Nursery World - An A to Z of enhancements: L is for large-scale art

Encouraging large-scale painting and drawing can open opportunities for children to work collaboratively, develop their motor skills, and create new artistic ideas. By Amy Jackson

The children added to the train track drawing enhancement

Large-scale art enhancements start by creating a large ‘canvas’. Outdoor floors and walls can be a canvas when children are given water buckets with paintbrushes or chalks to explore with. Other painting surfaces can be made by using a roll of backing paper, wallpaper, or an old sheet. These can be laid horizontally on the floor, onto tables, or vertically attached to a fence or wall.

The children will be using different muscles depending on where the canvas is placed. Children often enjoy lying on their fronts to draw on large paper that is placed on the floor indoors, developing different physical movements from when they are sitting upright at the table. When children use paints on a canvas of paper on the floor, they tend to bend down, stretching, and leaning forwards. Painting on a canvas on a wall will encourage those large-muscle, shoulder and arm movements in a different way, in a more upright position.

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