The easy way to teach Anyone Art -for children of all ages, those with special needs, and adults with an interest in art.
Anyone Art as Choice Based Art...
Anyone can do it & Anyone can teach it
Choice Based Art is all about celebrating uniqueness. It provides a unplanned open ended, creative art experiences based on the artists choices.Choice-based art allows unique students to truly blossom and find their voices as artists. Offering choice means modifying the process, content, and/or product in art class, so every student can work at their own pace and ability level. That means each student naturally can feel successful and included.
One goal of using choice based art was to encourage Hope to interact with the art materials in the world around her. I was also able would to teach her to make exciting choices. Most of Hope’s art experiences were choice based. There were certain supplies that I kept out of her reach. But for the most part she would choose her own art adventure and decide whether she wanted to keep it or throw it and practice some more.
The artist should be as totally involved in each art experience as possible, from selecting the materials, tool, and surface, to choosing colors and helping in any gathering or preparation. Some artists are ready and able to make decisions and others are not. This should be left to the individuals involved. Some artists jump right in, some have to be prodded, and still others need guidance from beginning to end.
1. The surface on which one creates does not always have to be paper, although paper certainly has its place in art experiences.
2. The tool used to get the materials on the surface does not always have to be a brush.
3. The medium does not always have to be paint.
4. The texture, the surface, the color, and the size, all contribute to the uniqueness of the project.
While going through the, list of choices keep in mind that traditionally that the medium is paint, the tool is a brush, and the surface is paper. Some tools, surfaces and materials are interchangeable. A tool can become a surface. For example: a piece of carpet can be a tool to apply paint to the surface, burlap. Or, the burlap can become the tool to apply paint to the surface, carpet. The materials of sand can become the surface sand.
To rev up your creative juices ransack the kitchen, the basement, the attic, and the garage. Look in hardware stores, department stores, grocery stores, drug stores, and check garage sales and thrift shops. Keep an open mind and be creative. Trust yourself and start your students on the road to trusting themselves!!! Hope was always looking for stuff for art…she found things in the strangest places.
I had her supplies organized into (1.) what she wanted to play with (Mediums of all sorts), (2.)what tools she needed, and (3.)what surfaces she wanted to work on. She could make her decisions quite rapidly, starting with the medium that she wanted to play with. However, paper had to be in 2 places. She loved collage so it was in surfaces and mediums. We had containers with smaller pieces of paper in the mediums section for her. She also had a container of what she called "little bits". Small random things that could embellish any project. Some were leftovers from a previous project and some were bought to put in there. Things that were shiny or glittery went pretty fast with her.
The teacher-facilitator allow students the freedom to seek out and discover their own inspiration. When the student finds the inspiration, engagement will increase and learning and growth will result. Students will then share their enthusiasm with us. They will express excitement for the subject, the technique, or chosen medium through the art making process. After all, this is the job of the artist; to envision and express inspiration.
Once the student becomes a more skilled artist, the adult is free to take on the role of facilitator. Our responsibility changes from that of one who imposes a technique or medium, to one who demonstrates technique and use of media as needed throughout the development of the project. We can still encourage our students to explore artists that match their interests. We can also support their learning when it comes to new techniques. We can also help them discover ways to enjoy the process and create turn their newly found inspiration into project ideas.
DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF on mediums, surface or tool. Get as creative as you can and plan fun into your lesson. I had to be careful when doing art with Hope that I remembered to make it fun for her. Coming from a management background, I sometimes only presented the new technique or medium to her. She wanted to learn but she wanted to explore or discover something and giggle and laugh. That is what kept her engaged in a project. That is what made it a learning experience that she remembered.
I will post a list that is massive on supplies and mediums and surfaces that Hope and I enjoyed. This website doesn't provide the tools to put it on this page. But I will make it into a pdf for you.
Almost everything in your kitchen could be used in art as a surface or texture, a tool or even an art medium. You will be proud of how clever your children can get.
Here's one link for you to try https://kidminds.org/sensory-painting-kitchen-art/
Funny Story...Hope and the green bean.
