Art in Action
Adapted from an article in “Explorations with Young Children”
by Leah Levinger and Ann-Marie Mott

Over the years, the Bank Street faculty has formulated some general ideas about how to motivate and respond to children’s artwork. This advice may be of help to caregivers and teachers of art, but as you put it into practice you should make modifications for the children’s ages and personalities.

Ideas for Motivating and Responding to Artwork

In talking with children about their work, either in getting them started or in responding to what they make, always remember that the way you speak is as important as the words you use. Children are highly sensitive to tone of voice and quick to distinguish between spontaneous enthusiasm and a flat, automatic or insincere tone. Be sure you are looking directly at the artwork you are discussing. Pointing and gesturing help, too.

A critical feature of the caregiver’s or teacher’s role is being specific. Before children start working with the art materials, you can motivate them to think about how they can use the materials for personal expression. In simple, clear language, you give the children general suggestions or a focus for their work. Two notes of caution. First, say only as much as is necessary; never overtalk a child. Second, if children are already busy working on projects they themselves have decided to do, it is wise to allow them to continue.

Some children love to talk about their work, but because artwork is a visual form of expression, other children may not wish to talk about it or may not have the language to do so. Try to bring the children’s intuitive explorations and discoveries to conscious awareness by offering specifics about what is unique in what they’ve made.

It is usually better to talk about how the work is done and leave it to the children to talk, if they care to, about what it stands for and what it means to them. Comment on

• lines, shapes, colors, patterns textures
• how they are repeated
• how they are varied
• how they are arranged

For younger children, as well as for older children who have had little or no art experience, the material itself is the motivation. When a child rushes to an open box of crayons and makes marks and lines all over the paper, you might exclaim, “Look at your lines. You’ve made a lot of them.”

If children are reluctant to start, you can model the activity for them in an exploratory manner and point out some of the things that can be done with the materials. Talking about what you’re doing is a way to help get the children involved and feeling comfortable with the materials.

Family Participation

Preschooler Noah provides a good example of a helpful interaction between parent and teacher. During a parent conference, José, the teacher, is surprised to hear the father say that at home Noah constantly says, “What can I draw?” When his father recently suggested a bird, Noah said, “I can’t. I can’t make it look good.” His father made other suggestions, a dog, a person, but finally gave up. He feels caught in a tug of war with Noah.

José reassures Noah’s father that they can find some ways to encourage Noah. He shares with him some strategies that often work in the classroom.

When children say they don’t know what to do, I try to get them to talk about what they’ve been doing or thinking about. The other day at the park, Noah was watching a street light being repaired. When we got back, he sat down to draw. I asked whether he had an idea of what to draw. When he said no, I said, “You seemed very interested in what was going on in the park. What did the repair truck look like?” We talked about it and looked at a picture of a truck. We discussed the shape of the wheels and the cab. After a while, Noah began to draw.

Sometimes children need time to think about what they want to draw. I tell them, “If you can’t think of something to draw now, maybe you can in a few minutes. Let’s do something else until you’re ready.”

Noah’s father decides to try José’s advice. Next time Noah feels stuck, he’ll ask what kinds of interesting things he saw on his way to school or remind him of the fun they had together on the weekend. He’ll also try not to feel pressured to come up with an answer for Noah and will give Noah time to make his own decisions about what to draw.