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"The children were totally captivated and enthralled by Tony and his Abrakadoodle concept. The kids had a great time and learned something about art in the process. Many of the parents were also caught up in the excitement. Many remarked that it was the best kids birthday party they had ever been to."
Want happy, creative kids? It’s not magic…it’s abrakadoodle!
Oodles of Rich Art Curriculum in a variety of Mediums - Abrakadoodle is the most comprehensive art program of its kind, called “Process Art.” It’s art with a purpose. Fostering creativity with unique lesson plans that encourage children to experiment using new art techniques, Abrakadoodle focuses upon what children are learning through the “process” of creating their art.
Artistic mediums include painting, drawing, sculpting, mosaics, digital design and more. With over 1200 Abrakadoodle lesson plans directed by winning fine artist and author Lori Schue, this integrated curriculum exceeds National Standards for Visual Arts Education.
The lessons introduce techniques that ignite imaginations as the children explore a variety of media and materials. As children explore their own creativity, they are taught art vocabulary and encouraged to talk about their art works. Children learn to analyze and apply new and different ideas. These skills enhance reading, writing, math, and science.
Q: Who can be an Abrakadoodle kid?
A: Children ages 20 months to 12 years old!!!
Abrakadoodle’s innovative art education program offers a complete art curriculum beginning at the preschool level and continuing with the growth of children up to age 12. Classes are provided through a network of educational directors and teachers for: day care centers and early childhood programs; community, park, and camp programs; after school programs; other host sites provided by the community or local businesses; and private or public school programs.
Abrakadoodle can be an extracurricular activity (Abrakadoodle Enrichment Curriculum) or incorporated into a school’s curriculum offerings (Abrakadoodle Integrated Curriculum.) Abrakadoodle makes it easy and affordable to provide top quality art education in the life of your child or into a school’s or enrichment program’s curriculum.
Crayola products and Abrakadoodle – perfect partners!
Abrakadoodle’s complete art curriculum, beginning at the preschool level, was developed by educator Mary Rogers, M.A.Ed. (who also co-founded Computertots) and artist/author Lori Schue (Artworks for Kids). This innovative art curriculum includes lessons about everything from painting to 3-D art to food design.
“Many art programs focus upon one type of art activity such as drawing, but we expose children to a wide range of art including collage, sculpture, mosaics, and painting,” says founder Mary Rogers.
Today, the name Crayola is one of the most respected and recognized brands of art materials. The company makes more than 100 different crayon colors as well as markers, colored pencils, paints, modeling compounds, and craft and activity products that are safe, high-quality, and most of all – fun to use.
Because Abrakadoodle’s goal, like Crayola’s, is to “inspire creativity in children in multiple ways while having lots of fun,” they became perfect partners in 2004.
Abrakadoodle’s trained teachers implement the art lesson plans to maximize the learning process, providing supervision with the necessary art materials from Crayola. Each lesson is as bright and fun as opening your first box of Crayola crayons.
Meet the Doodlers… Children ages 20 months to 12 years will enjoy this educationally rich, imaginative art education program in a class that’s appropriate with their ability level.
- Doodlers (for grades 1 – 6)
- Mini Doodlers (for children ages 3 – Kindergarten)
- Twoosy Doodlers (for children ages 20 – 36 months)
Abrakadoodle’s “Process Art” is not arts and crafts, but rather a 4-week set of artistic skill progressions based on the works of a master or contemporary artist. In learning the artist’s techniques and then applying them in their own model, children develop a larger vocabulary based on a specific art objective for each lesson.
Each 1 hour lesson modeled by the educator Piaget is a Plan-Do-and Review lesson. At the end, each child takes ownership of their art as they show and tell their classmates about their project – the “how or why I did it”. Sharing their solutions and discoveries is just as important as actually creating the art.
Not only is there variety in the progressive skills, but in the art materials used as well. From the Artists of Distinction Series, one set of skill progressions can teach and model art based on Wassily Kandinski’s circles.
Lesson One begins with watercolors.
Lesson Two progresses to tempera paints.
Lesson Three might include sculpting with Crayola Model Magic. Finally, Lesson Four incorporates all the techniques learned in the series such as pyramid painting on stand-up easels or painting landscapes.
Each child’s artwork is framed in a real frame to take home. The lesson will match the size of the frame needed for each piece: 18”x24”, 11”x18”, 9”x12”, or a small oval. Using a variety of mediums, no lesson will ever be repeated. The same art material or technique might be used again, but for a different purpose or theme. Next time, children could study Picasso’s flowers as their model and inspiration.
At a recent art festival with a big chili cook-off, over 400 children took this southwestern theme to sculpt geckos and chili peppers (not edible)!
Abrakadoodle’s Artist of Distinction program connects contemporary artists to children through a unique inspirational program in which select artists share their vision, style and artistic technique. These are all incorporated into Abrakadoodle’s lesson plans. Children also observe art through the ages with exposure to an art timeline and the art of the masters.