We were in Albertson's grocery store in Evergreen Colorado.. I worked there part time and the employees loved Hopes giggles and her hugs. So it wasn't a rare thing for her to wander off on her own there. She toddled her way to the produce department. She looked around and all of a sudden got excited. She tugged on the apron of the worker and said "please" so the worker followed her to the green beans, She motioned that she needed help because she couldn't reach them. He grabbed a few and put them in a bag. She said "thanks" and ran to the cart and threw them in. I was like cool she wanted a vegetable, but she said "flower". I totally didn't get it. I totally rolled my eyes. I tried to stash them at the register. But she was determined and wanted it. Again saying "flower". We all had a laugh and she hugged the girl that put her beans in the grocery bag. When we got home she got that bean from the bag. Then she went to the art bins and got her sponge that was shaped like a tulip...along with a piece of paper and her paints. She used that bean to make me a picture of a flower before I had the groceries unpacked. It became the "sponge" like object for her to use as the stem of that tulip. I was pretty proud when I took that picture to work and showed them why she said "flower" when she had a green bean in her hand. My manager even got me a sponge to cut into tulip head and took it and a green bean home with him. His daughter painted a secret present for his wife that earned them both extra hugs.
That's the story of Hope and the green bean.
Now do you believe me that she came out of the womb wanting to paint?
Here are 6 tips and tricks to make sure your students with differing abilities are successful in your choice-based art program.
1. Make your space welcoming.
Many students with unique needs may struggle with the noise level and high energy of an art room. Providing a safe and comfortable physical environment in your choice classroom is a great way to welcome students.
Here are some things to think about when planning space for students with unique sensory needs:
Provide students with a consistent workspace. This space should be away from noise and distraction, as much as possible.
-Give the student the option to wear noise-canceling headphones or to listen to relaxing music with earphones during work time.
-If there are no vision issues, lower the lights.
-Provide a five-minute mindfulness block at the beginning of class to promote a quiet environment.
-If possible, offer adaptive seating such a textured seat cushion, an adaptive chair, or standing desk (using bed risers under a normal desk is a cheap solution).
Above all that, you need to make sure that you create an atmosphere of love and acceptance of all students artwork. Praise all creative uses of various mediums or tools. Praise the creativity of the special students that may not have the same skills as the rest of the class. Hope joined me at work once a week when she was a toddler. I coordinated programs for the elderly and handicapped. The instructors always knew ahead of time when she would be there. Her presence in the classes made the artists more relaxed and they were more than happy to lend her tools and guide her. Her favorite classes to attend were watercolor and pottery. Obviously, she did not have the skills of the other students. She did possess a lot of creativity and was fearless in trying something new. Her energy made the seniors more playful and whimsical as they worked with their paint and pottery. So she was always an asset in the classroom setting, despite not having the same skill level.
Link to view or print a list of Oodles of Possibilities with Choice Art
Try Design Your Own Drawing Project
Try some examples of Choice Art below
Easy ARTventures in Painting with Household Items
PAINTING with ice
MATERIALS
MEDIUMS -Ice cubes-finger paints - blue Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT-Hands
SURFACE -White finger paint paper
ACTIVITY
Put an egg sized gob of blue paint on the paper. Plop the ice cube into the paint. Add a little soap. Move the ice cube through the paint and all over the paper.
Try to keep going until the ice cube is melted.
Notes :
We used blue paint because it reminded us of the ocean. They became delighted with the whole experience and went through three ice cubes.
PAINTING with Q-tips
MATERIAL
MEDIUM (8) Water colors -basic colors
Water
IMPLEMENT (S) Cotton swabs
SURFACE (S)
White construction paper
SUGGESTED DIRECTIONS
Dip the cotton swab in water and dab it on the paper. Drag it on the paper.
Write with it.
Draw with it.
Notes:
This experience makes me think of chinese drawings and paintings. The cotton swab makes such a delicate mark on the paper.
You can make some wonderful pastel colored, dreamy pictures.
PAINTING BOXES
MATERIALS
MEDIUM (S)
Acrylic house paint - white
IMPLEMENT (S)
Paint roller with handle Paint tray
SURFACE (S)
Large cardboard box (appliance box)
ACTIVITY
Pour the paint into the tray. Practice rolling the roller in the paint and taking off some of the paint before putting on the surface. You can drag the roller to the high part of the tray and roll some paint out or drag the roller across the edge of the tray. Maybe you have other tricks.
Roll the paint onto the cardboard box.
Notes:
We tumed our freshly painted box into a house. I took different colored plastic film (the stuff you get at Easter time) and made a red, blue and yellow window. My students with autism love to look through these colored windows.
