Art and sculpture projects for children

"Children are born with a sense of wonder – their eyes alert to the world’s beauty and their bodies longing to explore and move," says Dr Sandra Duncan, a teacher with over 45 years of experience in early care and education, in her foreword to Wonder Art Workshop by Sally Haughey.

"It is unfortunate, with the passage of time, that children’s eyes turn dim, their bodies become still – and their inquisitive minds grow quiet. Rather than directing their attention to the colourful butterfly floating across the azure sky, young children’s attention is more focused on one-dimensional objects appearing on the television or computer screen. Rather than experiencing the feeling of mud or manipulating clay in a hundred different ways, they are experiencing plastic molded and single-use toys with no visual or kinesthetic textures. Instead of being mesmerised by how paint flows and drips on the paper, they are memorising the letters of the alphabet.

"It is time to bring back wonder into young children’s hearts and lives – to put aside the worksheets, the plastic toys, and the paper plate art project where the teddy bears with googly eyes all look exactly the same.

"It’s time to abandon traditional classroom arts and crafts projects that are more interested in a tangible output or replicated end product, which in most instances means every child’s work looks pretty much the same as everyone else’s."

Help your child develop their artistic skills with these hands-on, play-based sculpture activities, which start with art but lead into creative investigations of other subjects, including science and literacy. The author's wonder-based approach reflects and synthesises several child-centered educational movements, including Montessori.