Would the toddlers use them as they use their crayons at home or would this spark a different kind of exploration?
Would they be more captivated by the process of creating bold lines and swirls or instead focusing more on the intense colors and textures?
Do toddlers tell "stories" or use descriptive language during their process or are they more interested in creating motion?
This little one's mother stated that he said, "airplane" and "rocket" as he drew with the pastels. She also noted that he used the pastels in new ways: rolling them on the paper, pounding, and making finger prints with dirty fingers.
Teacher Remarks:
I was happily surprised to find the children using the pastels in a variety of ways other than my anticipated expectation! The oil pastels lend themselves to much more variety in use than a regular crayon.
Mom noticed that her little one was using the same two colors on both sides of the paper. Pink and purple. She made many lines up and down on top of one another. She practiced blending the marks together as well.
Notice the warm colors this one chose. There were many other colors available and within his reach. I would love to hear his thoughts on these particular colors he chose! 
As you can tell by the blurry hand, he loved the motion of fast scribbles! Let's also notice his knowledge of holding the paper down with his other hand so that the paper doesn't slip underneath. Mom is also there with her hands to support his interest in these speedy marks.
One pastel in each hand! Hand preference at this age is not important and it is beneficial for children to have repeated experiences testing out each hand as well as both at the same time. Mom stated that he was totally immersed in using the pastels and described his work as a "rainbow" and "moon".
This one had many diliberate markings and smiled as he made "balloons". When he had finished, there were many more small half circles on his page.
What's wonderful about an open-ended class is that the little ones don't always find interest in the particular experience set before them. They may make a few marks and then run around the classroom, come back make a few more marks, and then look out a window. This is all good and the freedom to move around as they wish (which I highly respect ) will only inspire their "art" more in the future. 
Parents were not afraid to "dig"right in themselves. Pulling, pinching, rolling balls and coils were all experimented with.
What connections might he be making? Is this material like any other he has encountered? How has it "changed" his finger? Just a small piece from a much larger piece but endless possibilities!
One of the reasons we all love these little ones is that nothing goes unnoticed! Everything is important and has meaning. The plastic tarp on which the clay was placed upon was as equally exciting as the big lump of clay!
This one had many diliberate markings and smiled as he made "balloons". When he had finished, there were many more small half circles on his page. 
What's wonderful about an open-ended class is that the little ones don't always find interest in the particular experience set before them. They may make a few marks and then run around the classroom, come back make a few more marks, and then look out a window. This is all good and the freedom to move around as they wish (which I highly respect ) will only inspire their "art" more in the future. Clay beautiful clay! I have always wanted to present clay to young children in whole block form. I very much hoped to see them climb it and have the lovely experience of squishing their toes into it.
An additional intention to this style of presentation was to expose the children to the idea of working together or at least close by to one another. My own daughter has tremendous difficulty with this idea. While it would be easy to give everyone their own piece of clay, the opportunity for going outside of their comfort zone is missed. Some of the children enjoyed taking a chunk of the clay and taking it to where they could explore it on their own. While other children found enjoyment working on the clay in it's whole block form along side of other children. And still others who found comfort and joy in observing the situation from Mama's lap. As a teacher, I found it very helpful to get a grasp on the various personalities and approaches children have when they are introduced to a new material. All the children reacted in different ways and I find all those ways unique and intelligent and beautiful!
Reflecting on the experience afterwards, I think we may start with some simple tools next class, and we can observe how the children interact with not only the clay but with each other.
Parents were not afraid to "dig"right in themselves. Pulling, pinching, rolling balls and coils were all experimented with.
What connections might he be making? Is this material like any other he has encountered? How has it "changed" his finger? Just a small piece from a much larger piece but endless possibilities!
One of the reasons we all love these little ones is that nothing goes unnoticed! Everything is important and has meaning. The plastic tarp on which the clay was placed upon was as equally exciting as the big lump of clay!
No comments:
Post a Comment