Sequence of learning - Art 3 - EYFS

The curriculum for Reception-aged children in the Expressive Arts and Design area, specifically in Creating with Materials, poses an inspiring question: "How can I be as incredible as a famous artist?" This educational journey encourages children to explore, use, and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings. The teaching approach includes helping children develop their colour-mixing skills, enabling them to match and represent the colours they observe. Through step-by-step guidance, children learn to notice and articulate features of the natural world, such as colours, shapes, textures, and smells, and to discuss their responses to art.

As part of the proposed learning sequence, children are invited to visit galleries and museums to draw inspiration from the work of famous artists. They are encouraged to observe the natural world, focusing on shapes and colours, and to experiment with mixing paints, noting the outcomes such as how red and yellow combine to make orange. The goal is for children to match these colours to what they see in nature and to recreate shapes in their artwork with care. The key vocabulary for this learning sequence includes terms like 'mixing', 'observe', 'shade', 'natural', 'shape', and 'gallery'. This educational experience is designed to meet the Early Learning Goal by enabling children to safely explore materials, share their creations, and use props and materials in role-playing, ultimately guiding them towards expressing themselves through art as effectively as famous artists.