采访人（左）：Ms. Jacqueline Speer（园长）

受访者（右）：Mr. Chris（绿色艺术坊主理人、艺术老师）

在幼儿园二楼，隐藏着一间可以看到户外花园开阔视野的教室，在那里，您可以找到我们绿色艺术坊的主理人Chris老师。

走进艺术坊本身就是一种体验，但对一些人来说，它看起来可能不像一间典型的艺术工作室，那是因为它一点儿也不典型。Chris老师反对被幼儿艺术潮流所裹挟，在这种潮流中，人们急于在课堂上完成一件说教型的艺术作品。相反，他会通过艺术坊所提供的丰富经验，对幼儿的审美和他们的自我表达能力进行精心的策划。

Interviewer (L): Ms. Jacqueline Speer（Principal of Preschool）

Interviewee (R): Mr. Chris（Green Atelierista、Art Specialist）

Tucked away on the second floor of the preschool with an expansive view of the garden area you can find our green atelierista, Mr Chris.

Walking into the atelier is an experience in itself but for some it may not look like a typical art room. That’s because it is anything but typical. Mr Chris, is going against the tide of early childhood art where there is a rush to get a didactic craft at the end and is instead, carefully curating young children’s aesthetic and their ability to express themselves through the many rich experiences on offer in the atelier.

“atelier” 一词是法语词汇，它让人联想到 “车间、实验室或设计工作室” 的概念。这是一个专门用于实验、创意和表达的空间，供儿童和成人以有意义的方式共同创作。

The word ‘atelier’ is a French word which evokes the idea of a ‘workshop, laboratory, or design studio’. It is a dedicated space for experimentation, creativity and expression. A space for children and adults to co-create in meaningful ways.

作为一个在乡村长大的孩子，我很幸运能够在大自然中享受很多户外时间。无论是在森林中漫步、和朋友们嬉戏，还是照料母亲的花园，我在户外与自然相伴时最为快乐。正是这些经历，让我期盼通过“绿色”艺术坊与我们的孩子们分享。

As a child growing up in the countryside, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time outdoors in nature. Whether it was going for long walks through the forest, playing games with my friends, or, tending to my mum’s garden, I was at my happiest when I was outside surrounded by nature. It is these experiences that I want to share with our children in the "green" atelier.

我们这样做是为了从孩子们到达的那一刻起就激发他们天生的好奇心。这些线索为孩子们提供了契机，使其能够就即将发生的事情形成自己的理论。这一过程不仅将他们引向课程，还赋予他们独立进行创造性的思考和建立联系的能力。

We do this to spark children’s natural curiosity from the moment they arrive. The clues provide children with the opportunity to develop their own theories about what’s in store. This process not only guides them to the lesson but empowers them to think creatively and make connections on their own.

我想这源于我关于幼儿艺术的硕士论文，同时也源于我自身的童年经历。我仍然记得当我还是一个小男孩时第一次参观美术馆的情景。老师要求我们务必保持安静，必须 “仔细观察” 画作，最重要的是 “不要触摸艺术品” ！虽然我欣赏过去艺术大师们的努力，但我始终不明白为何不能和朋友讨论我看到的东西，或者为何不能触摸画布上细致笔触所创造的纹理。当我身处大自然，美丽无处不在，那里没有 “保持安静” 或 “不许触碰” 的规则。正是凭借能够自由谈论我所见所触之物，我才得以与那种美建立联系。

艺术欣赏的意义不止意味着欣赏过往大师的作品，还涵盖对我们周围事物美学价值的欣赏。例如，倾向于暖色调而非冷色调、回翻自己最喜欢书籍中的某一画面、选择用手指或整只手来作画，这些均为年幼的孩子们所做出的审美选择。通过让孩子们接触艺术欣赏，我们正在构建他们自身的审美观念，能够参与这段旅程实为我们的荣幸。

I think it stems from my master's thesis on art in the early years and also my own childhood. As a boy I remember my first visit to an art gallery. The teachers told us we had to be very quiet, we had to ‘carefully observe’ the paintings, and perhaps most importantly “Not to touch the artwork”! While I appreciated the efforts of past art masters, I never understood why I couldn’t discuss what I was seeing with my friends or why I couldn’t touch the textures created by careful brush strokes on the canvas. When I was outside in nature there was beauty all around. There were no rules to be quiet or not to touch. It was by having freedom to talk about what I was seeing and touching that I was able to connect with that beauty.

