EDU 151a

EDU 151a: Creative Activities Lab

In spring 2022, I registered for EDU 151a, Creative Activities Lab.

My instructor is Christine Sargeant.

Her email address is christine.sargeant@cpcc.edu.

Her WebEx address is https://cpcc.webex.com/meet/sargeant.

My writing tutor is Lisa Bumbulucz.

Her email address is lisa.bumbulucz@cpcc.edu.

This page of my digital portfolio documents my learning in EDU 151a.

Course Description

This course provides a laboratory component to complement EDU 151. Emphasis is placed on practical experiences that enhance concepts introduced in the classroom. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate a practical understanding of the development and implementation of appropriate creative activities.

Course Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Explain the concept of creative activities and their importance to children.

2. List components of effective art, music, dramatic and movement activities, including art center activities.

3. List musical instruments suitable for children.

4. Describe developmentally appropriate art, music, movement and dramatic activities for children.

5. Construct teaching aids to be used in music, dramatics and movement.

6. Demonstrate the use of various art media.

Crayons, Markers, Chalk, Oil Pastels and Pencils

Our January on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with crayons, markers, chalk, oil pastels and pencils. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Crayons, Markers, Chalk, Oil Pastels, Pencils (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/crayons-markers-chalk-oil-pastels-pencils/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with crayons, markers, chalk, oil pastels and pencils.

Using colors for anyone's skin tone and facial features is so important for children to feel acceptance.
Allowing children to use their hands is important so that they can feel textures.
Art allows children to explore their emotions and how they can reflect emotions in their art.
Children should be able to explore how different materials can be incorporated into art.
Art can reflect what children may need to work on physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Art is very important to incorporate into children's young lives because it can show how they are feeling with their emotions and how they are dealing with their emotions. Allowing children to explore different textures and objects in art will give them a better idea of how they can use the materials that they have. In a classroom, children should have access to all types of colors so that every child feels included and not left out based on the way that they look. Younger children may have a harder time using hand grips to color or create art, so it is important to allow children to use their hands and other objects to create art. This will let them feel a sense of freedom and more independence in the things that they do and create.

Exploring My Name Using Markers

I used markers to write my name in as many different ways as I could using my sub-dominant hand.

Here are the names of the colors I used: black, brown, red, grey, orange, yellow, blue, green, and pink

This is how I felt using my sub-dominant hand: freedom

I believe my instructor asked me to use my sub-dominant hand for the following reason(s): To not feel held back and not be scared of making mistakes.

I created my name with all of the colors of the rainbow, black, grey, and brown. I wrote my name in all different sizes, thicknesses, and styles. Using my subdominant hand allowed me to feel free. I was not scared of messing up or making mistakes, I just focused on how I wanted to create my name.

Drawing a Self Portrait Using Crayons and Colored Pencils

I used crayons and colored pencils to draw a self-portrait while examining myself in a mirror. I used my sub-dominant hand.

Loris Malaguzzi, who is widely considered to be the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, wrote extensively about the importance of self-portrait work in the lives of young children. He wrote: "A self-portrait is an intimate declaration of identity. In her self-portrait, a child offers herself as both subject and artist. When we look at her self-portrait, we see a child as she sees herself. The story of self-portrait work is a tender story to tell . . . It's beautiful to see children observing themselves using mirrors and photographs, followed by creating self-portraits. Throughout this process children can explore facial expressions and artistically depict concepts as 'a brain that is happy,' 'sad hands are closed,' and 'eyes are shaped like a puddle . . .When children explore facial expressions in self-portraits, they are introduced to the vocabulary of emotions, such as happy, sad and angry, and they begin to develop emotional literacy."

Early childhood professionals should provide many opportunities for children to examine photographs and videos of themselves, study their faces and bodies in mirrors, create self-portraits using a variety of materials, and discuss what they see and how they feel about what they see.

Here is the story of my self-portrait:

I have a hard time looking at myself for long periods of time, so this was hard for me. My face gives a sense of seriousness, but also a sense of comfort because of my chubby cheeks and freckles. The piercings that I have on my nose and eyebrow make it seem as though I am hard to approach, when in reality it is hard for me to approach others.

Exploring Line Using Oil Pastels

Using oil pastels, I drew as many different kinds of lines as possible. I used my sub-dominant hand.

Here are the names of the lines I drew (which children could learn during a similar experience): purple and orange

While exploring oil pastels I drew many different lines in both, orange and purple. I drew curved lines, loops, straight lines, dashed lines, zigzag lines, a spiral, and intersecting lines.

Exploring Texture Using Chalk

I explored texture using chalk.

Here is my description of my experience with dry chalk/what I learned: Dry chalk creates a powderier feel, and it creates a porous look.

Here is my description of my experience with wet chalk/what I learned: Wet chalk glides across the paper smoothly and it looks like watercolor paint.

