Product Art and Process Art

This is always such a touchy subject among educators and I thought why not use it as my first blog post. I believe both have great value in the ECE setting and as educators it is important to know when and where to use them.

First let's look at what they are, process art are those projects in which we as teachers simply supply the materials, step back and watch the creative juices flow. There is little to no direction given, except perhaps how to to use a tool or get the paint started if a child has never before used water colors. This art is all about the use of the materials and not whether or not it "looks like something."

Conversely product art, often call crafting, are those projects in which we teachers provide specific materials and walk children through the steps of creating a specific thing, or we provide all of the materials with a sample and allow the children to make their own version.

We must then look at what children are learning from each of these, and why they both have a place in the early childhood classroom. I would like to preface this by saying that process art has little place in the infant and early toddler classrooms, and teachers should wait until later  toddlers around 18 to 24 months before they begin introducing simple product art to children. Process and product art share many learning opportunities, fine motor control, color recognition, shape recognition, texture testing, to name a few. They deviate in that process art allows for experiences in creative process, tool experimentation, and self esteem building. Product art provides opportunities to follow directions, finish multiple steps, use social cues to gauge personal behavior, and stick to a task.

Each of these has equal place in the classroom, because all of these things are deeply important for Kindergarten readiness, and we begin Kindergarten readiness in our 2's programs, not because we want to or to push rigorous academics (a deeper look into this in a later post), but because we know that it takes a long time to build up and cement these things.

What we must not do with children's art, whether it is process or product, is change it after they have finished it. I know, dear teacher friend, that is super hard, especially when that owl's left eye is sideways on his cheek or the paper plate they just painted red and black would be so cute if you drew a line down the center and turned it into a lady bug. You must resist! I believe in you!

There is a reason for this and it all leads back to their precious hearts and minds, they feel valuable and capable based on our actions and when we change something they completed essentially we are telling them it's not good enough and they aren't good enough. Perhaps that seems extreme, but they've only been alive a few years, everything is extreme to them!

Hopefully you've learned a little bit about these two art forms and are willing to use them both in your classroom, please feel free to share your experiences with both in your classroom. And if you have any questions feel free to ask away!

Happy Teaching!
~Sarah