Do you have smART Kids?

ART EDUCATION

Do you have smART Kids?

When you ask a kid, “What’s your favorite thing about art?” The responses are enthusiastic and sometimes unexpected. “I like that you can do your imagination,” says one student from Lincoln-Douglas Elementary. “Express your imagination,” chimes in her friend. “I like that you can make messes and splatter paint around. You can actually make art out of that! Did you know?” answered another student.

Since 2007, the Art Center's smART Kids Program provides art lessons to students in grades K-3. Art instructors visit participating schools twice a year with a 45-minute lesson plan that combines art history and new project with materials the students may not have access to in their school.

This past fall, students learned about Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama and her famous polkadotted artwork. The students created their own polka-dotted inspired three-dimensional paper pumpkins to display in their classroom as a mini-installation.

“I think Kusama and her work as an artist gives a good lesson on perseverance,” says Vicki Sandercock, a smART Kids instructor for the past four years. “I love that she sees and interprets the world differently. It allows kids to feel okay with being different from their peers and teaches them that they can express their thoughts and feelings through art.”

The other half of the program provides funding for classrooms to take a field trip to the Art Center where they tour the exhibits and participate in a hands-on activity.

“It’s very nice that they get to paint,” says Ms. Eger of Lincoln- Douglas Elementary whose students learned about

Lincoln-Douglas students tour the 45th Annual High School Art Competition at The Art Center. Submitted photo.

color theory during their visit. When asked if she enjoyed the program, “Yes, very much. It encourages creativity from the students and encourages me to think about how to add art to the curriculum. I wish we had access to more art lessons.”

“I like coming here because I like learning how to be a better artist,” says one of her students. “We get to look at art, and then make art.”

The smART Kids instructors create lesson plans that follow national visual arts learning standards. They construct the materials so students receive a new experience with each lesson throughout their four years in the program. This spring students are learning who Frank Lloyd Wright was and his design of organic architecture. Students will get to use drafting stencils and carbon paper to create a floor plan for their dream room, club house or tree house and learn how to translate their imaginations in a communicative way.

“You see that light-bulb go off in their head while they are creating,” says Sandercock, “They create a connection when they find something new and something new to love.”

The smART Kids programs is funded through many grants as well as participating schools: Blessed Sacrament, Denman Elementary, Iles Elementary, Lincoln-Douglas Elementary, Rooney Elementary, St. Dominic School, St. Francis School and St. Peter School.

To learn more about the smART Kids program and more outreach opportunities provided by The Art Center visit quincyartcenter.org or call 217-223-5900.