Children can learn the following texture-related words while exploring chalk: powdery, smooth, rigid

Observing and using the dry chalk showed me that it is very powdery, and it looks as if it is porous and holy when it is running over the paper. It does not glide as easy on the paper, and it requires more force and pressure to create a deeper color on the paper. When the chalk was running over wet paper it went so smoothly. It felt as if I was using watercolors to paint. I also applied water to the chalk which made it feel less powdery. The wet chalk gives a less porous looking outcome than the dry chalk on the paper.

Painting

Our January on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with paint. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Painting (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/painting/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with paint.

Painting allows children to better explore colors and how they can mix.
When using different painting materials, children are able to understand the outcomes better of why a certain material makes the painting look a certain way.
All children will have a different outcome when exploring with paint.
Children different levels of motor development will affect the way they are able to explore with art.
Allowing children to get messy will give them a better relationship with art and how they feel about art.

(Here, type, in complete sentences, the five most important specific things you have learned about children's explorations with paint (not including printmaking), based on what you experienced during our January on-campus lab, the Pinterest board images referenced above, and/or the lab chat videos posted in the unit folder.)

Exploring Finger Paint

I explored the properties (characteristics) of finger paint. I video-recorded this process. The video recording appears at left.

This is what I discovered about the appearance of finger paint: It is shiny and looks silky.

This is what I discovered about the texture of finger paint: Fingerpaint is very smooth and cold.

This is something else I discovered about finger paint: The colors mix very easily because of how liquid it is.

I used the following parts of my hands as I applied finger paint to the smooth, glossy finger paint paper: I used my nails, my knuckles, my palm, my fingertips, and the back of my hand.

As I explored the fingerpaint, I noticed that is very cold and has a smooth texture and that it also looks shiny and silky. Because it has a more liquid consistency, the colors mix very easily together. The paint does not have a strong smell, but to me it has a papery scent with plastic undertones. Using many parts of my hand I was able to create a lot of different textures on my paper.

Exploring Color: The Primary Colors

I learned about color theory/the color wheel by watching a video created by my instructor. Then, I combined tempera paint colors to create new colors (hues). This activity will help me to anticipate/plan for children’s color-related discoveries. Here are my responses to related questions.

1. What are the three primary colors?

My response: The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.

2. Why are the primary colors called primary colors?

My response: Primary colors are called primary because no other colors can be mixed to make them. Red, blue, and yellow are the base to all other colors.

Exploring Color: The Secondary Colors

I combined primary colors to create secondary colors. Here are my responses to related questions.

1. What is secondary color #1 and how did you create it?

My response: The first secondary color I created was violet. I created violet by mixing red and blue together.

2. What is secondary color #2 and how did you create it?

My response: The second color I made was orange. I made orange by mixing red and yellow together.

3. What is secondary color #3 and how did you create it?

My response: The third secondary color I made was green. I created green by mixing together yellow and blue.

Exploring Color: The Tertiary Colors

I combined primary and secondary colors to create tertiary colors. Here are my responses to related questions.

1. What is tertiary color #1 and how did you create it?

My response: The first tertiary color I created was blue violet. I created it by mixing violet and blue.

2. What is tertiary color #2 and how did you create it?

My response: The second tertiary color I made was red violet by mixing violet and red together.

3. What is tertiary color #3 and how did you create it?

My response: The third tertiary color I made was red orange by mixing together orange and red.

4. What is tertiary color #4 and how did you create it?

My response: The fourth tertiary color I made was yellow orange. I made it by mixing together yellow and orange.

5. What is tertiary color #5 and how did you create it?

My response: The fifth tertiary color I made was yellow green by mixing together yellow and green.

6. What is tertiary color #6 and how did you create it?

My response: The last tertiary color I made was blue green by mixing together blue and green.

Exploring Complimentary Colors Using Tempera Paint and Brushes

I explored complimentary colors using tempera paint and brushes. Complimentary colors are opposite one another on the color wheel. Here are my responses to related questions.

1. What primary color did you use?

My response: I used blue paint as my primary color.

2. What secondary color did you use?

My response: The secondary color I used was the orange paper.

3. In what ways did you apply the paint to the paper?

My response: I applied the paint to the paper by flicking the paint brush over my paper, spinning my brush, dotting the paint, and using light and heavy brush strokes.

Painting with Unusual Tools

I painted with unusual tools (not hands or brushes). Here are my responses to related questions.

1. What is the name of the unusual tool you used for painting 1? Describe the marks you made.

My response: I used a large paper pom- pom to paint the first painting (the bottom painting). I swirled the pom-pom and i blotted it on the paper to create large marks.

2. What is the name of the unusual tool you used for painting 2? Describe the marks you made.

My response: For the second painting (the top), I used a crushed water bottle. I smeared the water bottle across the paper and used the edges of the water bottle to create sharper markings.

3. What other unusual tools can young children use to apply paint? List 10.

My response: Children can use toy cars, q- tips, popsicle sticks, foam blocks, recycled cans, yarn, rags, crumpled paper, styrofoam, or old shoes.

Supporting Infants and Toddlers During Painting Experiences

Here are ten tips for implementing painting experiences with infants or toddlers.

