Maria Montessori recommended that children have a daily contact with some form or art.  She considered that each work of art reflected some of the moment in time and the spirit of its creator.

Art is the expression of sensory impressions and sensitive interpretations of the world.  A child discovers that by using his five senses he can grasp the world, react to it, and integrate it in his own way according to his sentiments, emotions and experiences.  In this initiation to plastic arts, it is not intended to give a masterly lesson of the history or art or to learn to become an artist.  It is rather the opportunity to look, touch, to make efforts and to practice (or do).

On the subject of the history of art, the initiation offers several ideas to help the child learn to put words to things in order to teach him how to look.  Pictures and objects are made available; attention is drawn to colors, shapes and perspective.  Each child has the possibility to express his own point of view without being given a “ready made” interpretation.  Art is subjective and should remain so.

In practice, the child is accompanied and guided to enable him to develop an eye for art, pencil strokes, and a distinctive sensitivity.  The different forms of expression and artistic processes allow the child to express his own feelings, emotions and boundless creativity with a real respect for the creative process.

Among other things, we work with watercolors, acrylics and gouache; crayons and pastels, clay, mosaic, glass, engraving and printing techniques, sculpture (on soap, with plastic), drawing on wood, art in nature, the accumulation and compaction of objects, collage, making compacting pictures with (or in) sand, weaving and photography.

The evocative power of art is tremendous.