In this blog post, I’d like to explore why I feel including a good dose of art and creativity can be really beneficial to kids and their new teacher during the first week back to school - and throughout the rest of the year!
I’m a great believer in the positive power of art on our mental wellbeing.
Art is a fantastic vehicle for learning, communicating feelings and exploring outside of the box thinking.
Do kids feel more comfortable or free to express themselves in a deeper way via creating imagery rather than just using words?
I’ve listed 10 Ways Art Can Help Both Kids and Adults:
1. to make sense of our thoughts
2. to connect with our feelings
3. to tell our story, explore our internal world
4. to encourage play, stimulate our imagination
5. to relax, quieten our minds, aid concentration
6. to relieve stress, reduce anxiety
7. to develop self awareness
8. to build confidence and self esteem
9. to lower blood pressure
10. to express complex states of mind
(Posters are available to download for FREE at the end of this post)
So, it's Back To School Week....
The class meets up again after the long holiday.
Children get to reflect over their summer memories, catch up with friends, and start to get to know their new teacher.
They explore their learning preferences, where they excel, the challenges they face, they set new goals for the coming year.
And the new teacher starts to build a picture of each child - what a lot is going on!!
How are the children really feeling on their first day back to school?
And how do teachers feel?
A mixture of excitement and apprehension?
We are all unique and can feel happy, sad, scared, anxious and excited all at the same time.
Excited to see friends again.
Sad, or maybe glad that the summer holidays are over.
Anxious about building a relationship with a new teacher.
Scared that maths might be too challenging this year.
This is where we can introduce icebreaker games, ‘all about me’ activities, student surveys and teacher questionnaires.
Researching ‘Back to School’ activities on the web (mainly pinterest because I love it), I found such an abundance of printable pages and activities, teacher surveys and questionnaires.
Most of them involve answering questions with words.
Being a visual, creative type who sees the world in pictures, this information gave me the inspiration to fill what I see, as a gap – to design some relevant, modern, imaginative back to school activities that involve illustrating our answers, exploring color and imagery, alongside expressing ourselves with words.
View my popular Back To School Resources available at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store by clicking on the images below:
Have a great start to the new school year!
All the best,
Diane
Art is a fantastic vehicle for learning, communicating feelings and exploring outside of the box thinking.
Do kids feel more comfortable or free to express themselves in a deeper way via creating imagery rather than just using words?
I’ve listed 10 Ways Art Can Help Both Kids and Adults:
1. to make sense of our thoughts
2. to connect with our feelings
3. to tell our story, explore our internal world
4. to encourage play, stimulate our imagination
5. to relax, quieten our minds, aid concentration
6. to relieve stress, reduce anxiety
7. to develop self awareness
8. to build confidence and self esteem
9. to lower blood pressure
10. to express complex states of mind
(Posters are available to download for FREE at the end of this post)
So, it's Back To School Week....
The class meets up again after the long holiday.
Children get to reflect over their summer memories, catch up with friends, and start to get to know their new teacher.
They explore their learning preferences, where they excel, the challenges they face, they set new goals for the coming year.
And the new teacher starts to build a picture of each child - what a lot is going on!!
How are the children really feeling on their first day back to school?
And how do teachers feel?
A mixture of excitement and apprehension?
We are all unique and can feel happy, sad, scared, anxious and excited all at the same time.
Excited to see friends again.
Sad, or maybe glad that the summer holidays are over.
Anxious about building a relationship with a new teacher.
Scared that maths might be too challenging this year.
This is where we can introduce icebreaker games, ‘all about me’ activities, student surveys and teacher questionnaires.
Researching ‘Back to School’ activities on the web (mainly pinterest because I love it), I found such an abundance of printable pages and activities, teacher surveys and questionnaires.
Most of them involve answering questions with words.
Being a visual, creative type who sees the world in pictures, this information gave me the inspiration to fill what I see, as a gap – to design some relevant, modern, imaginative back to school activities that involve illustrating our answers, exploring color and imagery, alongside expressing ourselves with words.
View my popular Back To School Resources available at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store by clicking on the images below:
Have a great start to the new school year!
All the best,
Diane
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Download these 4 posters, for FREE, just click on the jpegs below:
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