If your child has ever attended a Montessori preschool, you've probably received plenty of 'art' they made that was nothing more than a few scribbles or stickers on a piece of paper, or the ever baffling baggie of paper clippings. For anyone who grew up with paper plate crafts that looked roughly the same for the whole class, this may not look like art - but that's the whole point of process art. Focus is not on the outcome, it's on the process of creating and the skills developed along the way. And, as with almost everything in the Montessori environment, it's about supporting the child's independence.
What is Process Art?
Process art is anything a child creates solely for the joy of creating. It can be in any medium - painting, crayons, stickers, chalk, and yes, snipping paper with scissors. The biggest thing is that it involves as little adult direction as possible. Nowhere here will you find pre-cut paper shapes or an example piece to follow.
As long as a child is being safe and keeping art materials where they belong (on the table or easel) they are allowed to color as much or as little as they like, paint with the brush or their fingers, rip the paper, or anything else they can imagine.
Art in the Montessori Classroom
Just like all of the other lessons on the shelf, the art lessons in a Montessori classroom room are designed to isolate a single skill and allow the child to repeat it as much as they like. This is why you will see trays with one or two crayons and a piece of paper, or one paintbrush, one paint pot, and one piece of paper.
The point of a painting lesson is to practice and refine the fine motor skills of holding the paintbrush, dipping it into the paint, and putting the paint on the paper - not to make a finished product. This is why, while those paper clippings may not look like much, they're actually a huge accomplishment for the young child - they signify their mastery of the scissors!
In this way and in the lack of adult interference, process art aligns beautifully with the Montessori method.
Making Process Art a Collaborative Effort
Now, did this mean that when I was teaching, the children never brought home more 'finished' projects? Not at all! Montessori education is all about freedom within limits, and those limits are where we adults can exercise some artistic input if we find it necessary, possibly for a gift or holiday display.
For example, one year in my old classroom we made these earth day posters to hang in the hallway outside our classroom. The limits here were the paper choice, with a design already on it, and the paint colors. The freedom was that the child could use their hands and the paint however they chose. Some children wanted to make handprints, some finger painted, and some made only one or two marks on the paper - all of which were completely fine with me!
Another example is the Christmas ornaments I've been making with baby D:
With these, the limit is the shapes and the paint palette. The freedom is in how D chooses to paint.
With that said, these kinds of projects are always going to be more for the adults than the children - which is fine to do now and then, as long as we take a moment and think about how we can preserve the child's sense of autonomy and joy for creating.
Check back soon for a basic how-to on setting up a Montessori art corner in your home!
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