Goodstart Muswellbrook join regional arts festival

Children from Goodstart Early Learning in Muswellbrook launched their latest collection of art works, collectively known as Saplings: The Trees Around Us, at the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre (MRAC) over the weekend. 

Local news source, The Muswellbrook Chronicle, said this was the third such exhibit for the centre, with MRAC Acting Arts Director Elissa Emerson telling the paper “it’s great to see the children involved in art, we really encourage that.” 

Early Childhood Teacher Tiana Snowdon told the paper the children were excited to be involved in the process, and had chosen the theme for their exhibition following an invitation to exhibit from MRAC. 

“There were many suggestions such as buildings, flowers, people, birds and trees.

“Together, as a class, we decided that because birds nest in trees and they can have flowers, trees would be a great focus for us,” Ms Snowdon said. 

The children’s art began with a discussion about all the different parts of a tree, such as roots, bark, leaves and so on. 

To further extend the children’s learning, members of the Muswellbrook Shire Council horticulture team came to the centre to speak to the children on National Tree Day, about the importance of trees and how to care for them. 

As part of the tree day learning, children also took a walking excursion to a local dog park, where they had planted trees the year before. 

“We discovered many different species and took photographs to bring back to our centre and discuss with friends who couldn’t attend our excursion,” Ms Snowdon told The Chronicle.

The photographs were made into a book, to assist children to revisit their learning, and to refer to when completing artworks. Walking excursions throughout the project also allowed children the opportunity to explore the trees in their natural environment. 

“Each child added their own unique aspect into their painting, including ‘a tree that was melting in lava’, ‘a tree with some flowers growing in spring’, ‘leaves that have seeds on them’, ‘old trees with no leaves’ and even some ‘trees in the rain’, Ms Snowdon shared. 

To review the original coverage of this story, please see here.