PAINTING with shag carpet
MATERIAL
MEDIUM
Poster paint-purple, red and yellow
IMPLEMENT
Shag carpet -cut into strips around 2" x 4"
SURFACE
Burlap
SUGGESTED DIRECTIONS
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Dip the carpet strip in the paint mixture.
Use just the tip of the carpet strip, or bend it over and use a large portion of the end. Drag it across the burlap.
We tape the burlap down so it does not move all over the place while we are creating. Blot the carpet strip on the burlap.
Use the back of the carpet strip to apply the paint.
Notes:
Our finished piece resembled a floral design. I kept it hanging in the classroom the entire year. It was created by an integrated group of first and second grade children with autism, and third and fourth grade children without autism.
PAINTING with a turkey baster or eye dropper
MATERIALS
MEDIUM (S)
Poster paint - red, yellow Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Cooking baster or Eye dropper
SURFACE Vinyl
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
RII the cooking baster with the red paint and dribble or gush it all over the vinyl. RII the eye dropper with yellow paint and dribble or gush it all over the vinyl. Compare the two. Did the baster make a different pattern than the eye dropper? What color did the two paints make when they met each other on the vinyl.
Notes:
This is another good tool to make the child's name with. That personalization of the experience is important to children.
OBJECTIVES
Fine Motor Writing Skills Perceptual Motor
Concept Development - colors, sizes
PAINTING WITH A BROOM
OBJECTIVES
Perceptual Motor Gross Motor
Concept Development - colors, directionality
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Poster paint - green Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Small broom Large broom Push broom
SURFACE (S) Wrapping paper
or largest piece of paper you can find
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Start with the small broom. Sweep the broom through the paint, then sweep it on the paper. Repeat with the large broom which will probably be harder to control.
Use the push broom.
Notes:
It is probably a good idea to do this activity outside. If you can't do it outside, put down a large piece of plastic. (Painter's drop cloth, old shower curtain, etc.)
PAINTING WITH NAILPOLISH
CHOICES MEDIUM (S)
Rnger nail polish -Bottle of red
Bottle of clear Sparkles
IMPLEMENT (S) Rnger nail polish brush Sprinkle sparkle jar
SURFACE (S)
Black construction paper
ACTIVITY
Make design, picture, name, etc. with clear nail polish. Trace with red nail polish.
Sprinkle with sparkles before the polish dries.
Notes:
Opening the small bottle can be a challenge for a child.
There is something about the little fingernail polish bottle with its own little brush that intrigued my students with autism.
One little girl beamed when she saw the bottle and kept sticking her hands out to me. When we finished our names, I painted her nails. She is a very active young lady, and this was the longest she had set still.
PAINTING WITH A POTATO MASHER
OBJECTIVES
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Rnger paint - yellow Uquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Potato masher-
with the holes in the end
SURFACE (S)
Red construction paper
ACTIVITY Mix the paint with a little soap.
Hold the handle of the masher and place it in the paint. Place it on the paper. Pick it up and put it down.
Rub it on the paper.
Drag it on the paper.
Notes :
I use finger paint for this experience because it is thicker and clings to the potato masher.
We did this on grass one time. The grass was mowed before it rained, and it was interesting to see how our designs changed after the grass was wet.
PAINTING WITH KITCHEN TOOLS
CHOICES MEDIUM (S)
Finger paint - blue Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S2 Food grater (flat type) Scrub pad
Bowl a little smaller than grater
SURFACE (S) Paper plate
ACTIVITY
Put the paper plate in the bottom of the bowl. Put the grater on top of the bowl.
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Put a glob of paint on top of the grater.
Use the scrub pad to swish the paint back and forth across the grater until most of the paint goes through onto the surface.
Notes :
The end result depends on the intensity with which the child scrubs on the grater. It can be a splat-ter effect or just a dribble effect.
PAINTING WITH SHOES
MATERIAL MEDIUM (8) Poster paint-
green, yellow, and blue
IMPLEMENT (8) Old shoes -
tennis, football, high heels, etc.
Socks
Bare feet
ACTIVITY
Mix: the paint with a little soap.
Let the child select a pair of shoes and a color.
Put the shoes on and walk through the color and on to the cardboard. Hop, skip, dance, jump, slide, etc.