Work one on one with infants
Model how to touch the paint and spread it
Use one color at a time at first
Use a thick brush that can be easily grasped
Use random tools to spread the paint
Use clear containers so children can see the colors fully
Use an easel close to the floor so they can reach the top of the paper
Display the paint openly to create attraction
Use open ended activities
Use different kinds of paper and surfaces to paint on

Supporting Children with Physical Challenges During Painting Experiences

Here are three things early childhood professionals can do to support children with physical challenges during painting experiences:

Use wide, low sided containers for paint so it is easily accessible
Tape paper to the surface you are working on, so the paper does not move
Use foam around brushes if the child cannot grip objects well

Supporting Children with Visual Challenges During Painting Experiences

Here are three things early childhood professionals can do to support children with visual challenges during painting experiences:

Add sand to paint so that children can feel it
Use a tilted surface so that they are closer to their paper
Add different scents to paint to help with color differentiation

Printmaking

Our January on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s printmaking explorations. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Printmaking (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/printmaking/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s printmaking explorations.

Children can use any tools or objects to make print.
Using household items for print will help children connect shapes to things that they use on a daily basis.
Printmaking should be a free process for the children, where there is no direction.
Children can connect objects to make their own printmaking stamps.
Children can combine colors when making print to see how colors blend together.

It is important for children to know that any objects can make print. Objects in their house can make shapes that they may have not thought of. This will allow them to connect objects with shapes and how shapes can be seen on everyday objects. Printmaking is not about mistakes; it is about creativity and allowing children to use their imagination and creating their own prints. Children can even connect different objects together to make new shapes and use different colors together to see how everything blends together.

I explored printmaking using found objects and paper.

Found object printmaking is the process of applying wet color (for example, tempera paint) to an object and then pressing the object onto a flat surface (paper or cloth). While painting involves making strokes and leads to one-of-a-kind works of art, printmaking allows artists to create designs that are easily reproduced; designs are not made by stroking paint onto paper but, rather, by pressing paint/ink-covered objects onto paper or cloth (and then reapplying the wet color and pressing again, and so on).

Here are some printmaking terms.

Print: The actual picture/design produced through the printmaking process.

Block: An object that is covered with wet color (paint, ink) and pressed onto a flat surface (paper, cloth) to create a print.

Plate: A surface covered in wet color (paint, ink) onto which paper is pressed to create a print. Often, a plate has a design etched into it before being covered with wet color.

Brayer: A small, hand-held rubber roller used to spread printing ink (paint, in early childhood environments) evenly on a surface.

Many objects children encounter every day – books, clothing, bed sheets, curtains, tablecloths, to name just a few – are examples of printmaking. Young children can learn about the printmaking process as well as art elements (line, shape, color, design, etc.) and pattern, through open-ended/process-oriented printmaking experiences.

Exploring Geometric Shapes Through Printmaking

Printmaking is an excellent way for children to explore shape, as the shape of paint-covered objects (“blocks”) is transferred to the surface (paper, cloth) during the printmaking process.

I explored geometric shapes through printmaking.

As my printing block(s), I used: A ChapStick lid, a bottle cap, a Keurig cup, a candle lid, the paint cup lid, and a pill bottle cap.

I focused on the following geometric shape(s): I focused on circles, open and closed.

Exploring Printmaking – Artist’s Choice

For my second printmaking experience, I used the following objects as printing blocks: A rose, the leaves from the rose, a bow, a crumpled piece of paper, and the bottom of a mountain dew bottle.

Collage

The term, collage, comes from the French word “coller,” which means “to paste.” For our purposes, collage refers to any work of art that is made by attaching (using glue, paste, tape or some other adhesive) pieces of different materials (for example, paper, cloth, wood) to a flat surface. Because the artist is not creating something in three dimensions, collage is considered a two-dimensional art form.

Our February on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with collage. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Collage (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/collage/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with collage.

Collages help children explore different textures, dimensions, and colors.
Collages help children explore their creative abilities by making objects out of different things.
There are so many different materials that children can use to make collages.
Collages allow children to add any kind of objects to make their art more unique.
Children can express themselves by using objects that they like and colors that they like.

Collages allow children to explore a variety of things. Children are able to explore different objects, textures, and colors that they enjoy in their art. They can also make things that they like by using a variety of objects to create their image. Collages create a very hands-on experience for children which allows them to explore themselves and their art more creatively.

Exploring Texture Through Collage

I explored texture through collage. Here are the materials I used and their corresponding textures:

Styrofoam for a rough texture
Pom poms for a soft texture
Bubble wrap for a bouncy and bumpy texture

In my collage I wanted to use materials that have very different textures. For a rough and rigid texture, I used pieces of Styrofoam. For a soft texture in my collage, I used different sizes of pom poms. Lastly, I used some bubble wrap. The bubble wrap added a bumpy and bouncy texture.

