Nursery World - Art in the Early Years: Part 6 -Collage

Opening up the creative potential of collage to young children requires knowledge of the basic skills involved and ready access to a wide variety of natural and made materials.

Suffolk Early Years and Childcare Service (Suffolk County Council) shows how.

A collage (from the French word coller, meaning 'to glue') is a work of art made from assembling different materials on a chosen surface to create a new whole. It provides a link between the visual and tactile experience and is one of the six areas of artistic experience that should be available within the EYFS (along with drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles and 3D).

Creating a collage includes selecting, tearing, cutting, sticking and discussion, and as these skills develop, more complex processes can be introduced. Children should be able to choose from a wide range of materials, so providing a variety of colour, texture and shape. It is not necessary to have an end product but materials can be fixed with glue if the child wishes.

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