A Story in Every Scribble

By Oliver

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences." Loris Malaguzzi, Founder of the Reggio Approach 

Art and the Reggio approach are tightly wound together. Treated as a viable and critical path to learning, art is therefore held-up as important and sacred. Art is a way to challenge ourselves, expand our thinking, and at its very best, help us make to a new discovery about the world and ourselves. Again and again we stress that the magic is in the process, not the finished product. Art can be set in stone or fleeting, art can be endlessly evolving, art can be made with all of your body, as a group, or blissfully in your own world. Art is where you find it.

Art has always been a part of our daily life at TLS, but we are now proud to announce the arrival of our new Studio Art teacher, or “Atelierista” Morgan Kordsmeier. Morgan received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tulsa, and soon after decided to enter the Early Childhood Education field. She is currently earning her teaching certification for PreK-12 Art from ECU and is integrating what she is learning in her program with her years of experience in early childhood education. Morgan engages a small group of children in the art studio in open ended art and light explorations, taking her cues from the kids as where to go next. She may have a pre-set "provocation” prepared for the class, or she may allow the kids to freely select the materials that they are drawn to. Morgan is in the process of stocking the studio with traditional fine arts materials such as clay and charcoal, as well as repurposed treasures such as scraps of yarns and bottle caps. 

Art is also a community effort. This is a list of donation ideas to help your child be involved with contributing to the studio spaces at their school! It is extremely meaningful for children when they are using materials that have been provided by them or their peers. These items can be used in countless ways by children to create works of art, so use this list with your child to find items to bring to school!

ribbon yarn twine paper tissue paper cardstock anything else that would make a good drawing surface cardboard scraps non styrofoam packing materials cardboard tubes (paper towel, wrapping paper, we can’t take toilet paper rolls) By Ronan fabric scraps tulle lace old doilies! old tights (these are awesome because they are fun and stretchy) corks lids (container lids, marker caps, etc) bottle caps metal cans old cds, records, tapes, floppy discs beads old picture frames scrap wood scrap plexi glass