Art appreciation means more than valuing the work of past masters, it can also mean appreciating the aesthetics of the things around us. For example, choosing warm colours over cool colours, flicking back to an image in our favourite book, choosing to paint with our fingers or whole hand, these are all aesthetic choices made by young children. By making art appreciation accessible to young children, we are building up their own aesthetic. It is a privilege to be a part of this journey.

没错，当我们阅读《马蒂斯的足迹》这一故事时，部分班级沿着马蒂斯这只蜗牛留下的奇妙足迹前行，马蒂斯也是一位知名艺术家，以对色彩和形状的巧妙运用而闻名。这条足迹将我们引向了许多神秘的形状，我们不禁问自己：“这些形状可能是什么？马蒂斯想告诉我们些什么？”

That’s right, some classes have been following a magical trail left behind by Matisse the snail as we read the story "Matisse’s Trail", who is also a famous artist (Matisse) known for his playful use of colour and shape. The trail led us to some mysterious shapes, and we asked ourselves, "What could these shapes be? What could Matisse be trying to tell us?"

Some children shared that they saw the shapes as flowers, others as trees or animals. Together, we explored these ideas, and I revealed a "secret painting" Matisse had left for the class.

In the coming weeks we will continue to follow Matisse’s magical trail, and the children will have the opportunity to make their own “accidental blobs,” using them as a starting point for drawing. Once their paint dries, children will have the opportunity to add further details, turning abstract shapes into something meaningful. We will also experience being reflective about our art works and choosing our "best" work to display on the wall. This practice helps us move away from the “I’m finished” or product-based mindset. In the green atelier we focus on the process of creating art as it fosters a growth mindset where we learn and grow from trying new things, problem solving and reframing what might be seen as a negative into an opportunity.

我们都知道最近的台风对环境产生了持久的影响，我觉得将这一自然事件融入我的教学中是很重要的。如果忽视最近的台风，那么孩子们通过艺术与自然建立情感联系的机会就会被错过。

我清楚地记得台风过后回到学校的那天，我注意到许多树木被吹倒，造成了很大的破坏。我决定把幼儿园周围树木受损的情况拍下来，将照片放在艺术坊里。当我们走向艺术坊时，老师们对台风造成的损失表示非常难过。我们可以看到一些孩子的脸上写满了担忧，他们听后也分享说，他们也看到了许多倒下的树木。

进入教室后，我们像在美术馆观看画展一样走过每一幅照片，然后停顿一下。一些孩子指着交通锥上写着 “请勿靠近 ”的标志，另一些孩子则数着每张照片中有多少棵树被吹倒。来到地毯上，我们讨论了可以为这些树做些什么。首先，我们想了想树可能喜欢什么，大多数孩子都说它们喜欢阳光和雨水。然后，我们讨论了树能看到什么，孩子们分享说它们能看到很多不同的颜色，如棕色、绿色、蓝色、橙色、动物、花朵、草地和人。我们这样做是为了帮助孩子们进行仔细的观察和批判性思考，就像在美术馆里一样，我们会花时间思考我们所看到的东西。慢慢走过这些照片，鼓励孩子们观察每个场景的细节，激发他们对台风影响的好奇心和讨论。通过询问树木可能喜欢什么或看到什么，我们旨在培养孩子们的同理心，让他们与大自然建立情感上的联系，鼓励他们从树木的角度进行思考问题。

讨论结束后，我们决定用我们认为树木会喜欢的颜色（比如树木所能见到的颜色）来绘画，以此来回馈树木。孩子们逐个拿着一张A3纸开始创作，A3 纸可以提供更多的空间来分享我们的许多想法。孩子们选择在最能引起他们共鸣的那张照片旁开展创作。

在这堂课上，孩子们高度专注，你可以清楚地听到铅笔在纸上滑动的声音。这种高度集中的注意力是我希望孩子们每次来艺术坊都能体验到的。

We all know that the recent typhoon left a lasting impact on the environment, and I felt it was important to integrate this natural event into my practice. To ignore the recent typhoon would have been a missed opportunity for children to connect emotionally with nature through art.

