Educationalist Friedrich Froebel, believed that young children should be involved in both making their own art and enjoying the art of others. To Froebel, art activities were important because they encouraged each child's ‘full and all-sided development’. Our theme this year is entitled All for one, and one for all….superbly illustrated by our own Max Gilligan in Junior Infants. This theme will run throughout the week with the boys participating in a whole myriad of artistic classes from dance, music, drama and all mediums of art.
It is well known throughout our time celebrating the arts that Willow pupils feel a sense of emotional satisfaction when they are involved in making art, whether they are modelling with clay, drawing with crayons, or making a collage from recycled scraps. Making art is a sensory exploration activity. Our Infants enjoy the feeling of a crayon moving across paper and seeing a blob of coloured paint grow larger. In Willow we recognise that children express their ideas through art, just as they do in writing. Creative teachers find ways to support children's learning across the curriculum through activities in which children make art and enjoy the art of others.
Although art activities help children develop in many areas (cognitive, muscle development, hand-eye co-ordination, the development of symbol - to name but a few), Willow teachers also recognize that art also has value in and of itself. Fostering the development of children's aesthetic sense and engaging children in creative experiences are the objectives of our Willow Arts’ Week. I know that this will be achieved next week at the opening of our arts week on Monday the 1st of April and I look forward to admiring the whole school artwork that will celebrate our most important core value – our strong sense of community.