This collage experience is appropriate for older preschoolers and relates to the following North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development (NCFELD) sub-domain, goal, developmental indicators, and teaching strategy for older preschoolers:

Sub-domain: Creative Expression

Goal CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance.

Developmental Indicators:

Choose to participate and express themselves through a variety of creative experiences, such as art, music, movement, dance, and dramatic play. CD-5r

Plan and complete artistic creations such as drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures. CD-5t

Teaching Strategy: Provide access to a variety of materials (non-hazardous paints, modeling materials, a wide variety of paper types, writing and drawing utensils of various sizes and types, and collage materials), media, and activities that encourage children to use their imagination and express ideas through art, construction, movement, music, etc.

Eric Carle-Inspired Collage

I created a collage inspired by the collages of artist, Eric Carle. I also watched the following videos about Carle’s life and work.

40 Years of the Very Hungry Caterpillar

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eric+carle+collage+process&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3deric%2bcarle%2bcollage%2bprocess%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=D70BECDF80E4FE247737D70BECDF80E4FE247737&rvsmid=EE4330EA5710996E9059EE4330EA5710996E9059&FORM=VDQVAP

Eric Carle Discusses 50 Years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eric+carle+collage+process&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3deric%2bcarle%2bcollage%2bprocess%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=870A7A31C16B458A0E0B870A7A31C16B458A0E0B&rvsmid=EE4330EA5710996E9059EE4330EA5710996E9059&FORM=VDQVAP

Eric Carle on Bill Martin Jr. and the Brown Bear Series

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eric+carle+collage+process&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3deric%2bcarle%2bcollage%2bprocess%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=9424A3141C12D0510FF39424A3141C12D0510FF3&&FORM=VDRVRV

One Teacher’s Approach to Engaging Children in a Project (Author’s Study) about Eric Carle.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eric+carle+collage+process&&view=detail&mid=E662E21C02AE605F67A0E662E21C02AE605F67A0&&FORM=VDRVRV

This is what I learned about the key components of Eric Carle’s artwork:

This is what I learned about the ideas Eric Carle expresses through his artwork:

This is what I learned about the nature of Eric Carle’s collaboration with Bill Martin, Jr.:

This experience is appropriate for kindergarteners and relates to the following North Carolina Standard Course of Study standards and clarifying objectives for kindergarten.

Essential Standard:

K.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.

Clarifying Objectives:

K.V.3.1 Use a variety of tools safely and appropriately to create art.

K.V.3.2 Use a variety of media to create art.

K.V.3.3 Use the processes of drawing, painting, weaving, printing, collage, mixed media, sculpture, and ceramics to create art.

Essential Standard:

K.CX.1 Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.

Clarifying Objectives:

K.CX.1.1 Use visual arts to illustrate how people express themselves differently.

K.CX.1.3 Recognize key components in works of art from different artists, styles, or movements.

Essential Standard:

K.CX.2 Understand the interdisciplinary connections and life applications of the visual arts.

Clarifying Objective:

K.CX.2.3 Understand that artists sometimes share materials and ideas (collaboration).

Henri Matisse-Inspired Collage

I created a collage inspired by the collages of artist, Henri Matisse. I also watched the following videos about Matisse’s life and work.

Henri Matisse for Kids

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+is+collage&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dwhat%2bis%2bcollage%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=B461A56EC259E69E6ABFB461A56EC259E69E6ABF&&FORM=VDRVRV

Henri Matisse and a New Art Form

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+is+collage&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dwhat%2bis%2bcollage%26FORM%3dHDRSC3&view=detail&mid=ECAFA8ABADCB4131A2CBECAFA8ABADCB4131A2CB&&FORM=VDRVRV

What Do Henri Matisse’s Collages Mean (Take Kids)?

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+is+collage&&view=detail&mid=F96C9E0DC7A682249227F96C9E0DC7A682249227&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dwhat%2Bis%2Bcollage%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

This is what I learned about how Matisse created his collages:

This is what I learned about how Matisse’s collages were a reflection of his ideas, environment and resources (in other words, what caused Matisse to shift from painting and sculpting to collage-making):

This collage experience is appropriate for first graders and relates to the following North Carolina Standard Course of Study standards and clarifying objectives for grade 1.

Essential Standard:

1.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.

Clarifying Objectives:

1.V.3.2 Execute control of a variety of media.

1.V.3.3 Use the processes of drawing, painting, weaving, printing, stitchery, collage, mixed media, sculpture, and ceramics to create art.

Essential Standard:

1.CX.1 Understand the global, historical, societal, and cultural contexts of the visual arts.

Clarifying Objective:

1.CX.1.5 Understand that art is a reflection of the artist’s ideas, environment, and/or resources.

Essential Standard:

1.CR.1 Use critical analysis to generate responses to a variety of prompts.

Clarifying Objective:

1.CR.1.2 Explain how and why personal works of art are made, focusing on media and process.

