Lessons Learned from an Afterschool Art Experience with Reclaimed Materials

Oct 15, 2026

Afterschool programs increasingly shape elementary students’ educational experience, yet meaningful arts curricula are not always available. This work presents action research in a school-based afterschool setting examining how visual arts experiences can be integrated without an arts-focused curriculum. Reclaimed and found materials were used for both practical constraints and pedagogical value, combining novelty with familiar processes to stimulate interest, activate prior knowledge, and support creative, aesthetic engagement through student choice and exploration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Afterschool Arts and Educational Value

Background and Prior Research

Action Research Approach

Using Reclaimed and Found Materials

Learning Outcomes and Design Considerations

a place for the arts Lessons Learned from an Afterschool Art Experience with Reclaimed Materials by Angela Eckhoff, Amy Hallenbeck, and Mindy Spearman Afterschool programs are becoming an increasingly important part of many elementary students’ educational experience. Though individual afterschool programs vary, arts experiences are often a part of the curriculum. Historically, craft-related activities such as woodworking, carpentry, basket weaving, beadwork, clay work, and drawing were often included in post-World War II afterschool programs (Halpern, 2002) . More recently, the visual arts have served an integral role in successful afterschool programs serving homeless children (Shepard & Booth, 2009), students with special needs (Schwartz & Pace, 2008), and struggling readers (Bryan, Owens, & Walker, 2004) . Visual arts projects in afterschool environments have included such diverse experiences as comic book illustration (Khurana, 2005), painting murals on a school cafeteria wall (Merrill, 2008), and embellishing alife-size pickup truck with art inspired by Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (Wheeler, 2001) . As Andrews (2001) notes,“the arts are flourishing out of school—and the way in which participation can enhance achievement across the curriculum as well as giving children a sense of belonging to the school and to the community is very powerful”(p. 71) . ANGELA ECKHOFF, Ph. D., is an assistant professor of early childhood education at Old Dominion University in Virginia. She received a dual [Ph.D. in](Ph.D. in) educational psychology and cognitive science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research focuses on visual arts pedagogy in early childhood education, imagination and creative development in childhood, and informal learning environments for young children and families. AMY HALLENBECK is a doctoral candidate in curriculum and instruction at Clemson University’s School of Education. She has recently served as the project director for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program and works as a professional development consultant for the College Board. Her research interests include small rural schools, goal orientation, motivation, and self-efficacy. MINDY SPEARMAN, Ph. D., is an assistant professor at Clemson University. She received her [Ph.D. in](Ph.D. in) curriculum studies from the University of Texas at Austin with an emphasis in the historical foundations of education. Her research interests include artifacts and objects in elementary classrooms, the intersections of art and social studies, teaching young learners about sustainability, and American educational history. We conducted action research in a school-based afterschool setting to explore how a meaningful arts experience could be integrated into a program that did not include an arts-focused curriculum. Unencumbered by restrictions surrounding formal classrooms, afterschool programs can offer exploratory art activities that support young learners’ artistic creation, arts viewing, and aesthetic experiences. Though challenges emerge in designing and implementing arts experiences in programs that do not already include arts components, children can benefit from inclusion of visual arts experience in generalfocus afterschool programs. We focused in this project on reclaimed materials and found objects for both practical and pedagogical reasons. Practically, the use of reclaimed materials was important because the afterschool program did not have a budget for arts materials. Pedagogically, the use of reclaimed materials provided students with an arts experience combining the novel with the familiar. We hypothesized that the novelty of working with found objects would prompt student interest while the familiarity of the materials and of the process of creating art would tap students’ prior knowledge and experience. Both interest and prior knowledge are important components of supportive informal learning. In addition, rec

FAQs

Why focus on afterschool arts programs, and what problem does the study address?

The study addresses the need for meaningful visual arts experiences even when programs do not already include an arts-focused curriculum, and explores how learning can be supported through integrated arts activities.

What materials did the researchers use and why?

Researchers focused on reclaimed materials and found objects for practical reasons (limited budget) and pedagogical reasons (combining unfamiliar novelty with familiar processes to engage students’ prior knowledge.

How did the study aim to support students’ learning in an informal afterschool setting?

The approach emphasized exploratory art creation, arts viewing, and aesthetic experiences, encouraging students to think creatively and construct three-dimensional artworks from repurposed items.

Oct 15, 2026

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