College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Early Childhood Education Preschool Laboratory participated in the Co-Creation Project with the Boise Art Museum this past semester. The Co-Creation Project facilitates opportunities for three- to five-year-old students to meet and work with professional artists. Through this collaboration, Boise Art Museum and early-learning partner classes document the meaningful work pre-school children create as artists and the role professional artists have in the learning process.
The College’s afternoon preschool class paired with local artist, April VanDeGrift, who is also Adjunct Faculty in the Art department at CWI. Early Childhood Education Instructor, Mary Griffin, worked with VanDeGrift, Early Childhood Education students, and the preschool children in the lab to document the children’s process and learning throughout the project. The finished, collaborative art work is currently on display at the Boise Art Museum through September.