, and other innovative methods from artists from all over the world.
After one year of teaching, I wanted to do more.
I believe art is more than a creative tool; I can also help children be more present and enhance their capacity for calm, confidence, and joy.
I started introducing short meditation and mindfulness exercises before each class.
After one month, most of my students could stay silent during the 30s to 1-minute
guided meditation and were more focused and confident during their creative time.
Now, kids know this quiet game very well and even ask for their preferred meditation at the beginning of the class.
My mantra is to let kids express themself in the present. My classes have guidelines;
however, I always leave room for them to enjoy the process and not focus too much on the results. Every child is different, as some are improving their spam of attention on their lines, shapes, and colors, while others are progressing in letting go of the need for perfection.
My greatest joy is seeing kids happy and confident in their creative expression. My class is a success when I can have one-on-one attention with each kid and highlight the uniqueness of their art.
All my classes start with a mindfulness practice. Then, a drawing practice where children can develop their motor skills; let them also draw styles lines, circles, and other organic and geometric lines.
To finish, they play with colors, where they can experiment with creating new colors,
creating texture, exploring and experimenting with materials, and seeing their drawing come to life with brilliant colors. I am now mainly using liquid watercolor; this medium allows space for unexpected creativity that fits children best.
With my students, we
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Love to draw lines, especially squiggles, and circles.
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Identify some elements of art (line, color, shape, real texture).
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Explore and experiment with materials.
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Use lines, shapes, and colors to make patterns.
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Uses geometric shapes in a work of art.
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Paints small and big sections with various paintbrushes.
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Discusses art from a variety of time periods
I am currently teaching art in Language Immersive Pre-school, teaching mindful art in
French, English, and basic Spanish. I am also open to new opportunities to expand my teaching services to other communities.