𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 '𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱'!

From May 2023, group classes from 'In The Real Wonderland' will only be offered on Outschool on a limited/ occasional basis. One-on-one, individually tailored play-based learning sessions will continue to be available on Outschool for the remainder of 2023.

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This class offers an introduction to painting to music. A more in-depth version of this class (5 weeks) is also available at: 
https://outschool.com/classes/art-craft-club-painting-to-music-odgeuSL5#us4V3ufrxg

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Ｃｌａｓｓ　Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ

This class will introduce children to the experience of of "painting to music". This is an activity where children represent their own responses to the rhythm, tempo, melody, form and feeling of music, using art. In this introductory class, we will specifically focus on using painting (either with acrylics or watercolours). Our painting creations will be open-ended: this means there is no "right" or "wrong" approach or technique: each child's creation will be a totally unique, free-form and personal response to the music. 

Painting to music is not only joyful, but it uses and develops many social and foundation academic skills. As well as musical appreciation, these skills include:
~ listening and sound discrimination (essential for learning phonics); 
~ attention and executive function; 
~ flexible thinking, risk-taking and strategies for overcoming "perfectionism"; 
~ sensory processing and integration (being able to attend to multiple senses at once); 
~ hand-eye coordination (essential for writing); and 
~ the ability to recognise and express different feelings. 

Perhaps most impressive, is the way that painting to music helps children practice and develop high level skills in symbolic thinking: the ability to understand that marks on paper have a specific meaning that relate to sound...this is the basic foundation needed for reading and writing. 

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁
This one-time, introductory class starts with a short warm up activity to "tune in" to our senses for appreciating music. This will also help children begin feel confident about beginning to respond to music through their painting. 

Then, we will begin exploring the The Carnival of the Animals ( Camille Saint-Saëns). As we listen, we will use paint to create lines, shapes, colour and texture to respond to the elements of the music (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, structure/form, dynamics, tempo, articulation, tone, timbre, pitch). We will pair the movement of the suite with a matching animal sound from nature, or other musical excerpts to help bring the music into a visual form. We will also pause periodically to share our paintings (for those who want to), and to share our ideas, thoughts and opinions about the music. 

Saint-Saëns' Carnival of The Animals is music that is in public domain. In addition, I hold a current commercial licence to use this music in a commercial teaching context through APRA-AMCOS. 

This class can be taken a one-time experience. You can also use this this class as a trial to determine if your learner will enjoy my five-week Paint To Music class, where we explore both art and music more deeply. 

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Ｉｎｃｌｕｓｉｖｅ　Ｐｌａｙ　＆　Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ　Ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅｓ...Ｆｏｒ　Ａｌｌ　Ｌｅａｒｎｅｒｓ

All children have preferred ways of engaging with learning content. 

Typically, children learn best when they can engage with content in a way that reflects their own unique preferences. 

I endeavor to ensure that this class is inclusive of all learners (including E and 2E learners). I do this by structuring classes, activities and conversations so each child can choose to engage in the whole class, using whatever way is most appropriate, meaningful and rewarding for them.

In this class, I use an approach called 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗧. 

Process art means that children are in charge of their own creations. They choose what they create and their own materials and colours.  Process art focuses on discovery, creation, confidence, exploration, experimentation and critical thinking...rather than producing a particular product that looks just like the teacher's. 

My approach to process art is to cater both for children who are confident to create and make art freely, as well as children who feel more confident with some structure and support. This means that each week children can choose what and how they create and, at the same time, I also provide open-ended demonstrations of different techniques or approaches that children may choose to experiment with. 

Process offers a high-quality context for all children to engage in meaningful and purposeful learning. This is because process art allows for almost all forms of play including: 
~ sensory experience
~ exploring and discovering the properties of materials
~ manipulative and fine motor activity
~ sorting/ aligning/ categorising/ patterning activity
~ exploring cause and effect
~ problem-solving
~ construction
~ imitation and role play
~ fantasy/ imaginative play and creativity
~ and artistic play itself

Because I maintain very small group sizes, I am able to ensure that each child is able to participate in whatever way is most meaningful for them. This means that each child is able to enjoy the benefits of a group class, while at the same time being supported with an individualised and personalised learning experience.