The older children grow, the more creativity that is lost. Their willingness to fail and to experiment at a creative task is often even gone.
That was the inspiration behind the opening of Artree Preschool, a creative-based preschool that opened in February 2017 by Eva Soukalova — art educator, mom and now preschool teacher.
Soukalova wanted to create an environment that will nurture the creativity in kids and show them that they can handle tasks with an open mind, not just in the classroom, but in life.
A day at the preschool could be spent building houses and helicopters out of popsicle sticks and decorating them with fabric, to making pet rocks by collecting, cleaning, painting and coming up with stories for them.
“They built these huge structures and they brought them home and they were so proud… the kids are amazing. They’re so creative,” Soukalova exclaimed.
One of the key factors that Soukalova teaches is the process rather than the final product, and that there are no mistakes in art.
Soukalova does her best to base the preschool around kids’ interests.
“We have a theme each month, but sometimes it takes a turn when they get excited about something else,” she said.
For Soukalova, the most rewarding part about opening this preschool is “seeing how engaged and excited the kids are… you help them and you show them different ways and then they get so into it, they can’t stop,” said Soukalova.
“Seeing how they open up creatively when they start telling you stories about their creations and then they proudly take everything home, you can feel their parents getting overwhelmed with all the stories — I love that.”
Soukalova started by getting involved in teaching art at her own children’s schools. She went on to create a visual arts program and started publishing a digital art magazine for kids, but wanted to do more hands-on teaching to reach kids at the age when they are still young and creative. The capacity for creativity in kids is something that Soukalova has always admired and that continues to inspire her every day.
