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Art Basics for Children ABC

Photos: Art Basics for Children

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• Status:

  Realized

• Education type:

  Municipal Education
  

• Education level:

  Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
  

• Address:

  Laarbeeklaan 110, 1090 Jette
  

• Client:

  Municipality of Jette

The ideal class

In the context of its research project into architecture and the design of school buildings and learning environments, ART BASICS for CHILDREN vzw, an educational arts organisation for children in Brussels, created “The Ideal Class”.
This multifunctional learning environment was created as the result of intensive cooperation between Lieve Bruyninkx, the nursery teacher of the class concerned and Gerhard Jäger, the artistic leader of ART BASICS for CHILDREN. The classroom was created in the recently built new building of the Poelbos School, Laarbeeklaan, Jette.

The wishes and requirements of the nursery teacher and the working and teaching methods used were discussed in detail in advance. Self-sufficiency is an important working principle in the classroom of these five year olds. Class activities and the class organisation should focus as much as possible on allowing the children to be able to work independently, and find, use and tidy up their work materials themselves. In order to create a sense of time, the daily and weekly rituals are an important part of the work in the class (for example, every day there is a moment to have tea together at the same time, birthdays are always celebrated in the same way, etc.). A daily calendar and board showing tasks are essential working instruments in this classroom. The nursery teacher and the children also think that it is important that the artworks they have made can be properly displayed and that there are also ample possibilities in the classroom for storytelling and drama. Role play is also very important for five-year-old children: “buying” in a shop, “cooking” in a kitchen (and this kitchen really works!), and “eating” together at a beautifully laid table – all these things should be possible in the (limited) space of the classroom. The nursery teacher insisted that the following aspects certainly had to be present in the classroom: a sense of space, theatre/stage/platform, kitchen, order in the materials that are provided, and a sense of calm throughout.

The result of the cooperation between the nursery teacher and ABC was a class with five work corners: a computer corner, a corner for work on literacy and numeracy, a corner for drawing and craft work, a technical area and a corner for painting, clay and stencils. In addition there is a work area for the teacher, a round carpet with a diameter of 3 m (which can be rolled up when the tables are placed in the middle), 27 cushions and 27 stools (which take up less space than chairs).
The individual furniture was designed in such a way that it is possible to change different classroom arrangements very quickly: one moment the children are working individually in the work corners, the next moment they work in pairs at small tables, and a few minutes later it is possible to seat all the children around one large table, or in a cosy circle on cushions on the carpet, or even on real tiered seating, so that the children can enjoy storytelling or a puppet show from different heights. The different work corners and the materials arranged along the edges of the classroom always remain the same, which is easy and saves time. The whole arrangement is highly functional and adapted to working in a nursery classroom. Tidying up is very efficient, because everything has its own clear place in open storage facilities accessible to the children, all made to fit the size of the contents.

If you are interested in know-how about school design and educational ideas, contact ABC to visit the classroom or check their website www.abc-web.be.