First offered in the Fall of 1985, the Arts-Based Preschool for children ages 3-6 has been an overwhelming success. Music, sculpture, painting, drama drawing and creative movement are an integral part of this exciting program. The self-esteem of your child will grow through a rich and varied experience with the arts in combination with sound preschool education. Lots of fun, lots of love and lots of good arts experiences.

Enrollment is underway for the 2008-2009 school year. You can download an enrollment form to mail in to the Arts Center.

The Lawrence Arts Center Preschool uses a creative, arts-based teaching structure to bring out a child's natural interest in learning. The Arts allow children to think creatively, to build their own ideas, to solve problems in more than one way and try new things.

In addition to the full-time teaching staff, children have the opportunity to have live experiences with the professional dance and theatre faculty. Preschool students attend some performances and rehearsals with our professional children's theatre and modern dance companies. Professionally trained artists and performers help children feel positively about themselves and their experiences with the visual arts, whether it is ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, music, drama, creative movement, or dance.

A nurturing, creative environment instills self-confidence and positive feelings about school which last a lifetime. Field trips, walking trips in the downtown area and to the parks and playgrounds, indoor and outdoor giant parachute play, and many and varied classroom choices are also part of the preschool program. At this age, children don't like to sit too long. Physical and mental freedom influences a child's ability to grow and learn.

Starting in the fall, our preschool will have one room which will accept children who are 2 years and 9 months old. In other words, if they turn 3 years old in September, October, or November they are eligible. Currently they must be 3 years old by September 1st, but we are changing that.

The class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 to noon.

At the Lawrence Arts Center we know children learn more and learn faster when they develop their skills in a creative environment. This environment of creativity and activities appropriate for the preschool child's development helps children to be ready for academics in elementary school. Our approach to preschool education promotes free expression, is an outlet for creativity, and encourages creative thinking and problem-solving. The Lawrence Arts Center Preschool is nationally recognized as a leader in Arts-Based Education.

Why Art?

Compiled by the director and staff of the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool.

Why Art? A very good question. Think of “the arts” as art, music, dance, and drama. Not only is art fun, art is a perfect way to learn. Learning through the arts is a smart and fun way to enhance brain development, support individual learning, and help people prepare for success in school and in life. Arts-based learning is great for kids of all ages, but especially helpful for young children for reasons such as these listed here.

Physical Development

Large and small muscle development and coordination are important aspects of every art activity. Different muscles are exercised in different art activities. As the muscles are exercised, they grow stronger and the child gains better control over them.

Coordination of eye and hand movements follow as a child tries to control the crayon, brush, or marker in his hand to make marks that are meaningful to him. In dance and creative movement one learns control and coordination of the body is space. In these art forms, she learns to use her hands, eyes, feet, and body at the same time. She develops control over eye muscles, an important first step in learning to read. “Free drawing” rather than coloring in the lines of a coloring book, will develop the skills needed for making letters and numbers.

Mental Development

Children learn by doing. Learning concepts, language and skills are a foundation for reading, math and science. If it goes through the hands, feet, body, it goes through the brain.

Language and Literacy

Children learn through direct experience what the word “texture” means as they handle cloth with different surfaces, thick/thin while using paint.

As children talk about their art work, they are “reading” their picture. Writing a story is “written down talk”.

Dramatic play and acting-out stories make stories, actually, come alive.

Thinking Skills

Art provides opportunities for making decisions and problem solving no matter how many times a child has worked with the same medium.

Creative Development

Creativity is the ability to see, make, or perform in a new way. Making something new, being creative means taking a risk to do that “something new or different.” Making mistakes is a part of this process. Scientific thinking and creativity are difficult to separate. Maya Angelou states, “You cannot use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Aesthetic Development

Aesthetic awareness involves helping children see, hear, and enjoy the beauty in their world. It improves the quality of learning and helps the creative process.

Social-Emotional Development

As children work in the art center, they learn to share the materials, to accept other’s ways of doing art, and to enjoy being a part of the group. Creating art affords the opportunity for release—clay, woodworking, fingerpaint, waterplay. Children learn to feel good about themselves as they learn they can do things well.

Children who feel free to make mistakes and to explore and experiment will also feel free to invent, create, and find new ways to do things. Grant the lasting gift of freedom to children—to make mistakes and learning from doing. The side benefit is that fostering creativity is rewarding and fun and gives children a zest for imagining and learning to last a lifetime.

“Research indicates that a child who is exposed to the arts will have a better chance to grow up to be more creative, imaginative, expressive, confident, self-reliant and critically thinking adult."
~From an article at International Child Art Foundation.
Click Here to read the article.

Contact

For more information, call Linda Reimond, Preschool Director, at 843-2787 or email lacpreschool@sunflower.com.

Class Schedule

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