ABSTRACT
Although I had used reproductions of works of art (generally paintings) in school with children, I had not previously visited a gallery with them. I was interested in observing the reactions of Year 2 and Year 3 children to original works of art. I feel that it is important to analyse their responses to works of art, their perceptions and ideas, if we are to enable them to come to some kind of understanding about them. We cannot really begin to help children to express their feelings about art and question its nature if we do not observe their initial responses to it. The main focus of my research, therefore, was to observe the children's initial responses to works of art, to analyse the types of questions they asked and the feelings that they expressed. I looked at how their perceptions and ideas changed after teaching lessons which involved them in working with a variety of 3D material and learning about the sculptures that they had seen. I chose four sculptures to focus upon with the children for the teaching and research: Bucket Man by John Davies; Femme by Alberto Giacometti; Mother and Child by Henry Moore; and Petite danseuse de quartorze ans by Edgar Degas.