For instance, the art of sculpting is based on the work of Bruce Grey and rolling balls. The process of learning the artistic techniques and then applying them using the child’s own imagination is the “Process Art” of Abrakadoodle.
Using Crayola Model Magic (better than dough with no stain or smell) kids get instant hands-on experience working Model Magic into balls in the palms of their hands. Add other techniques, like marbling 2 colors, to build onto this basic shape and children can create a whole zoo of creatures limited only by their imagination.
Following in the footsteps of Georgia O’Keefe and her famous flowers, children might use chalk and oil pastels with strips of masking tape to create a bamboo forest. Each child’s work would be sprayed with a fixative to seal the chalk work before it was framed and proudly taken home.
Or like Wang Yani from China, who by age 6 had over 4,000 paintings of monkeys to sell, Abrakadoodle kids make a 2 color version of a monkey print using their own thumb and finger to “print” or stamp the head and body.
Birthday Parties and Open Enrollment Classes
Learning Express Toys in Tampa Palms has an entire room devoted to children’s art. It’s a great place for fun and creative birthday parties, and every little guest takes home their own framed artwork or molded sculpture. Six different age-appropriate art curriculum themes are “saved” just for birthday parties, and not duplicated in the regular Abrakadoodle classes. Open enrollment classes are also held at Learning Express Toys. But parents need to call Abrakadoodle Director, Tony Capobianco, at 813-866-5437 for a current schedule of classes being held for:
Doodlers (for grades 1 – 6)
Mini Doodlers (for children ages 3 – Kindergarten)
Twoosy Doodlers (for children ages 20 – 36 months)
It’s a great place to purchase the Crayola art materials your child enjoyed in Abrakadoodle classes and continue the fun and art exploration at home.
Abrakadoodle Grows by leaps and bounds
With 3 years of approved curriculum and over 1200 Abrakadoodle lessons kid-tested, the number of new Abrakadoodle franchise locations keeps growing (65+) around the U.S. Owners share advice and ways to improve or use the lessons based on their own community needs. New ideas, new mediums, and new sets of lesson plans are continually added at nationally supported training weekends for Abrakadoodle educators each year. Abrakadoodle’s pilot program of trial or practice lessons is held at the McLean Projects for the Arts in Virginia. Each lesson is used with children in the appropriate age group before being released for use around the country.
I want to know MORE…
Parents or interested school/program directors can learn more about this comprehensive art education program on the website www.abrakadoodle.com. Tampa’s local Director and Abrakadoodle franchise owner, Tony Capobianco, can be reached by calling 813-866-5437 or on-line at tcapobianco@abrakadoodle.com. Tony and Patti Capobianco (Patti is a preschool educator) have 3 children of their own ranging from early elementary to Jr. High. So as parents, themselves, they understand the challenges of keeping kids happy and in wholesome activities that bring out the BEST in each child. Also, having lived in New Tampa for the past 11 years, they are aware of the growing need for creative outlets, positive reinforcement, and education for the whole child.
As either an enrichment program or as part of a school’s integrated curriculum, local Tampa programs that added Abrakadoodle for the enjoyment, fun, and learning are: Family of Christ Lutheran School in New Tampa, St. Timothy’s Child Development Center on Van Dyke, St. Lawrence Catholic Elementary near Hillsborough and Himes, Learning Express Toys in Tampa Palms, and the Girl Scouts Suncoast Council for their troops enjoying activities at Camp Dorothy Thomas. As an after-school art enrichment program, Abrakadoodle has also been approved by Hillsborough County Public Schools. These are only a few of the growing list of schools, preschools, community centers, and summer camps to take advantage of this excellent curriculum addition.
Art makes kids Smart
“We designed Abrakadoodle to build upon a child’s natural creativity, imagination, and curiosity. It’s important that children have the freedom to express their ideas through color, line, shape, and form using a wide range of materials and media. In the process they learn much more than artistic techniques. They also learn to find solutions to problems or challenges, improve fine motor skills, experiment and take chances, develop a richer vocabulary, appreciate art from different perspectives and more,” said founder and creator Mary Rogers, M.A.Ed.
A study by Americans for the Arts found that young people who consistently participated in a wide-ranging arts program were 3-4 times more likely to: be recognized for academic achievement; hold elected leadership positions; and participate in award winning math, science, or essay/poem writing contests.
Abrakadoodle is an oasis amid increasingly barren art programs for children, where budget cut backs or pressure to upgrade reading and math skills have made a desert of educational art curriculum that fosters creativity. Children are thirsty for the freedom to explore a variety of traditional and non-traditional media and materials as they discover positive means of self-expression. By introducing children to the elements of art, principles of design, tools and technology, and a wide range of materials used in creating art, they increase their vocabularies, explore inner feelings, and add problem-solving to their discussions of their own artistic creations.
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