Loose Parts

In early childhood education settings, the term, loose parts, refers to alluring, beautiful, found objects and materials that children can move, manipulate, control, and change while they play. Children can carry, combine, redesign, line up, take apart, and put loose parts back together in almost endless ways. The materials come with no specific set of directions, and they can be used alone or combined with other materials. Children can turn them into whatever they desire: a stone can become a character in a story; an acorn can become an ingredient in an imaginary soup. These objects invite conversations and interactions, and they encourage collaboration and cooperation. Put another way, loose parts promote social competence because they support creativity and innovation. All of these are highly valued skills in adult life today. Loose parts possess infinite play possibilities. They offer multiple rather than single outcomes: no specific set of directions accompanies them; no single result is inevitable. Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, whose pieces are meant to be fitted together in a specific way to make a single picture, loose parts can be joined in many ways. A scarf, for example, can become a blanket to swaddle a baby, a platform for a picnic, a fishing pond, a cover for a fort, or a veil covering the face of a bride.

Our February on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with loose parts. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Loose Parts (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/loose-parts/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with loose parts.

Loose parts can help children who may have sensory issues.
Children will find new everyday things that they can use as loose parts.
Loose parts will help children to feel different textures and sounds that objects may make.
Children will learn how to make objects with loose parts instead of just coloring or painting.
Children will become more aware that they can use natural objects to create new things.

Using loose parts is crucial for a children's ability to think in new, creative ways. Even if children have sensory issues, they can choose whichever objects they like to create something new. Working with loose parts allows children to have new experiences with texture and sound that everyday objects make. Loose parts can also be natural objects which children may not even think of. The exploration with loose parts will allow children to be the most creative they can be with making new objects and art with the loose parts that they collect.

Creating a Self-Portrait with Loose Parts

I prepared a loose parts self-portrait activity for older preschoolers.

Creating a Self-Portrait with Loose Parts

This experience relates to the following visual arts-related NCFELD Goal, Developmental Indicators and Teaching Strategy for older preschoolers:

Goal: CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance.

Developmental Indicators:

Choose to participate and express themselves through a variety of creative experiences, such as art, music, movement, dance, and dramatic play. CD-5r.

Plan and act out scenes based on books, stories, everyday life, and imagination. CD-5s.

Plan and complete artistic creations such as drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures. CD-5t.

Recall and imitate different musical tones, rhythms, rhymes, and songs as they make music or participate in musical activities (clap previous beat to a new song). CD-5u.

Recall and imitate patterns of beat, rhythm, and movement as they create dances or participate in movement and dance activities. CD-5v

Teaching Strategy: Encourage children to talk about and/or share their creative expressions with others.

Assemblage

For our purposes, assemblage refers to any three-dimensional (not flat) work of art produced by combining two or more three dimensional objects to create a unified composition. Some artists build assemblages on bases (e.g., pieces of cardboard or wood), while others do not use bases. Assemblages often incorporate found materials, including recyclables, and/or natural materials.

Our February on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with assemblage. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Assemblage (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/assemblage/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with assemblage.

Assemblage is important for children to observe the differences between 2-D and 3-D objects and creations.
Assemblage helps children learn how to build and create things that cannot just be drawn on paper.
It helps children learn how to use materials differently and how different materials can be used.
It helps children learn how things can be shaped into 3-D objects even if they start off as 2-D.
Assemblage allows children to see that there are endless ways to create different structures.

Assemblage is an important step in children's art explorations because they learn how to make 3-D objects when they are given a variety of different tools. Children can be as creative as they would like to be when they create assemblage, there are no limitations in dimension. It also teaches children how they can connect objects in a variety of ways. Glue doesn't have to be the only way a child connects different objects, they could also use string, wire, tape, etc. When children are just given one material for example, cardboard, they are able to think about the different ways they could cut it up and reshape it to make something new. Assemblage helps children learn the complexity of the materials around them.

Assemblage Inspired by a Children’s Book

I prepared an assemblage activity based on a children’s book for kindergarten children.

I chose the following children’s book (appropriate for 5-6 year-olds) for this activity: "The Day the Crayons Quit"

The author of this book is:

Drew Daywalt

Here is my summary of the story (what happens at the beginning of the story, in the middle of the story and at the end of the story): The story is about a boy who has a box of crayons and when he goes to get them, he finds a stack of letters. He reads them and they are all different letters from each color crayon explaining their feelings. The crayons end up leaving because they feel too used or not used enough.

I chose this book for the following reason(s): I have read this book to my class before, and the kids were all so interested by the different emotions felt by the crayons. I think it is a great social-emotional book.

Here is how the book relates to my assemblage: I chose to put the "crayons" on a box to represent a crayon box. I then covered the bottles in paper to represent different colored crayons. One crayon has a smiley face, and the other crayon has a frowny face to show the different emotions.

Assemblage Inspired by a Children’s Book

Here is one visual arts standard for kindergarten from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study that children could achieve through this activity: "1. V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately."

Here is one clarifying objective related to the above standard that would demonstrate a child has achieved the standard: "Use the processes of drawing, painting, weaving, printing, stitchery, collage, mixed media, sculpture, and ceramics to create art."

