To be just a tiny bit bothered by what I saw at my son's nursery this morning?

[KingofnightvisionKingofinsight]

My 3-year-old DS just started at a new nursery. The teachers are lovely and kind and DS seems happy, and obviously that's most important. But anyway...

This morning at dropoff DS wanted me to stay for a few minutes so I did. I watched him sit down at a craft table set with lovely materials including glue, glitter, scraps of fabric and cotton wool, and small yellow paper circles. My DS spent several minutes carefully applying dumping half a bottle of glue to a good portion of his paper, and then he asked the teacher to pass him some glitter. She very sweetly encouraged him to put more glue on other parts of the paper first, which he did, and then she gave him the glitter. A minute later she gave him a yellow circle. He started to glue it at the bottom of the paper, but she gently corrected him, saying that the sun belongs at the top. She then pointed to a sample project that had been made. It was a picture of the beach, with an ocean of blue fabric scraps and glitter, cotton clouds, and in the top right corner a yellow paper sun. My DS dutifully copied the sample picture and proudly showed me his beach.

AIBU to be a little sad that the nursery is giving the kids the idea of what to make and even showing them something to copy? Why can't they just put out the materials and let them create? I'm wondering if this is always the nursery's approach to art or if it's just this particular teacher. She is otherwise lovely so it's not like I would dislike her for this, but if this always how art and creativity are managed at the school it does give me a bit of pause. If it is I would still be happy with the school but I think I would like to engage them a bit (in a friendly, non-demanding way) about their reasons and figure out how it impacts other areas of the curriculum.

AIBU?

I don't think telling them what to make is encouraging creativity. I know what you mean OP and I think what you are concerned about is his creativity being managed and possibly stifled and with it his confidence to create. The early years guidelines encourage choice and this is not something I did as a childminder. Freedom to create is important.

Saying that, I would only raise it if he kept coming home with pictures which were obviously too well put together

This is s simple matter of differing opinions over what matters in a single piece of work or creative project done by a small child. You are being massively unreasonable to set so much store by it, but by all means do approach the member of staff

I agree art should be free expression. It's restrictive when adults decide toddlers have to follow an artistic formula.

It's different at school sometimes, when a 5 year old will need to practice copying shapes in preparation for making letters. Obviously a 5 year old should also be painting and creating freely on top of this

I wouldn't tell them my concerns, I would tell them that your favourite works of art are the ones that haven't had adult input and are more natural.

I agree with you OP.

My pre-schooler turns out abstract art. Blocks of colour with a line through it, that sort of thing. (I'm describing it as abstract art tongue in cheek). At the same time, it's what she chooses to do and she does it well (for what it is). When she's doing a project that involves a little bit of 'proper' drawing (like feet or eyes for instance) she does it surprisingly well. But it's not her first choice.

Unfortunately, on her crappy little progress report it looks like she 'failed' art (no tick in the box) because she failed to produce recognisably human characters.

Fuck that.

Whilst it sounds too prescriptive to me, part of what he is doing is learning language and following instructions too not just hand eye coordination .Maybe for a display at this end of term too!!

OK, I can see what you're thinking about the joys of experimentation - and it would be stifling if every child was always told to make things a certain way. Victorian, in fact: my grandparents were taught like that.

I think you're missing something here, though. One of the things we learn in art practice is technique. That you can make a recognisable & adorable portrayal of an ocean with scraps of blue fabric & glitter is rather brilliant (and I've never thought of doing it with fabric scraps in 61 years!)

The teacher demonstrated a valuable insight, while giving DS the scope to exploit it in his own way. I think that's marvellous :)

My ds couldn't copy or create art but copying at 3yo. This was a problem.

Copying is a skill and there is time and place on a curriculum for both.

You saw one quick session so please don't judge everything they do from that.

Tomorrow he could be chucked a palette of paint and told to create and you'll be annoyed at finding paint in places you didn't think possible for it to get

i remember doing an apprenticeship at one nursery and being irritated by the one NN insistence on the children doing things properly.

the sun HAD to be yellow
the people HAD to be pink
'no such thing as a purple tree'

i felt it was stifling their freedom to be creative and just be kids.

I understand your point OP.

My son attends a nursery and a preschool and both of them have gone completely the other way recently and stopped doing any kind of 'guided' art and craft (eg mother's day cards or similar) . All work is free expression by the children from materials provided. I suspect this is following some sort of national guidelines/best practice as the two are in different counties and have no link to each other but have told me very similar things about their policies. The Ofsted report for one of them criticised the fact that the children didn't have completely free access to all the rooms in the building and didn't serve their own portions of food so maybe Ofsted are very into child-led activities? This seems a little bit of an overreaction to me as surely there is some value in children and adults working as a team to create something, however I would also disagree with all art/craft being of the 'sun must go at the top' variety. A mixture would seem healthy.

Following instructions or a pattern is an important part of learning

FFS ive heard it all now, it's quite scary to know there are mums out there like this!
Creative expression, stifling his inner artist
I'd be a tiny bit bothered by your thinking op.

Ive not RTFT but I have to say this is VERY bad practice. If I saw one of my staff being so prescriptive, not allowing children to make decisions, directing thier actions in such a way, I would not be happy.
Artwork should be the children's creations, not the adults.

YANBU. Fine to do occasional copying but only if the teacher explains first that that is what they're going to do. I don't think it's good to let the child start the picture as they wish and then tell them it's wrong.

The people had to be pink.
That's a great way to teach children about diversity.
It must have been a long time ago. If it happened now, Ofsted would rightly throw an absolute wobbler

live, yes, a few years :) 17ish i think,

Creative expression, stifling his inner artist
Blimey Op, you've got a tricky 15-16 years ahead of you if you're getting this wound up now about a toddler's art work.
You're overthinking this - let nursery get on with their job, enjoy the offerings he brings home, stick them on the wall and treasure them.
It really won't affect his future education/development/achievements if nursery advise that he paints the sun in a certain colour or position
Enjoy this time - don't become 'that parent' before he even starts primary school ffs.

I thank god for my children's Montessori nursery. I've had a full year of splodge painting from DD (and zero art from DS). And I love it. I spent my childhood escaping into junk modelling and painting on massive rolls of wallpaper as a lovely escape from my stronger academic side. And you know what. DD has discovered real drawing all by herself. She drew her first properly recognisable person the other week (after 6 weeks of holiday from nursery) and it was so much sweeter for being totally her own imagination. I will treasure that one drawing forever, much more than 20 guided creations.

FreeButtonBee

Don't know why people are being so bitchy.

Horses for courses, each to their own etc but this wouldn't be my cup of tea and I'd think about a different place for my ds.

I'm still waiting for the big advantage, artsy or otherwise, from that early Montessori-ing. Makes no difference at all years later tbh.

I kept thinking she was going to ruin his picture!

Haven't read the entire thread (can't stomach 7 pages of people being unnecessarily sarcastic to an OP) but I could instantly relate to OP's point.

I used to just find it really annoying at toddler groups when the kindly older ladies would try to insist that the children followed an exact blueprint for their craft activity. (And it was always older ladies, in fact). They didn't seem to get that it wasn't fun for a three year old that way. Little kids like to experiment.