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Hello, Westview families,
Every Westview student from Early Childhood to Middle School attends weekly art classes. Our art department is led by Mrs. Kaylee Bond, teacher, and Mrs. Angela Loftin, instructional assistant. Mrs. Kaylee is in her sixth year of teaching at Westview and has always dreamed of being an art teacher. She holds a degree in Studio Art from Witchita State University and is the 2020 recipient of the Jane Stewart Award of Excellence. Her counterpart, Mrs. Angela Loftin, is also a long-time Westview employee who began as a Westview mom. Mrs. Angela's daughter, Madison, attended Westview from ECD to 1st Grade. Mrs. Angela has worked as an instructional assistant since 2007. Westview is lucky to have such a creative, inspired, seasoned, and dynamic duo leading our art department.
Young children are naturally curious. From the minute they learn how to control their bodies, they are ready to explore the world. Children explore by observing, imitating, and trying to figure out how things work and how to control themselves and their environments. The process of exploration helps children make connections in their brain, it helps them learn—and it’s also a lot of fun.
At The Westview School, Mrs. Kaylee and Mrs. Angela design our art classes to support this form of exploration for our students. Our young artists have opportunities to manipulate different materials in ways that allow for exploration and experimentation. These artistic endeavors and explorations are not only fun but educational as well. Art allows our students opportunities to practice a wide range of skills, including:
FINE MOTOR SKILLS. Grasping pencils, crayons, pastels, and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child write, button a coat, and other tasks requiring controlled movements.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. Students practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan to create their masterpiece.
FLEXIBILITY. Our students learn that mistakes are okay. It is okay to mess up, and art is not ruined when things go differently than we plan.
CREATIVITY. They are encouraged to incorporate their own ideas into their designs. Students are given a voice and choice in their creations.
LANGUAGE SKILLS. As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this at home by using open-ended prompts such as, “Tell me about your picture.”
Mrs. Kaylee and Mrs. Angela watch with great pride as their students develop self-confidence. In addition to helping develop these important skills, free expression is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving our students a creative outlet can help relieve stress. By encouraging artistic expression, we are facilitating learning.
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