Games for Children to Play to Learn About Art

Art is subjective, so it's OK to like or dislike a piece of art.

Whether they're preschoolers or high-schoolers, children are naturally drawn to color and art. Appreciating art and understanding it are two different things, but teaching children about how to make and appreciate art can be made simple by playing games. Hang up examples of several types of art before beginning and encourage children to look at them up-close and from far away.

Mixing Colors

For an introduction to art, play games with paint. Set up several colors of tempera paint, along with white paper and several shades of construction paper. Provide small paper or plastic bowls for children to use to mix colors. Ask the children to guess what will happen when they mix a certain combination of colors together. Then ask what the new color will look like when it is painted on different shades of paper. Partner children with other children. Have one child think of a new color mixture while the other child guesses what shade the resulting paint color will be.

Board Game

Make your own simple board game by gluing a sheet of paper on top of a piece of cardboard. Draw boxes on the paper. Write a different question or challenge relating to art on each space. For instance, you might ask children to name the primary colors or to explain what forced perspective is. Create a set of cards that give directions, such as "Move forward two spaces" or "Send a fellow artist back to start." Each time the child answers a question correctly, he chooses a card. Ask children to sculpt their own game pieces out of clay.

Is It Art?

Children may only think of art as being paintings or drawings, so expand their understanding of the concept with this game. Bring in pictures of drawings, sculptures, graffiti, tattoos, photography, stick figures and any other images you can find or think of. You will also need to show some performance art, whether you bring in a DVD of a dance show or opt to put on a performance yourself. Hold up each example and ask children to "guess" if it is art. There are no right or wrong answers, but ask children to think about and explain what they think art is and why.

Matching

Talk to children about famous artists and their styles, then make a matching game to test what they have learned. Make a set of cards that show artists' names or pictures and another set that shows one piece of work from each artist. Place the cards on a table, face up, and ask children to match up the artist with the work. To make the game more challenging, place the cards face down. Ask one child to turn over two cards. If the cards form a pair, the child keeps them. If not, the child turns the cards over and another child takes a turn.

References

• Scholastic: Terrific Tones
• PBS: PBS Teachers: The Art Space