Do three children per piece of cardboard with each child using a different color paint.
The same three children repeat the experience with old socks, using the same color paint on a new cardboard.
The same three children repeat the experience with bare feet, using the same color paint on a new cardboard.
Notes :
This experience can be a little slippery when using bare feet, so have helping hands ready to sup-port the one in the paint.
We have done this on the sidewalk, and it is fun to watch the feet disappear with rain and time.
PAINTING WITH A SPRAY BOTTLE
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Poster paint -
red, yellow, and blue
Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Spray bottle
(for plants, cleaning liquid. etc.)
SURFACE (S) Sidewalk
Cardboard cut into shapes (circle, square, triangle)
Water
ACTIVITY
RII the spray bottle with paint and a little soap. Place a shape on the sidewalk.
Stand above it and spray until it is covered.
Remove the cardboard and look at the shape you made.
Wait until it rains or snows and see what happened to your shape.
Notes:
We always experiment with the type spray we want. A lot of bottles have a stream or a spray to choose from.
PAINTING WITH BUBBLES
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Soap bubbles
Food coloring - red
IMPLEMENT (S) Bubble wand
SURFACE (S)
White finger paint paper
ACTIVITY
Add a few drops of the food coloring to the bubbles. Dip the wand in and blow onto the paper.
If you want a more intense color, add more coloring.
Notes:
Don't stand too close to the paper or the bubbles will splatter in your face and give you freckles. We like to put the paper on the floor and stand over it. If the bubble liquid drips, it then drips onto the picture and becomes part of it.
This is a good activity for children who are having delays in speech. The act of blowing is an important part of speech development.
PAINTING WITH FUNNELS
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Poster paint - yellow liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Large funnel Small funnel
SURFACE (S) Sandpaper - medium
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
One person holds the funnel over the paper while another person pours the paint into the funnel. The paint should be of the right consistency to flow through the funnel.
You can move the funnel around to create a line or let the paint drip out for a dot effect. Make your name.
Make a design.
Notes:
When we have too much paint on our surface, we sometimes pick the sandpaper up, tilting it different ways, to create an entirely new design. The children like to watch the paint flow this way and that.
PAINTING WITH PINECONES
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Poster paint - purple Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Fat pine cone
SURFACE (S)
White construction paper
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap. Roll the pine cone in the paint.
Roll, tap, drag, drop, etc. onto the paper.
Notes:
Save the purple pine cone to make a nature collage. (See Collage Experience #1, pp. 11)
Save this work of art to do a collage on. This experience may cause splashing so make sure the children are well covered ... and of course make sure you are covered, also.
PAINTING ROCKS
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Poster paint -red, yellow, blue
Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (8) Paint brush
SURFACE (8) Rocks -
smooth, rough, big, little
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Go on a nature walk and gather rocks. Bring back whatever you can carry. Paint smiley faces, pictures, designs, etc. on the rocks.
Notes:
If you have a child, I am sure that at one time or another you have received a painted rock to be used as a paper weight. I have one on my bookshelf that is a treasured item. It is painted gold with the date added by the teacher.
Another variation of this experience is to use the rock as a paint brush and control the paint on the surface with it.
PAINTING WITH A MOP
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Poster paint - red Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Dish mops-Sponge or string
SURFACE (5) Wax paper
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Dip, drag, swirl the mop in the paint and dot, drag, swirl it on the paper. Make a design.
Make a picture.
Make your name.
Notes:
All kinds of designs are possible with the mop, but the one design that almost every child can do is to tap it on the surface. This looks like a sponge octopus has walked across the surface. A sec-ond grade child with cer.ebral palsy was able to make a lovely creation with the mop. He plopped himself and me in the face a few times with the mop in the process, but the end result was some-thing he was very proud of.
I like to use wax paper occasionally because of the reaction of the wax paper to the paint and of the paint to the wax paper.
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PAINTING WITH A SPONGE
MATERIAL .
MEDIUM (S) Poster paint - blue Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Sponges - all sizes dish sponge, car sponge sponge mop
SURFACE (S) Wrapping paper
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Dip the smaller sponges in the paint and dab on the surface. Wipe on the surtace.
Make a design.
Make a picture.
Make your name.
Use the sponge mop and try to duplicate what you did with the smaller sponges.
