I recently began teaching a Reggio inspired art enrichment class for three and four year olds.  I set it up as an art adventure.  The first class I asked all the students where they would want to go if they could take an art adventure anywhere in the world.  The responses varied from the beach, to outer space, to everything in between.  Each week we visit a different place and the art we do is related to our visit.  This week we went to Disneyland and each child made their own ride.  It was so much fun!

I set up all the paints the kids had mixed and named our first week of class, along side different blocks of wood, beads and gems.  Our first step was the base of the ride, which we covered with squares of cut up Thomas Guide paper.  The kids called the paper their “maps of Disneyland.”  I love that they made that connection.  After a layer of maps each child was invited to take wood of all shapes and sizes to glue together their ride.  We used a paintbrush, water and glue in little cups to adhere the wood to the base.

After the kids glued together their rides, they added wood beads and paint.  Some kids went directly to the paint they had created, while others were happy to choose whatever color appealed to them that day.  They could move freely back and forth between the supply table to their working station.  Lastly, the kids were invited to glue on gems and add special gold or silver paint with a skinny brush.

Each child described their ride and any important details about it, while I frantically wrote down their words, along with a wonderful helper I have for the class.  This class is only 45 minutes.  We have a lot to get done in a short amount of time!  Though it was a whirlwind, it was a wonderful experience for the kids.  I heard so many ideas being shared, decisions being made, and questions being asked.  I would love to be able to give them another session to work on our Disneyland rides, but we have a lot of places to visit.  Stay tuned for pictures of the self-portrait passports we made to guide us through our art adventures.