GREENFIELD – Colors and textures transformed a board room into an art gallery as dozens of families admired the works of preschool students last week.
Greenfield-Central’s Cougar Cubs preschools hosted an art show April 12 in celebration of The Week of the Young Child.
With each student showcasing at least three pieces of art from their busy school year along with several class collaborative projects, the room that typically hosts G-C school board meetings became a celebration for the bright and beautiful.
Morgan Riley had quite a few pieces to see, as both her children Cece and Clyde are in the program.
“They’re always coming home and talking about what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with, but you have to translate it through the eyes of a preschooler, so it’s good to see it in person,” she said.
Luke McIntosh, 5, beamed with pride as he showed his moms Teressa and Katie several pieces— stopping every so often to hug a friend with glee.
“He’s been talking about this for weeks,” Teressa said, adding that he has flourished academically and socially at Cougar Cubs this year.
The pieces ranged from colored clay, to weaving, to coffee filter diffusion art and more.
Art inspired by children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle was also showcased: classes read a Carle book and then took several days to make painted, textured pieces with potato stamps, bubble wrap, forks and more. The pieces came together to create large masterpieces like a duck, bear, sun and ladybug.
“They are actually really good at collaborating; it’s something they like to do in the classrooms,” said teacher Katie Liggett.
Art in preschool not only encourages working together, but also incorporates fine motor skills, she said.
Liggett, also a mom of preschooler Macy, said as she looked at the Eric Carle display, “inspiration” was the word that came to mind.
“It’s fun for me to see the whole process,” she said. “Studying the author, it’s inspiring them to think bigger and the possibilities they could do one day.”
Dawn Sonsini, director of preschool and early learning for the G-C corporation, said she admires the creativity and commitment of the Cougar Cubs team to promote the whole child in their daily interactions with children. She’s also thankful for students, family, staff and community in supporting the art show and the preschool program.
“The Week of the Young Child celebrates our youngest learners and acknowledges the important role early childhood education plays in future academic success,” she said. “This event is such a fun way to end the school year celebrating our youngest learners who share their talents with us and bring joy into our classrooms.”
