Early
Years Art Project
We
were fortunate to receive funding from the National Lottery Arts
Council to run an arts programme within the school for young
children with additional needs. Some children were chosen from
the lower primary classes and the other children received home
teaching from the W.E.L.B pre-school service.
The
aim of the programme was to design a creative arts programme for a
group of young children with additional needs. The focus was
on using intensive interaction and experiential learning techniques
to enhance their sensory awareness and levels of engagement.
Objectives
A
10 week programme of work with the children was devised
A
range of activities and experiences was developed to foster the
children's' ability to engage or interact with creative
practitioners (both artistic and technical in the use of sensory
equipment) using various sensory stimuli
Each
child experienced one to one interaction through the sessions from
either school staff or artists
Parental
participation was encouraged throughout to support and enhance the
children's creativity. For parents were unable to actively
participate, they received photographs and a video of their child at
work, enabling them to experience the
sessions for
themselves.
The
children's responses were monitored
The
main sensory mediums for creative stimulation were identified
Interactive
boards were designed to meet individual preferences and needs e.g.
visual, tactile, auditory
The
activity boards were produced, mounted at low level to ensure pupil
access whether ambulant, semi-ambulant or wheelchair user
Video
diary of progress was taken throughout the project to record the
children's level of engagement and participation as well as levels
of well being and enjoyment
The
programme was a great success, with some beautiful pieces of work
produced - all the children's own work. It was a joy to see
the interaction between the children, the adults and the art.
|
