Day TwentythreeWhat is art? Sometimes teachers of young children use “art” to refer to spontaneous, open ended and often messy exploration of color or texture with little or no teachers direction or involvement. Let’s look at ways that we can explore new possibilities for ourselves as teachers, how we can begin to use the word “art” to describe a lively process of engagement with a range of materials, an engagement that is sensual and reflective, creative and deliberate, and that deepens and extends children’s learning. As children become more comfortable and skillful with these media, they are able to use them to communicate their understanding, emotions and questions. Children need to be viewed as competent, curious, full of knowledge, potential, and interested in connecting to the world around them. As teachers we need to use the arts as a way to anchor their inquires of learning, in the areas of…
We are able to do this by integrating art into out curriculum. When integrating art into the early childhood classrooms children are given an opportunity to learn through art in the context of their learning in other areas of the classroom curriculum. Children actively work with a knowledge base as they construct their understanding through art form. In the picture above, we had just finished reading the story Jack and the Beanstalk. This group of children wanted to know more about castles, so we sat down and took time to look up pictures and talk about what we were seeing in the pictures. Which then lead them to the art studio to create their own version of a castle. As they worked together they noticed the different shapes and textures of the castles. Each child kept reflecting back to the pictures that they had printed. Conversations where happening about what they could do with the castle once finished. When given the opportunity to build or expand their knowledge children come up with amazing ideas and concepts. The castle lead to the bean stalk and how tall could they make one. The following day this appeared and the collaboration began. "How tall do you think it is?" "Really tall, look it's taller then the loft." When we think of art as more than just art, we are creating an environment for children that will nurture their explorations and build on their knowledge.
Task: Set up art invitation in a way to expand children’s learning by sparking questions, interest and ideas. Base this invitation on a subject matter that you have discussed. ![]()
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Day TwentytwoWhen you incorporate a deep learning environment, you become more of a mentor and facilitator of knowledge rather than the dominant content expert. What does digging deeper mean? When digging deeper or (scaffolding) with young children the teacher needs to provide children with support and guidance when learning something new.
Teaching with deep respect for children’s competencies requires you to engage your mind with theirs. Learning Together with Young Children As you begin to notice what is unfolding during children’s play and exploration you will begin to determine the support that will challenge them into a deeper study of learning. In the book Learning Together with Young Children they suggest that you use the “Yes and …” rule. When responding to children we need to be responding to each invitation with “Yes and…” in the video below I will give examples of how the "Yes and ..." rule works. Conclusion: When we want children to dig a little deeper in their learning we need to look closely at what they are doing.
Task: Try using the YES and rule today in your classroom. Come back tomorrow and share where the yes rule brought you and the children for the day. I’m excited to be back this week for the Pre-K Partner’s Learning Centers Blog Hop Series! This week we are highlighting one of my favorite centers the art studio. Art in my classroom is a big part of the learning process, it’s a way for children to express themselves, but it is also a way to anchor children’s inquires of learning, in the areas of…
Sometimes teachers of young children use “art” to refer too spontaneous, open ended and often messy exploration of color or texture with little or no teacher’s direction or involvement. We like to see “art” to describe a lively process of engagement with a range of materials, an engagement that is sensual and reflective, creative and deliberate, and that deepens and extends children’s learning. Our art studio was created with children in mind, by providing children with an area that they can be independent artist. We created three different zones in our art studio to allow children the opportunity to work with several art mediums all at the same time. There is a zone that is just for children to paint. Children can paint on the table top or they can choose to put up a table top easel. The paint section of the art studios is set up in a way that children are able to access paint, watercolors, different types of painting tools and paint pallets or paint trays. Once children are finished with their painting project they then clean up their own painting tools. There is another zone that provides children with the opportunity to work with clay or wire sculptures. In the studio there is a large table that is large enough for children to be able to mix different types of art medium.
When using art to build or expand children’s knowledge first you need to ask yourself a few simple questions.
Now see what other ECE teachers are doing in their art centers.
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Welcome!I'm Tami Sanders creator of Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers, a blog to help teachers create magical moments for the young. Follow MeArchives
May 2024
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