The Atelier or “Art Studio” plays a very important part in the Reggio Approach. The different tools and materials available to the children promote their creative experimentation. They are given unlimited possibilities to express their thoughts and ideas.
Although we have a dedicated Atelier, each one of our homeroom classrooms has its own mini Atelier so that no matter what the subject may be, our students have the materials readily available for them to express their ideas in their own way.
Our classrooms are deliberately designed to be aesthetically pleasing, warm, and welcoming. The purpose is to create an environment that invokes “wonder, beauty, and engagement” among our students.
In collaboration with the IB theme How We Express ourselves, performing arts and visual arts worked together to take the students on a journey of exploration using musical sounds and visual language.
In Visual arts they first learned about organic shapes and the technique of oil pastel. They listened to the music several times and chose a segment of the music they wished to interpret. Working cooperatively with a classmate, they discussed what shapes and colours they would use. They enthusiastically made more and more shapes and enjoyed cutting them and placing them in special envelopes.
The Grade 2 class completed wire sculptures that portray a Canadian hero or role model. In collaboration with the classroom inquiry Who We Are, the students explored a wide variety of materials and processes to create wire sculptures and embellish them with meaningful details. Are you able to guess which Canadian hero they each represent?
The Grade 4 class used regular household wax paper and small bits of tissue paper while investigating their IB inquiry and made beautiful translucent patterns that allow light to shine through their colours.