Where Art Starts_Old Firehouse School

The creative magic of preschoolers at Mill Valley's Old Firehouse School will be on display for the public on Saturday, September 25 from 10am to 6pm. The artwork created by the four and five year olds will be featured at the school's "Where Art Starts" exhibition. More than 100 unique works by the children will be shown at the school, located at 10 Olive Street in Mill Valley. The event is free and is held in conjunction with Mill Valley Fall Art Festival at Old Mill Park, located across the street from the school.

The students created the works under the direction of the DeYoung Museum's artist-educator, Zan Couture, who led seven workshops introducing the little artists to the materials, tools and elements of art. The works on display will include collage, watercolor, oil pastels and tempera paint and showcase a wide range of techniques used by the children such as sponge painting, patterned print rollers, various sized paint brushes and the creation of texture with collage and glue. 

"Fine motor skills as well as cognitive skills, such as analyzing differences, similarities and textures that they were seeing were developed in this art program," says Amy Baker, the school's program director. "The children also built vocabulary about art, its tools and techniques, which will support decision making in future projects. And, most importantly they had fun sharing the experience with one another."

Some of the children's artwork will be on sale with proceeds donated to Drawbridge, a local charity that provides art experiences for homeless children.

ABOUT OLD FIREHOUSE SCHOOL

Old Firehouse School, with locations in Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Mill Valley serves children ages 6 months to 5 years. The school is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to learning with a curriculum based on children's interests. Projects are investigated in-depth and the work is displayed with photographs of activities and documentation of children's related thoughts and statements. Children usually remain with the same teacher throughout their years at Old Firehouse.
Old Firehouse School's founder and director, Dr. Dorothy Stewart is nationally recognized for her work in the field of early childhood education.

The Mill Valley School currently has one full-time opening for a 4 to 5 year old child. For more information, call 415-388-1417, or email ofsmillvalley@gmail.com, or go to http://www.oldfirehouseschool.com.