Children wouldn’t be allowed to make art projects with glass or wire in a typical classroom for children ages 2 to 5.

But USI’s Children’s Learning Center uses the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching.

“We believe that children are able to use the materials in an appropriate fashion,” said Jamie Madigan, manager of the Children’s Learning Center. “We believe that children are competent and capable of just about anything they put their minds to.”

The Children’s Learning Center will host its annual Children’s Learning Center Art Show Thursday and Friday to raise money for the center.

The paintings, sculptures, drawings, mugs, wire sculptures and wind chimes, all of which  the children made, will cost $5 each.

The center will also auction off themed baskets, two benches made by volunteers and the children, and artwork by art professor Michael Aakhus, among others.

Volunteers helped the students make the wooden benches, Madigan said. They cut circles out of the top of the benches and the children painted and designed the circles, which were then glued back into the benches.

Madigan is looking forward to the children’s families getting to see the children’s artwork and spreading the word about the importance of early childhood development, she said.

“We definitely want students from campus to come over because if they have children of their own, they would like to get on the waiting list. It’s always the sooner the better,” she said. “We have a pretty lengthy waiting list to get in the center.”

Madigan said 85 percent of brain development occurs before age 3.

“I think that (art) is a key component in the Children’s Learning Center’s philosophy,” she said. “I believe that it helps the children socially and emotionally grow and express themselves.”

Residents from Solarbron, a senior citizen living community, collaborated with the children on several of the paintings.

Over the past year, residents from Solarbron took four field trips out to paint and sing with the children.

The artwork the children and seniors collaborated on will also be on display and for sell at the show.

“I’d like to see this turn into something where this could be a long-lasting relationship,” Solarbron Activity Director Jamie Estenlaub said. “The young children and our residents both get a tremendous amount out of it.”

Spending time with the children brings back memories for the Solarbron residents, Estenlaub said.

“It’s also good for the small children because a lot of times children become scared of the elderly with the wheelchairs, the walkers and the tanks of oxygen,” she said. “This, I think, gets them warmed up to the idea.They’re just like a grandma and grandpa.”

Visiting the children is especially important for residents who don’t receive many visitors or don’t get to see their grandkids often, Estenlaub said.

“It’s fun to see the residents who are lower-cognitive, who might not remember your name, they might not remember what month it is, but you give them paint and a canvas and they can create art,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to stay in the lines. It’s about creating whatever comes to your mind and whatever’s on your heart.”

Fast Facts

What: Annual Children’s Learning Center Art Show

When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 14 and Friday, April 15

Where: Children’s Learning Center

Cost: Free to get in, $5 per children’s artwork, auction for other pieces