CLAREMONT — It was “Creation Station” day in Sue Tuttle’s art class at Maple Avenue Elementary School and the excitement in the room was high.

Seated around several tables, the 14 first graders from Julie VanInwagen’s class listened patiently as Tuttle identified the materials at each of their tables, set out the few rules they’d have to follow while they let their imaginations loose.

Play-Doh, Lego sets, tile magnets for making small structures, geoboards — plastic boards with pegs and stretch bands to make different shapes — and interlocking plastic pieces shaped like plus signs were all up for grabs on the tables. Creation Stations got their name from what students build, from architecture, 3D sculptures to drawings.

One student particularly interested in the Lego table was Alexys Davis, who carefully built the walls of her structure.

“I really like to build things,” Alexys said. “You can see I am building right now and you can see I really like to do it. That is my favorite thing to do.”

At the tile magnet table, Enzo Bovell was proud of his one-bedroom house. Beside him, Jaxson Ellison made 3D shapes of a pyramid, cube and square. Other students used magnets to construct more elaborate buildings with rooms and angled rooftops.

Tuttle encouraged the children to experiment with the different mediums. She frequently encouraged and praised for their efforts as she moved around the room.

“At the elementary level we mainly focus on the creation of art because we feel these foundational skills are really important with young kids,” Tuttle said.

Tuttle teaches children in grades kindergarten through fifth. With her the youngest students, she works on developing their fine motor skills through coloring, cutting and drawing.

In all of her classes, she tries to incorporate choice as much as possible because it encourages creativity, said Tuttle, who has been with the Claremont School District for 20 years. For the Creation Station activities, she had her room set up so students could move freely among the tables depending on their interests.

Brayan Bartley found his “Creation Station” at the drawing table where he used markers to sketch a house and a school with rain clouds overhead and vehicles parked in front.

“I really like to draw using markers,” said Brayan, who spent the entire class at the drawing table. “At home, I have my own drawing kit.”

In other academic classes, the subject matter is more teacher-directed and there is a right way to get to an answer, Tuttle said. That’s different in art classes.

“Here, there are a million ways to get there,” she added.

The district follows the National Core Art Standards. Tuttle spends more time directing kindergarten, first and second grade students to help them build their fine motor skills.

Students in grades three and above tend to have a good foundation already and do not need as much instruction, so they have more choices in what they want to make.

“It is not me telling them what to create. They have to plan ahead,” Tuttle said. “I’m putting more of the thinking on them because this is one of the safest places for them to make a mistake and learn how to create and solve a problem.”

Using materials safely and responsibly and coming up with an idea and following it through to completion are some of the benchmarks at the elementary level for competency. Some may need assistance while others can complete the work independently, Tuttle said.

Another piece to Tuttle’s art instruction is sharing the children’s work through an app called Artsonia. She can take pictures of each child’s work with the app and email it to their families.

“I can have it all digitized and can put their portfolio online for families to see anywhere they are,” Tuttle said.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.