I distinctly remember the day I came back to school after the typhoon, and I couldn’t help but notice the damage caused to so many trees that had been knocked over. I decided to take photos of the damage to the trees around our preschool and placed them in the atelier. As we walked to the atelier the teachers expressed just how sad they were feeling about the damage caused by the typhoon. We could see the concern etched on some children’s faces and they listened and shared that they had also seen a lot of trees that had fallen over.

When we entered the room, we walked past each picture as if walking through an art gallery and paused. Some children pointed to the traffic cones with signs on them that said "Keep Out" while others counted how many trees had been knocked over in each picture. At the mat we discussed what we could do for the trees. First, we thought about what trees might like and most children shared that they like sunshine and rainwater. Then, we discussed what trees can see and children shared that they could see many different colours such as brown, green, blue, orange, animals, flowers, grass, and people. We did this to help the children engage in careful observation and critical thinking, much like in an art gallery where we take time to reflect on what we see. Walking slowly past the photos encouraged the children to observe the details of each scene, sparking curiosity and discussions about the impact of the typhoon. By asking what trees might like or see, we aimed to foster empathy and connect the children emotionally to nature, encouraging them to think from the tree’s perspective.

After the discussion we decided to give something back to the trees by drawing and using colours we thought they would like such as the colours trees can see. One by one children set off with an A3 piece of paper as it offers more space to share our many ideas. Children chose to work next to the picture that spoke to them the most.

During the lesson, the children were highly focused, and you could actually hear the scratching sounds of pencils gliding on paper. This sort of intense focus is something that I want children to experience each time they visit the atelier.

是的，我同样将近期的这一自然事件纳入了针对我们小小班学生的教学之中。对于我们这些年龄最小的学生，我的目标是帮助他们与自然建立情感联系。我通过引导孩子们体验树木在台风期间所经历的情况，促使他们以树木的视角进行思考，并从切实可感的层面想象成为一棵树会是什么样子。因此，在用眼睛和双手观察那些倒伏树木之后，我们移步至艺术坊的另一区域，以身体去感受树木在台风期间所遭遇的一切。

我像一棵树一样高高站立，像树枝一样伸展双臂和手指。老师和孩子们的回应是一起深吸一口气，然后像台风一样用力吹。当老师和孩子们一起吹气时，我这棵高高的树开始摇晃起来；他们很快又深吸一口气，我开始左右摇动；最后一次深呼吸，我倒下摔在了在垫子上。

接着，我像树枝一样伸出手臂并说道：“哎哟，好痛！” 班级老师小心翼翼地用柔软的白布条缠绕在小枝条（我的手指）上，这让我感觉好受了一些。一些孩子也主动帮忙，小心翼翼地将白布条缠绕在我的手指上。当孩子们轮流给我的手指缠上布条时，老师们唱起了孩子们熟悉的过渡歌曲《Walking, walking（走啊走）》，并将歌词改为“Wrapping, wrapping（包呀包）”。孩子们对音乐做出了积极的回应，因为音乐能够激活大脑中多巴胺的释放，从而给我们带来愉悦感。

Yes, I also took advantage of the recent natural event with our pre-nursery students. My goal for our youngest students was to help them form an emotional connection with nature. I did this by helping children experience what the trees went through during the typhoon, and to think like a tree and imagine what it is like to be a tree in a very physical sense. So, after examining the poor trees that had fallen over with our eyes and hands we walked to another area of the atelier to feel what it was like for the trees during the typhoon with our bodies.

I stood up tall like a tree and stretched out my arms and fingers like branches. The teachers and children responded by taking a big deep breath and blew as hard as they could just like the typhoon. As they blew I began to wobble. They soon took another deep breath and I began to sway from side to side, one final deep breath and I fell over crashing on the mat.

Soon after, I held out my arm out like a branch and said “ouch, it hurts!”. The class teacher then carefully wrapped soft white cloth around my smaller branches (fingers) which made me feel a bit better. Some children responded by volunteering to wrap the soft white cloth around my fingers (branches) whilst being very careful to not pull too hard. As children took turns wrapping my fingers (branches) with the soft white cloth the teachers sang a transition song ("Walking, walking") that the children are familiar with but changed the words to "Wrapping, wrapping". The children responded positively to music as it has the power to activate the release of dopamine in the brain which makes us feel good.