This week and next we my group is having an art focus. We have a visiting artist from UK who has planned all sorts of activities to get them expressing how they feel about their environment. It is great for me, as she is doing most of the planning, giving me more time to get other things in order before leaving. It's also really great for the girls as they are trying out new things (scary things for some of them) and thinking about their environment. We have given them 3 specific rules for these weeks

• respect one another (no teasing each others work)
• there are no mistakes (therefore erasers are NOT allowed - this caused a big gasp from the girls)
• try new things

They have already tried out different mark making ideas, including expressing emotion, sound and flavour. Then, we looked at how maps can portray many things and created works of art using old maps, they have drawn using a pencil on a stick (much frustration at the lack of precision) and we will move onto printmaking and model making. It's nice to be doing something different. It's also nice to celebrate what they can acheive - even if they are unable to draw the most beautiful flower, which is what they previously thought was most important.