Sculpting with Wire

Children can also create three-dimensional works of art using wire, including pipe cleaners and twist ties.

Here is my instructor's Pinterest board, Wire.

https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/wire/

Sculpting with Wire

This experience relates to the following NCFELD Goal, Developmental Indicators and Teaching Strategy for older preschoolers:

Goal: "Goal CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance."

Developmental Indicators: " Plan and complete artistic creations such as drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures. CD-5t"

Teaching Strategy: "Provide materials for drawing, painting, building, molding, and making collages. Choose materials that are suitable for the age and development of the children. For example, use contact paper for collages with children who cannot handle glue."

Here is one thing I like about my wire sculpture: I like that I created different types of lines for my sculpture. So many things can be made by just using one line.

Homemade Play Dough

The safest, most pliable modeling material for young children, especially infants and toddlers, is play dough. Early childhood professionals can certainly use child-safe commercial brands, but since it’s so easy to make homemade play dough and since there are so many readily available recipes for homemade playdough online (google “play dough recipes”) and since it’s so inexpensive to make homemade play dough, there is no reason not to! For a child’s first dough explorations, non-scented dough of only one color should be used so the child can focus on the tactile qualities of the material instead of its scent or smell. Each child should have a baseball-size ball of dough to explore. If the dough will be reused, it should be stored in air-tight containers (one per child, labeled with the child’s name). Children should wash their hands before and after dough explorations. Preschool and primary grade children can work with several colors of play dough at a time and tend to enjoy mixing colors. Scents (e.g., pumpkin spice, cloves, vanilla extract) and textures (e.g., salt added, coffee grounds added) can be added, as well.

Children should be invited to help prepare the dough. It’s important to remember, however, that making play dough is a science experience, not an art/creative experience. What the child does with the already-made dough is the art part.

Our March on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with dough. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Dough (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/dough/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with dough.

Children should be able to explore dough freely without worry of making too much of a mess.
Children should explore dough with their hands first and then materials should be introduced after children become comfortable with their hands.
Children should be able to use many different textured items with dough so that they can compare and contrast.
Children that have disabilities can use scents in play dough to associate with different colors, or they can put something textured into their playdough.
Instead of giving children cookie cutters, they should be encouraged to make their own shapes and use their creativity.

The most important things I have learned about children using dough is that there is always a way to include children with disabilities in experiences. Children should have access to clay outside so that they can see where it comes from in nature. Allowing children to explore different textures of clay will help them better understand how things are formed such as, adding more water to clay to see how it changes. As children explore dough it is important to ask children about their experiences so that they can hear about other people's opinions. Giving children household tools to explore dough will allow them to see how many different uses everyday tools have.

PXL_20220322_013411510.mp4

Making Play Dough

The video at left documents my efforts to prepare a batch of play dough.

Here is the recipe I followed.

Play Dough Recipe 1 (uncooked, without cream of tartar)

3 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 4 tbsps. cooking oil, 1-2 drops of food coloring (optional), 1 cup warm water

Mix ingredients in a bowl.
Remove from bowl and knead well.

Exploring Play Dough

I pulled the dough apart.

Exploring Play Dough

I pinched the dough.

Exploring Play Dough

I flattened the dough.

Exploring Play Dough

I rolled the dough into coils.

Exploring Play Dough

I rolled the dough into balls.

Exploring Play Dough

I used the following three child-appropriate tools to make imprints in the dough:

Bottle caps
Plastic water bottle
Plastic fork

Pottery Clay

Pottery clay is real clay that comes from the earth and from which pottery is made. It has been used for thousands of years by people around the world. The china dishes and stoneware mugs we use every day are made from it.

Children should use only talc-free clay. Due to dust hazards, all powdered or dry clay mixes should be avoided in early childhood settings. Each child should be provided with one pound of moist clay. Unused clay should be stored in double plastic bags that are tightly closed and placed inside a covered plastic container. When used clay is returned to the bag, early childhood professionals should add a bit of water to each piece to replace evaporated moisture; clay will keep for a very long time this way. Dry clay can be soaked in water to make it soft again, or it can be baked in a special oven called a kiln to preserve it (make it hard) forever. It is not necessary to have a kiln, though; children’s clay creations will harden when left to air dry and can be painted afterwards. Preschool and primary grade children need adult-guided experiences joining pieces of clay using slip (clay dissolved in water). Slip can also be used to create designs/drawings on paper, similar to paint. Clay is a wonderful medium for young children to explore, as long as the process and not the product is the focus.

My instructor provided access to her Pinterest board, Clay. The images on this board suggest a variety of clay experiences appropriate for young children.

https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/clay/

Our March on-campus lab featured a discussion of children’s explorations with pottery clay. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Clay (https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/clay/). Here are the five most important things I have learned about children’s explorations with pottery clay.

