9am Wonder Arts: Charcoals/Watercolor, Beautiful Stuff, Coffee Filters and watercolor, Clay

A friend of mine, who follows my blog, told me about her experience in teaching a Clay class to children ages 3 - 6. On the first day of the class, she set the clay out for the children and invited them to "play" with it. She was very surprised to see that they did not know how to just "play" around with it. They kept insisting that they wanted to "make" something and they wanted her to show them what to do.

These children, who some of them are only a year older than the little ones that participate in my classes, have already been conditioned to make a "product" to show others. This saddens me so deeply because I fear for the future of our world when children no longer know how to "play".

If children always wait for adults to tell them what to do, how to do it, where to do it, etc... How will these children feel confident enough to generate NEW ideas, express their own individual feelings?

While I believe an adult is obviously critical to a child's healthy development and learning...I also believe we have a great power and responsibility with children. We are in a position of either imposing our ideas (which may be limited) or creating a dialogue with children to discover what ideas they might hold and it is our duty to help them communicate that.

In her book, Tumbling Over the Edge, by Bev Bos, she states:

"There is a time for expanding the world of art for children with the help of docents, artists, craftsmen and such, but we need to take care we do not get things out of order. Refinement and Technique must wait their turn." p.73

Beautiful Stuff

"To a young child, the world is full of materials to touch, discover, and explore. To find, collect, sort, and use materials is to embark on a special kind of adventure. For adults, gathering materials means rediscovering the richness and beauty in natural, unexpected, and recyclable objects that are all around us, but often not noticed.

One way to rediscover our own creative impulses is to see possibilities in materials.

Children possess a natural openness to the potential of materials. Children and adults become collaborators as they discover, collect, sort, arrange, experiment, create, construct, and think with materials. The goal is to allow children to become fluent with materials-as if materials were a language."

Beautiful Stuff by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini

"I think children are safe here from being "encouraged" (Prodded, coaxed) to act out the delight adults want them to experience. They get to choose, or not, for themselves what they shall enter into. Sometimes I observed things for a long time then decided to try them -- or not. Once an adult had prodded me (prodded as distinct from simply and quietly articulating the opportunity), it was no longer the same experience of choosing the world for myself."

- Barry Bussewitz

Tumbling Over the Edge by Bev Bos p.66
Play Stages:

Solitary

Parallel

Onlooker

Associative

Cooperative

Tumbling Over the Edge p.66
Onlooker:

Sometimes a child is perfectly satisfied just to watch others paint, dig, pour, dance, and sing. This ONLOOKER stage is one adults have a hard time respecting. The tendency is to cajole, encourage (or pester) the child into participating rather than allowing them to observe from the periphery.

Tumbling Over the Edge p.66


Parallel Play: With enough Materials available, the inquisitive young child plays PARALLEL to other children often without realizing others have entered their space.

Tumbling Over the Edge p.66
Associative:

The children engage in the same activity as others but without much interaction.

Tumbling Over the Edge p.66

Solitary:

The child focuses on every stimulus that surrounds them. Not deflected from his/her endeavor. He/she explores properties of stimulus but plays alone.

Tumbling Over the Edge p.66
H. sees the marker tops and makes the connection that they are usually used with the marker bottom to draw with.

He is intrigued by his discovery and tests the marker top to see if it will make a mark on the paper.

He then returns to his tray of "stuff" and explores how it might be used from a new perspective.

Thank you to his Mom for taking notice but not interfering with a bunch of explanations or direction. She allowed him the honor of testing his theories and stood by proud of his explorations!
G. noticed I had some small balls underneath one of the tables. He indicated that he would like to use it. His Mom asked if I had other balls like that one for him to explore. Great idea!! What is his idea?

We gave him the balls and he immediately tried to roll it through his cardboard tube.

It didn't roll through due to it's larger circumference than the tube but he is still pleased that it fits.
Another child looks on while G. is exploring his ideas with the ball and the cardboard tube. C. explores dropping corks through the tubes.

I point out what C. is doing with the corks to G. to see if he might be interested in joining this exploration idea. He does and is interested indeed!

Happy Birthday!!!

Yummy cupcakes for everyone!!