Communicating Through Art

Throughout the months of November and December, the Lower Elementary children have been exploring how humans use art to communicate ideas and feelings.

We have explored the art of early humans through lessons on cave paintings. In both Lower Elementary classes, we focused on the handprints left behind in the “cueva de los manos” in South America. The children carefully cut out paper “stencils” of their own hands and used smudged chalk to create an outline on their class murals.

The downstairs class continued to focus on the prehistoric art of early humans, and created stories out of their animal cave paintings. Our study of prehistoric art complemented the Lower Elementary focus on the Great Lessons in the first term, particularly in the areas of fundamental needs and the story of writing.

The upstairs class focused on early South American art, creating sun gods out of embossed copper, making clay anacondas, oil pastel resist drawings of rainforest animals, parrot kites, and watercolour paintings of the Amazon forest. These artistic projects offered the children a hands-on way to connect with the biodiversity and cultural richness of South America.

The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring communication through visual art in the first term. We are all looking forward to continuing to exercise creativity and imagination when we return to school in January!

Have a beautiful Christmas and a joyful New Year!