Notes :
Some of the children with multiple handicaps, and especially those in wheel chairs had the best time painting with the mop. They needed varying degrees of assistance, but they really got into it.
PAINTING ON FOIL
OBJECTIVES
Tactile/Kinesthetic Awareness Gross Motor
Perceptual Motor
Concept Development - colors
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Vaseline
Rnger paint - yellow Uquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Rol/-
paper towel, wrapping paper, toilet tissue, etc.
SURFACE (S) Aluminum foil
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Add a gob on vaseline and mix together.
Roll the roll in the mixture and roll it onto the aluminum foil.
Notes:
Since the vaseline does not dry, the finished product cannot be easily taken home. We usually ad-mire it for a few days and check it out with our fingers and eventually we throw it away.
OR-
Transfer the paint to another surface so it becomes a whole new painting experience.
PAINTING WITH A CUP
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Poster paint -red, yell ON , blue
Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Paper cups -
at least three sizes
SURFACE (S) Velvet
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Spread a thin layer of paint on a paper plate. Firmly press the rim of the cup into the paint. Press the rim on the velvet.
Try all sizes.
Tum the cup over and use the bottom instead of the rim. Go from smallest to biggest. Go from biggest to smallest. Put the cups inside each other from biggest to smallest.
Notes:
We tum our circles into faces. We give them ears, noses, mouths, hair, etc. You can use spools of all different sizes to make a similar effect.
PAINTING WITH FRUIT AND VEGGIES
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S) Poster paint -red, orange, green
Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Apple
Orange Cucumber
Black fine line marker
SURFACE (S)
White construction paper
ACTIVITY Mix the paints with a little soap.
Slice the apple, orange and cucumber in halves.
Dip the apple in the paint and on the paper as many times as you wish. Do the same with the orange and the cucumber.
Do all three on one paper or make a separate paper for each.
Use red for the apple, orange for the orange, and green for the cucumber, or mix the colors up and make the apple orange or green etc.
When dry, outline the shapes with the marker.
Notes:
We have cut our shapes out and made mobiles from them.
Also, the cucumber is especially fun to turn into people. I cut them lengthwise because it makes such an interesting shape, but they can also be cut in half and it makes a nice big handle to hold onto.
Make sure the children don't decide to take a bite when the objects are covered with paint.
PAINTING With Finger Paint
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Finger paint - white Liquid hand soap
IMPLEMENT (S) Rubber gloves -opaque or transparent
SURFACE (S)
Dark construction paper
ACTIVITY
Mix the finger paint with a little soap.
I like to give an additional tactile experience by putting some paint into the gloves before the child puts them on.
I also like to tape one paper on the wall for one experience and put another paper on a table or the floor for another experience.
After the child has created with the gloves on, they can remove them and make another creation with their bare hands.
Notes:
I have found that the lightweight transparent gloves are easier for some children to use and you can see what's happening with the paint we put on the inside of the glove. One first grade boy stopped in the middle of his experience and added some red paint 10 the inside of his glove and giggled as it turned pink bu11he outside picture remained white.
PAINTING WORMS- For those who like gushy sticky stuff
MATERIAL MEDIUM (S)
Cooked pasta - any shape Poster paint - green
Liquid hand soap
White school glue
IMPLEMENT (S) Hands
SURFACE (S) Paper plate
ACTIVITY
Mix the paint and soap with the limp pasta.
Scoop the mixture onto the paper plate. Smash it, swirl it, roll it around.
Notes:
This is going to be the closest you'll come to rolling worms around in paint without being cruel to real worms. I wonder why little kids love that smooshy, gooshy feeling. I have to admit, I kind of do too.
A paper plate is fun to use because it gives a smaller area to work in and has a built in bounclary that a piece of paper does not have.
In this age of gummy shapes, go ahead and do gummy worms. However, have some set aside to eat.
PAINTING A FLOWER GARDEN
MATERIAL
MEDIUM (S)
Poster paint - purple Liquid hand soap
Green construction paper White school glue
IMPLEMENT (S) Dried flowers
SURFACE (S)
Pink construction paper
Mix the paint with a little soap.
Dip or press the flower in the paint. Be careful, they are delicate. Press it on the paper.
Make a garden.
Cut stems from the green construction paper and glue on the flowers.
Notes:
After we finished the above, we glued dried flowers on another piece of pink construction paper and displayed them side by side.