Picasso For 4 Year Olds!

When did you first pick up a paint brush? Did a teacher ever take the time to show you how to create a dimensional painting, or shade an object? Are you confident with your artistic ability? Many of us grew up with exposure to Art, but most of us would not profess high confidence in our artistic abilities. This is because we did not hold a paintbrush at the same age we first held a pencil. No teacher taught us how to create dimension at the same age we learned to write the letter "A". Art is an afterthought in most school curricula. We know, intuitively, that this should not be the case. If children are exposed to art at a young age their brain areas for creativity and artistic ability will flourish. Left untouched for years, a child's lack of art exposure will become an adult's lack of artistic ability. I cannot have this be the case for my beautiful and creative four year olds. I need to expose them to artistic mediums now, in order to develop their skills in art on a parallel path with their math and literacy abilities. Unfortunately, my school lacks the funding to supply us with adequate materials for my children to wholly pour themselves into artistic activities. Our paint supply ran out months ago, and the largest paper we have is 8 1/2 X 11". Imagine the little hands of my four year-olds, inexperienced in fine motor movement, trying to paint an expressive picture on a miniscule canvas! Please help us! I am asking for a donation of paints (both mural and finger), paintbrushes, and mural paper. With your generous donation my students can truly explore art and begin to develop their knowledge of shading, shadowing, dimension, and artistic representation. I am also asking for a donation of clay. Clay is a highly effective medium for exploring the three dimensional world of art. It is also an important self-soothing tool. Many of my children lead difficult lives for being only four, and having a healthy outlet for aggression and anger, such as the ability to pound on clay, is more important than we think. The next Picasso could be in my classroom, but we need your help to become the talented artists we all have the potential to be!