�Our Curriculum
�At Dragonfly Art Cottage, we believe that Art is not just an outlet for expression for children, but instead, the study of art provides structure, discipline, confidence and focus to a child. This may seem somewhat contradictory; art is rarely associated with those traits.
�However, our art program is tailored to suit the needs and goals of each individual student, focusing on
improving upon their strengths and developing a sense of self when expressing themselves on the canvas.
�Part of our curriculum necessitates that each student undertakes a project which loosely acts as a form of assessment of the student’s abilities and gives us an opportunity to provide hands on experience when applying techniques previously thought by our very own Ms Joice (founder and principal of Dragonfly Art Cottage).
�These projects are a vital segment of our curriculum as it allows our students to undertake projects with the aim of meeting objectives tailored to match their technical ability, ensuring that each child is challenged to be as creative as possible, regardless of skill level.
�Based on our experience, we often find that the creative freedom afforded to the students helps them develop a sense of ownership over their work.
�Due to the perceived complexity of these projects, and trust us, these projects can be gargantuan tasks to any child, we often find that students find a sense of accomplishment and pride in their finished pieces.
�During the course of undertaking these projects, students may sometimes be faced with setbacks (either a poor mix of colours resulting in a lesser than desired effect, or even the disastrous misplaced stroke), they learn to pick themselves up, to be intuitive with their fixes and sometimes, under the right circumstances, accept that their mistake could have been a masterstroke that turned a somewhat adequate piece of work to something rather brilliant.
�Often adopting different mediums (acrylic, watercolour, etc) and surfaces (the traditional canvas, or something bold, if they are up to it) , students are given the freedom to decide the subject matter of their pieces and the opportunity to develop their own unique style of presentation, all the while having the guiding hand of Ms Joice to push them to the stars when they succeed and pick them up when they fall.
�Whatever the outcome, they will always know that these projects are less of representation of technical ability, but rather an artistic endeavor to challenge their creativity.
