What makes a good preschool art class? Anyone been to any particularly good ones?

[eastereggfeaster]

A friend of mine is thinking of starting up a pre-school art class and I offered to post on here to see what people like/ dislike about ones they go to.
Any advice for her would be really welcome!

[frankie3]

Anything messy with lots of paint, my DS also liked sticking feathers, sequins etc on crowns and masks. Modelling with playdo. Bead threading.

Need to provide aprons, and have a tub of soapy water for then to wash hands in.

[poshtottie]

We go to one called Mucky Pups. There are different tables with a variety of activies. Some are the same every week eg: playdough table, painting but then there are other more creative and themed tables. There are also toys and a playmat put out as some mums have babies/toddlers.

Sometimes there is a water table and a sandpit.

They then finish with a drink/biscuit.

Ds is 2.8 and is getting better at sitting and concentrating but sometimes he just wants to run around and thats ok.

[poshtottie]

There is also a packet of wipes on each table.

[sonervous]

Make sure the venue is warm. I went to a trial in an old church hall once in winter time, and it was freezing (didn't join up). Also choose a venue with easy parking.

[eastereggfeaster]

Thanks so far everyone....any more input would be great!

[paisleyleaf]

Yeah, messy.
It's nice to go somewhere else for messy, so don't have to do it at home

[Smithagain]

I run one, which we never have to advertise because it fills up by word of mouth. So we seem to be doing something right! We do:

One painting table - either painting with brushes/fingers or printing.
One "messy" table, with trays of sand/rice/pasta/cornflour gloop or similar. Lots of spoons, plastic animals, jugs bowls etc for them to experiment with.
Two tables with a prepared craft, on a theme for the week. Normally some variation on collage, paper plate crafts, stick puppets, masks, that sort of thing.
One table with a drawing activity - sometimes just paper and crayons/pens/chalk - sometimes colouring pictures.
One table with playdough and lots of cutters.

They have free choice of what they want to do for 45 mins or so, then we have drinks and snacks, carry on playing for a bit, then start tidying up. While the adults finish tidying, I take the children through to another room for a story and some songs.

Top tips: have lots of painting aprons, wet cloths, paper towels etc. A drying rack for paintings and somewhere else to lay pictures etc (so they don't get covered in paint). Look out for activities where the children make something they can wear/play with - it extends their interest. This is a good site for ideas.

Allow plenty of time for preparation, setting up and clearing away - I spend at least 4-5 hours per week for a 90 minute session.

Locate sources of recycled materials - I get a lot of stuff from the members of the church where we meet, which keeps costs down. Ours is not commercial. We charge £2 per session and I normally have about £500 to give back to the church by the end of the year. But that's without paying for premises, staff or insurance!

[Smithagain]

Baker Ross is good for materials/ideas, but don't get everything from there because it's NOT always cheapest and the kits become a bit recognisable once you've been on the toddler craft circuit for a while!

Viking is good for bulk quantities of coloured card and paper. And the adults do love it when I occasionally do something properly home made for them - like I made some heart shapes out of clay for them to paint and I've made gingerbread men for them to decorate.

[eastereggfeaster]

Thanks Smith again - really useful. Will pass that on.