Welcome to an exciting year of hands-on learning with your child!

This year our children will participate in a special art program called “Invitation to Create” throughout the curriculum. This is a research-based system that embraces a constructivist approach to teaching and supports the highest standard of early learning research.  There is significant data supporting it’s positive impacts, including children learning and constructing knowledge by actively investigating and problem-solving.  The National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and state education departments are now requiring licensed programs to implement this model of teaching in order to qualify for the highest quality ratings.

When your child brings home his or her art, you might initially only see a messy collage of materials covered in globs of paint and flower petals. But if you look a little closer at this abstract masterpiece, you can see the complex problem solving and deep learning that happened during the process of it’s creation.  This process is key to your child’s development of what scientists are considering some of the most critical 21^st century skills. including:

• Collaboration and teamwork
• Creativity and Imagination
• Critical thinking and problem-solving
• Creative and innovative practice

An “Invitation to Create” is an invitation for your child to communicate his ideas visually. By asking questions, you help your child build his communication skills.  This conversation also helps him know that you see the value and beauty of her work.

Your child’s brain is developing rapidly and he may not yet have the words to fully express the complexity of what she understands and thinks.  But art is a window into the mind.  Use the art he brings home as a way to understand how she is making meaning and gaining knowledge from all the sights and sounds he experiences in a day.

Here are a few questions to ask your child or teacher for evidence of learning what happens when your child creates:

Can you tell me more about this (name a supply used)? Why did you put it in your design

How did you make this artwork?

​​​​​​What did you see or learn today that made you want to create this?

How did you feel when you created your art?

For more information about our programs, please visit us online  at www.arisingstarchildrenscenter.com or call 914-788-4582 to schedule a visit. Happy Art!