Preschool Art Lessons (Mondrian)

I began teaching preschoolers about art two years ago. In those two years we have had one art show, and are gearing up for another one come August. Teaching art to children isn't so much a class, as it is an activity, an opportunity for them to develop their skills (i.e. hand - eye coordination), socialize and use their uninhibited imaginations that so many of us adults seem to lack.

In honor of those few adults who managed to cling on to some imagination, I'm presenting my preschoolers with:
ART HISTORY MONTH!

Here are some activities we'll be doing, if you have kids or know somewhere where they keep kids, feel free to borrow some of our projects.


Piet Mondrian



Mondrian is best known for his involvement in the De Stijl (de stail) movement. Using primary colors in addition to black and white, Mondrian's work is a non-representational mix of blocks and lines.

Mondrian is about as preschool friendly as an artist can get, primary colors, squares, rectangles and lines, everything is basic and at their level. In addition, this is an excellent opportunity to teach the children early geometry skills, planning/visualizing, and about non-representational art (perhaps explaining to them that in order for something to be "art" it does not have to be a realistic depiction, something many of them struggle with at times!).


Materials:
long strips of black construction paper
yellow, red and blue squares and rectangles of all sizes
one large sheet of white paper
glue

Activity:
After discussing Mondrian with the children, perhaps via book or use of images, allow them to choose a few rectangles, squares and strips to begin constructing their own. You can either choose to help them lay out their project before they glue, or allow them to go at it on their own. I often allow the children to help each other with ideas and technique, but try to interfer as little as possible, to me the process is far more important than their product.


Additional Sources:
Anna's Art Adventure by Bjorn Sortland
Find it in a library near you!

Additional Activities
Mondrian coloring page:

From AnArtEducation