Every child is an artist
Pablo Picasso is famous for saying every child is an artist. And I truly believe that. So let’s talk about art for a moment .
In traditional preschools many times you get home worksheets or coloring pages or children have decorated a page. Sometimes they are able to stay inside the lines. Depending where they are developmentally other times or not. Do you consider this art?
In order for three year old to do the project above the teacher would have to cut out all of the pieces and help them manage the glue. You can tell by the placement of the eyes and the other pieces that the teacher also helped place the pieces on the construction . So in reality what you have, is an art piece from the teacher. You really don’t need art from Miss Debbie hanging on your fridge do you ?
Some early educators consider handprints and foot prints art. I won’t deny that they are precious to families for later down the road but many times the paint absorbs completely into the construction paper… and ten years later the print disappears. However this is not art either. This is something a teacher has made to commemorate a time in child’s life. You say may see this type of project come home from here on a holiday. 🤷🏻♀️
I provide many types of art materials and let the children create with their imagination.
Honestly when children first get started it’s a lot of paint mixed together or a whole bunch of lines on a paper but eventually throughout the year as they gain motor control you begin to see such amazing art pieces. Doesn’t mean more to have your child’s on art hanging in your fridge instead of one for me me? 
I save the majority of the children’s artwork. . We have an art show at the end of the year.
It’s important when children have new experiences to explain step-by-step the appropriate way to use materials. So today each child was walked through the steps of using the art easel
1. if the spotlight is on above it the center is open
2. Put on a smock to cover our clothes
3. Write our name at the bottom of the paper on the easel. If I can’t write my name I can ask for help from the teacher
4. Look at the paper and think about what I want to paint and What colors I want to use. We try to use one paintbrush per paint cup so our colors don’t mix and turn brown. 
5. We create art.
6. We use the scissors hanging on the easel to cut our paper off and hang it on the magnetic board next to us to dry
7. We take off our smock and hang it on the hook.
8. We wash our hands if we got paint on them
Do you see, that that is eight steps? Most children this age cannot follow one or two steps. I will make a visual for them to make this easier and also put their names next to the easel so it will be available to copy if they want to try writing their own name
Can you imagine why we end up with paint everywhere if teachers don’t properly introduce the center?
I can’t wait to see your children grow as artist this year. I won’t say you will never have projects that her teacher created but they will be few and far between.
