What the lesson is about
The Royal Academy breaks its own “no touch” rules this year with its nationwide children’s painting competition in association with Sightsavers.
This year’s theme is “i:dream” and children are encouraged to experiment with textures to explore how spectators with different levels of sight can experience art. Pupils could explore their dreams for the future, for the world or daydreams.
Gemma Roberts, Sightsavers’ schools development officer, says: “Art is for everyone, not just for people who can see and tactile painting is a great way of celebrating this. What’s most important is that the artwork is a painting, but it would be wonderful if pupils experiment with textures, whether that be sand, paper, rice or whatever they like.”
How to get involved
The competition is open to three categories: infants (ages 4-7); lower junior (ages 8-9) and upper junior (ages 10-11). The closing date is 12 September 2012. Resources and details can be found at Sightsavers’ website www.sightsavers.orgget_involvedteacher zonejunior_painter
Easter fun
Looking for last-minute inspiration for colourful, crafty Easter ideas? B Small Publishing has released Eggs to meet all your Easter needs. It’s a small book that outlines crafty ideas for Easter, such as:
- Chocolate egg recipe: pupils turn a real egg into a chocolate one and decorate it.
- Cress eggs: scoop out a hard-boiled egg and fill it with cotton wool and cress seeds. Paint on a face and sit back and watch as the egg grows “hair”.
