Creative Arts and Crafts

Creative arts are included in child care, preschool, and summer camp programs

The importance of self-directed art

At Village Learning, art is available every day as part of our creative arts and craft program. The importance of art as an experience that allows a child to actualize and internalize their experience without interruption, direction, or modeling is essential for their well-being, growth, and development.

Art that is self-directed allows the child to bring something into existence (the art experience) through their own creative thinking, bringing greater meaning and depth to the child.

The role of the adult is to provide the materials for the child to experience, experiment, and create with. There is a certain level of art a child demonstrates that lets us know when the child is ready to learn to read and write.

They explore their creativity though arts and crafts, performing on stage, and playing in the outdoor village and treehouse.

Jessica C.

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The joy of crafts

We also offer a special time set aside for crafts two days a week. One form of crafts is through direction, as well as the use of models. This allows a fun way for children to learn to follow directions and develop the skills of using scissors, paste, paint, paper, and other materials. Another form of crafts that we offer is to simply provide the child with an abundance of materials to create with, using their own creative thinking ability!

Girl gluing an art project by herself
Children turn a favorite story into their own book
Child's red dragon project
Child's drawing of the blue horse in Eric Carle's book

Our kids in the kitchen workshops

Our kids in the kitchen workshops, held one or more days each week, offer another form of creative arts, incorporating a delightful sensory experience, combined with math, science, and more! We explore and discover where our foods come from, giving our thought and attention to the knowledge and understanding that many foods are a life that has grown so that we may eat, developing an attitude of appreciation.

Where did it come from? Is it smooth… crunchy… soft… or crisp? How does it taste and how does it smell? You may find us experimenting and learning to prepare simple foods to eat, or brewing up anything from playdoh to paper! As a welcoming tradition, we measure and pour, mix and sculpt, then break and share with one another, our own homemade bread!

Children learn to make bread at Village Learning
Small girl shapes bread dough in cooking class
Blindfolded girl tries to guess what food she's holding

PHOTO GALLERY