This year we created some Autumn-themed crafts for the art enrichment afternoon.  30 children from across the school attended and at the end of the session the children took home their crafts. 

The techniques we used to create our pieces were printing (using corrugated cardboard and paint to create a striped effect), painting (using a paintbrush to paint the stalk of the acorn), scissor skills (cutting around the hedgehog and acorn) and developing fine motor skills (by scrunching up small pieces of coloured tissue paper).  We also had to work on some social skills in the art room by taking turns when printing the top part of the acorn and team building by working with the children on their table to scrunch a big pile of tissue paper and then sharing to make sure there was enough for everyone to use.  We also had to be patient and wait for the paint on the acorn to dry before glueing the tissue paper on.  At that time we multitasked and worked on our hedgehog.  We talked about the colours we see in autumn and if it was ok to use those colours to create things that aren’t traditionally that colour – for example hedgehogs are not usually orange and yellow.  But we concluded that it was acceptable because we are being artistic and this is an interpretation of a hedgehog and not a realistic version.  

At the beginning of the session we did a quick art warm up with pencil on plain paper.  We drew a wavy line and then followed that pattern above and below noticing how it changes through the repetition.  This was then used for the early finishers to be able to continue or extend the doodle and colour in the patterns created. 

At the end of the session the children completed a short survey where I asked them to think about the things they liked or would like to change about the art lessons at Loughton.  We also had a general conversation about their opinion of their art lessons and I wrote down their responses. 

In summary, year threes were very positive about their art.  Out of the 6 year three children, 5 said they enjoyed art 5 out of 5 and one added an extra smiley face and responded 6 out of 5 for enjoyment.  Their favourite activities were painting, modelling, colouring, crafting, drawing, tissue paper and glueing.  Art activities that they would like to do included splatter painting, doing art to music, more crafting, glow in the dark painting and making specific character art (Sonic the hedgehog was mentioned). 

The year fours were also very positive about art.  7 out of 8 said they enjoy art 5 out of 5 and another child also said 6 out of 5.  Their favourite activities were crafting, drawing, shading, doodling, Celtic knots, using pastels, using clay, watercolours, felt tips and crafting.  Some activities that they would like to do included more clay modelling and paper mache.  One person responded that they didn’t enjoy drawing profiles of faces because they found it hard. 

They year fives were also very positive about how much they enjoy art.  Out of the 8 children 6 of them responded 5 out of 5 and 2 responded 4 out of 5.  The activities that they enjoyed were similar to the previous year groups with added activities such as mosaics and portraits.  One interesting response when thinking about things they haven’t enjoyed, was someone commented that if there’s not an example to see they haven’t enjoyed the activity as much.  Things they would like to try included making a detailed drawing, crafts like crochet, doing more realistic drawings, digital art and animation and pipe cleaner crafts.  Other interesting points raised were that they felt ‘there should be more time and the teachers should give targets and homework’. Another 3 responses said they think there should be a longer amount of time in the lesson. 

The year sixes were also very positive about how much they enjoy art.  Out of the 8 children 6 of them responded 5 out of 5 and 2 responded 4 out of 5.   The activities they enjoy are similar to the other year groups with added activities such as using alcoholic markers and using watercolours.  Some activities they haven’t enjoyed so much included using watercolours, shading, drawing portraits, doing collages, using i-pads and drawing animals.  Some comments about what they would like to change also included a longer lesson, doing longer projects similar to the spitfire planes, more abstract art, making things out of wood, teaching more about famous artists and doing more crafts such as making bracelets. 

During the group discussion, it was evident that things some people really enjoyed such as the more technical aspect of drawing a portrait, others didn’t.  Some really like the longer projects that happen over a couple of weeks because they feel like they can create something special but others didn’t enjoy it because they felt like ideas were lost from one week to another.  They reiterated that they would like longer lessons so they didn’t feel rushed to finish and some felt they didn’t have time to show their creative side.  They felt like it was good that they are pushed to try new and different things and learn new techniques and it’s good that they do it themselves rather than have a teacher do it for them because it gives them a sense of achievement.  They would like to do more crafts and learn about more artists and they would like to do art homework to show their skills and creativity. 

Overall, I think it was a very positive afternoon with some interesting feedback from the children.  They enjoyed taking their crafts home and I personally enjoyed seeing some of the children personalise their hedgehogs and give them names and personalities.