Children should explore clay outside to see where it comes from naturally.
Children should handle clay in different forms so that they can see how the texture is able to change.
Clay helps children learn how things can turn into different shapes and then be shaped back into its original form.
Children should first explore clay with their hands, and then use tools when they become more comfortable with the material.
Children should manipulate clay with objects so that they can see how clay can be imprinted and molded.

Through learning about children's explorations with clay I have found that it is very important for children to just start off with the clay and no other materials. Children can work their way to using tools to see how clay can be manipulated. It is also important for children to explore clay in a natural setting. A clay kitchen outside can help children make the connection of where clay actually comes from. Allowing children to make bowls or other items out of clay can show them how everyday things can be made. Showing children, the different stages of clay help them understand that clay has many different forms, it just depends in what it added to it. Letting children get dirty and really explore the clay is important to their fine motor skills and also their cognitive skills.

PXL_20220329_031846341.mp4

Exploring Pottery Clay

The video at left documents my exploration of pottery clay.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I pulled the clay apart.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I pinched the clay.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I flattened the clay with my hands.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I rolled the clay into coils.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I rolled the clay into balls.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I used the following three child-appropriate tools to make imprints in the clay:

A marker lid
A bottle cap
A piece of Styrofoam

Exploring Pottery Clay

I used a pencil to draw (etch) a self-portrait in a clay slab.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I made the clay stand as tall as I could.

Exploring Pottery Clay

I dissolved the clay in water to make slip and then, using my hands, created a painting with the slip.

Developmental Stages in Modeling with Clay or Dough (or Some Other Pliable/Malleable Material)

Just as young children proceed through developmental stages when drawing or painting, so do they proceed through developmental stages when working with clay or dough or some other pliable/malleable material. The following stages are based on the work of Brown (1975, 1984) and Stokrocki (1988).

The Discovery Stage: Ages 2-4 years

Children make mud pies
Children pile/stack clumps of clay/dough
Children squish, poke and pinch clay/dough
Children pound/hit clay/dough with hands and tools
Children engage with the material because they enjoy the sensory experience, they manipulate/explore the clay/dough for the sensory pleasure of it

The Shape and Form Stage: Ages 4-5 years

Children begin to roll clay/dough into coils/snakes
Children begin to roll clay/dough into balls
Children make simple, recognizable, flat forms - forms have some detail – e.g., mouth, eyes
Children roll out clay/dough and cut out forms using cookie cutters (when cookie cutters are provided)
Children use the clay/dough with a sense of purpose – they seek to create something in particular with the clay/dough
Forms are made and destroyed
Forms are often from the children’s imagination

The Schematic Stage: Ages 6-7 years

Children make standing forms - forms have more detail
Children make balls and other three-dimensional shapes
Children make standing forms/objects – basic forms are combined to create people in a vertical position
Children purposefully create people and animals and other objects from their imagination and lives

The Realism Stage: 8+ Years

Children's forms include facial details, gender characteristics, clothing
Forms stand and look more realistic

Week 11: Weaving

During week 11, I explored weaving. Weaving is the systematic interlacing of two or more sets of elements (usually, but not necessarily, at right angles) to form a cohesive structure. More simply stated, weaving consists of arranging a group of vertical threads in rows, close together; horizontal threads are then laced over and under the vertical threads.

Here are some more weaving-related terms and definitions.

Loom: A loom is a supporting structure that is used to weave on. It holds the warp threads during weaving. If the weave is finished, it can be removed from the loom and support itself without falling apart. In early childhood weaving experiences, weaves are often left on their looms.

Warp: The warp is the set of yarns (or other elements) stretched in place vertically on a loom before the weft is introduced horizontally during the weaving process.

Weft: The weft is the set of horizontal threads that are interlaced through the warp during the weaving process.

Shuttle: A shuttle is a tool/device used to hold the weft thread while weaving. Children can use a popsicle stick as a shuttle.

Beater: After every row they weave, weavers beat the weft. This means they push the weft threads down, orderly into place. This way they make sure to get a symmetric design and even tension throughout their weave. Children can use their fingers, a comb or a fork as a beater.

My instructor shared her Pinterest board, Weaving. This collection of images suggests a variety of weaving experiences appropriate for young children.

https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/weaving/

Weaving relevant to children because . . . . . .

Children come across many different items on a daily basis that are woven. They wear woven clothes, they see woven rugs, and they use woven towels. Allowing children to see how things are woven makes them realize how things are made and how people use different materials to weave. Weaving is a basic tool that has been used for ages, so it is important for children to learn about. It is also important to teach children that not only people use weaving, but so do animals to make nests, webs, and their own homes.

Weaving: Paper Loom

I created a paper weave, using paper as my loom.

Weaving: Wall Loom

I created a yarn weave, using the wall as my loom.

Weaving: Artist’s Choice

I created a weave using blinds as my loom.

Here are three other everyday/accessible objects that children could use as a loom:

Popsicle sticks
Pipe cleaners
Sticks

Weaving: Related North Carolina Standard Course of Study Visual Arts Standard and Clarifying Objective

I imagined that I was providing a weaving experience for children in Grade 1 in a North Carolina public school. Here is one related essential standard and clarifying objective for Grade 1 students:

Essential Standard: 1.V.3 Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.

