Painting & Printmaking Review

This is my second review from the books Prim Ed very kindly sent me at the start of the summer.

There are two books in the “Early Childhood Art” series. The first review covered ‘Collage and Construction’ and this one will look at ‘Painting and Printmaking’.

I will discuss the book under the following heading.

Layout

Contents

Dust Rating

Early Childhood Art – Painting and Printmaking

Amelia Ruscoe

Layout

As before the book has rich colours, an abundance of photographs, and is easy to follow. Each activity is explained over two pages. The information is organised under headings such as, Resources, Key Questions, and Preparation.

On some pages an ‘Easy Alternative’ is offered as well as ways to enhance the experience, such as incorporating the art lesson into other areas of the curriculum or encouraging the children to turn their print into a recognisable thing.

The book is divided into four main chapters/sections

1.    Mixing colours: exploring colour and colour media

2.    Applying colour: experimenting with tools, materials and media

3.    Discovering texture and pattern: Printmaking

4.    Dyes and stains: Dripping, spraying, and dipping

At the start of each one is a list of resources and useful websites.

The last page of the book is an art storeroom stock list. This is great to have when organising your supplies, or have it copied and stuck inside your art press with the items you have highlighted.

Contents

There are 56 art activities in the book, divided into 4 sections. I think this book would be a great resource for anyone teaching infants, first or second class.  Thats not to say that these ideas can’t be adapted for older classes!

Again I have to say there are so many projects I want to try from this book. It is very accessible and inviting. The only problem is I don’t know how I can try them all in just one year!

I particularly like the photos of the children working as well as the finished artwork. The foucus in on the process, using different materials, and appriciating the outcomes.

The projects I am looking forward to trying are

·    Glue and chalk pastels

·    Spinner art

·    Bubble prints

·    Textured print matrix

Dust Rating

I couldn’t decide what to call this category....! Basically here I am asking myself would I use this book or will it sit on the shelf gathering dust?

So one being thick with dust and five being dust free, I will award this book 5/5!

I know this review is similar to the last one but I genuinely like this book. I think it is a must for anyone teaching infants. So many great ideas for Aistear that don’t require a lot of resources.

This is one of my favourites and I have a lot of art books!!