
Today’s focus for #ocsbSTEAM week is Art. Have a go at today’s creative STEAM challenge and explore practical ideas to support your child’s learning in the Arts!
STEAM challenge of the day
Design a futuristic city. If your child is in Kindergarten to grade 6, they could make a city out of found objects and recycled materials. In grades 7 to 12? Design your city using one or two-point perspectives– manually or on the computer. Share your designs online using #ocsbSTEAM and #ocsbArts.
Ideas to support your child’s exploration of the Arts
- Give your child opportunities to be creative with different materials found around the home or outside.
- Incorporate math, science, technology, engineering, coding with art!
If your child is in Kindergarten to grade 6
- Give your child the freedom to explore their creativity through play.
- Make paint stamps out of different vegetables like potatoes, explore what happens when colours are mixed, make a collage out of newspapers, magazines or flyers!
- Dance with your children. It’s a great way to get physically active and have fun.
- Experiment with sound by filling glasses with different amounts of water and tapping with a spoon. For fun, you can add food colouring to each glass. Check out this fun video to get started!
- When your child creates a work of art, be positive, give sincere praise and ask them questions about their work. Point out creative details, comment on their use of colour or elements of originality.
If your child is in grades 7 to 12
- Encourage pride in your cultural heritage by helping children find art and artists representing your culture — for example, Harlem Renaissance art, First Nations beading, origami, etc. Ask your librarian for help. Go through the books with your child, then visit an art gallery or museum.
- Explore all sorts of music genres with your children, whether it’s on the radio or through streaming services.
- Visit the National Gallery of Canada- either in person or online to check out their collections. You can travel the world digitally to see other amazing collections like those at the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Museum Of Modern Art.
How we support your child’s learning at the OCSB
- We know creativity is an essential skill in the world of art. That’s why it’s one of the six global competencies we focus on through our Deep Learning approach to educating your child.
- We have many community partnerships in the Arts, such as MASC (Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities).