Be inspired by a Van Gogh painting
Adult-led
Look closely at the work of a celebrated artist and create artworks.
Planned learning intention
To express and communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings using a widening range of materials and responding to a visual stimulus Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
Paint, paper, palettes for mixing paint, sponges, fabric, collage and printing materials, Nursery Topics poster of Van Gogh's painting 'The Starry Night'.
Step by step
* Display the poster at child's eye level and allow the children lots of time to look at the painting, perhaps returning to it several times before starting the activity.
* Ask the children what they see in the picture, and what the picture makes them think about. Tell them that it was painted by a man called Vincent, who lived a long time ago. Explore any emotions the painting evokes and how the painter might have been feeling when he painted it.
* Draw attention to the stars in the painting and talk about how they might have been painted.
* Allow the children to make as many pieces of artwork as they might need to explore the subject. Some children may just want to experiment with colour mixing to achieve examples of darkness or starriness. Some may want to focus on the stars, others may want to try to reproduce the painting in their own style.
* Talk about the fact that artists very often make several versions of a painting or aspect of it. Displaying some of the children's 'drafts' alongside their final versions will help to validate this.
* Some children need to take their creations home with them straight away. Parents can encourage their child to return the pictures for display, or copy the pictures if you are lucky enough to have a colour photocopier or scanner.
Stepping stones
* A child with little experience may choose to observe others before engaging in the activity. They may return several times to observe before feeling ready to take part. They may comment on the painting and resources, but may use materials for their own purposes. They may ask for technical assistance with cutting or sticking, for example. They may find it hard to comment on their work.
* A child with some experience will probably comment on the Van Gogh painting and be able to respond to adult questioning. They may talk about personal experiences and may produce artwork related to the task. They may begin to show interest in the artist and other artworks. They will probably work purposefully on their chosen task but may not sustain the work for lengthy periods. They may be able to comment on their work but unable to refine their ideas.
* An experienced child may have some previous knowledge of the artist or begin to recognise the style. They will probably work purposefully for a sustained period of time and may revisit the task. They will be able to comment on their work, describing it, but also possibly commenting on their emotional involvement and artistic intent.
Extension ideas
* Let the children experiment using sponges to swirl the paint around in circles to create the swirl-of-light effect, as seen in the painting.
* Enable the children to explore other art media to create night-time pictures, for example, using pictures of sky and shades of blue cut from magazines, paintwashed backgrounds with cut-out stars or lights added to them, creating 3D work from shiny junk materials, relief printing with moon and star shapes.
* Show the children the artist's signature on the painting. Encourage them to sign the front of their artwork. Place any adult-printed labels alongside the artwork (as in an art gallery) rather then sticking them to the paintings, and make one for Vincent Van Gogh, too!
* When talking to the children about their artwork, try to move away from responding with a simple 'that's nice' comment. Indiscriminate praise is not always helpful and can inhibit a child from judging their own work and developing emotional intelligence and self-knowledge. Describe what you can see in the painting and, as it is a piece of art, how it makes you feel. Ask the children what they feel and like about it, what they wanted it to look like and what they might do next time, to develop their idea.
* Provide books and prints of Van Gogh works for the children to explore and comment on.
* Play some appropriate music in the creative area while the children are working. Try out various tempos and observe the impact that these have on the children.
2 Everybody is a star
CHILD-INITIATED
Help children to develop self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
Resources
Photographs of the children set in star-shaped card frames (photocopy the photographs so that you can use the copies in other activities); pre-cut star shapes, paper, pencils and scissors, any star-shape decorations, fairy lights draped (safely) around the display board.
Play suggestions
* Display the children's photographs at child level on the display board, leaving room for children to add to the display.
* Encourage the children to see themselves as 'stars' and to celebrate their own achievements and those of others.
* Make the materials accessible to the children and encourage them to draw (or write) their day-to-day successes on the star shapes and add them to the board.
* Encourage adults to contribute to the stars and to ensure a broad spectrum of successes (for example, not just task-related, but acknowledging self-reliance, caring attitude, perseverance, and other desirable dispositions) and encouraging reticent children to applaud themselves.
* Adults should also comment on their own (and each other's) achievements. This can be a very useful way of modelling the activity, as it may take the children some time to get into the routine.
* Although the stars can simply be stuck to the board, it might be more useful to attach a box into which the stars can be slipped and later removed for discussion, thus ensuring that the board can be constantly updated. Children can then take home their stars or they can be added to individual assessment records or scrapbooks as ongoing personal records of achievement.
* Set aside time for discussion (daily or weekly) and encourage the children to ask questions of each other.
* Have triangle shapes and templates available for drawing and cutting out six-point stars, with one triangle positioned on top of another.
* Encourage the children to count points, sides and faces of triangles and generally have fun exploring star shapes!
Possible learning outcomes
* Observes others
* Asks for/responds to help from adult
* Shows pride in their achievements
* Accepts compliments comfortably
* Offers compliments and praise to others
* Raises questions to find out more about others' achievements
* Explores star drawing independently
* Helps and tutors others
* Perseveres to personal conclusion
* Revisits activity to practise and refine new skills
* Uses number, shape, position and comparison vocabulary.