Clarifying Objective: 1.V.3.3 Use the processes of drawing, painting, weaving, printing, stitchery, collage, mixed media, sculpture, and ceramics to create art.

Week 12: Stitching and Hand Sewing

During week 12, I explored stitching and hand-sewing. A stitch is one in-and-out movement of a needle in sewing, embroidery or suturing. Sewing is the process of joining, fastening or repairing by making stitches with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and skin clothing using bone, antler or ivory needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins. For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand.

Children encounter sewn objects in their daily lives; for example, the clothes they wear and many of the toys they play with have been created by sewing. From about age 5, children can learn basic hand sewing skills, including how to thread a needle, how to make simple stitches, how to sew buttons and how to join pieces of cloth. Early childhood professionals should introduce processes and stitches as children are ready. They should also avoid "sewing crafts" that require children sew to create a particular item. Instead, early childhood professionals should encourage children to apply their developing hand sewing skills in their own way, to satisfy their own needs and interests. As with all forms of early childhood creative expression, it’s the process that matters, not the product.

My instructor provided access to her Pinterest board, Stitching/Hand-Sewing. This collection of images suggests a variety of stitching/hand-sewing activities/experiences for young children.

https://www.pinterest.com/clsargeant/stitchinghand-sewing/

Stitching on Burlap

I made stitches on burlap.

Stitching on a Plastic Stitching Card

I made stitches on a plastic stitching card.

Week 13: Dramatic Play

In the classroom – both the indoor classroom and the outdoor classroom - dramatic play can be used to help children develop concepts/schemes about their world, develop their language skills, experience the creative process, develop self-regulation, develop fine and gross motor skills, and much more. Dramatics activities should be designed in open-ended ways that allow children to use their imaginations to re-create and express ideas and feelings. Ideas for play activities can be child-initiated such as in informal play, teacher-initiated, such as using pantomime and improvisation to illustrate new words, or inspired by some special event, such as reading a new story and then acting it out.

During our April on-campus lab, we focused on dramatic play experiences that take place in dramatic play learning centers. In such centers, children use various props to, spontaneously, pretend to be people and animals from their own lives, and characters from their favorite stories. I carefully examined the related photos from this lab, as well as my instructor’s Pinterest board, Pretend Play. Here are the five most important SPECIFIC things I have learned about children’s spontaneous dramatic play:

Dramatic Play helps children explore new ideas and make connections to the outside world.
Children are able to work on their social emotional skills by having to take on roles and share with other children.
Children learn how to express them different ways by wearing different clothes and using new tools.
Dramatic Play helps children feel empowered because they are able to choose new roles and do what they would like to do.
Dramatic Play also helps children grow their language and speaking skills because they have to use new words to communicate.

Dramatic Play is an amazing center for children to grow many skills. They are able to work on their fine motor skills by using doctor and dentist tools. The center is also a big help for children who need to work on their communication skills and expressing their emotions because the children have to work together to take on roles. Children are able to learn reality from fantasy since they are taking on real like roles. Dramatic play helps grow a child's imagination because children are able to create their own scenarios.

Dramatic Play: Using a Web to Plan/Brainstorm Additions to the Dramatic Play Learning Center Related to the Project, Doctor’s Office

My instructor asked me to imagine that I was a teacher in a classroom for older preschoolers (children ages 4-5 before kindergarten entry), and that the children in my classroom were very interested in/curious about the doctor’s office. I imagined that, with the children, I completed the K and W columns of a KWL chart (pictured at left) related to Doctor’s Office, and determined (based on the fact that the children knew quite a bit about the doctor’s office and had lots of questions about what happens at the doctor’s office) that this would be a great project topic.

In order to plan possible additions to the classroom Dramatic Play learning center related to this project, I need to complete a planning web. I have already decided that, initially, children could explore 4 roles related to Doctor’s Office in the Dramatic Play learning center: doctor, nurse, receptionist and patient. Now I need to brainstorm (on my web) all of the different props, including clothing, that I should gather for each of these 4 roles.

The completed web, pictured at left, shows all of the different props I brainstormed for doctor, nurse, receptionist and patient. The props are age appropriate (safe for children ages 4-5) and authentic.

I have also uploaded below 3 photographic images for each of these roles that I would use to create picture cards that would help the children better understand what doctors, nurses, receptionists and patients experience at a doctor’s office. The images depict what actually happens in this setting and incorporate human diversity and challenge stereotypes.

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 1 related to "Doctor" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 2 related to "Doctor" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 3 related to "Doctor" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 1 related to "Nurse" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 2 related to "Nurse" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 3 related to "Nurse" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 1 related to "Receptionist" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 2 related to "Receptionist" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 3 related to "Receptionist" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 1 related to "Patient" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 2 related to "Patient" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Dramatic Play

Image for picture card 3 related to "Patient" for the project "Doctor's Office."

Week 14: Making Music

Music is organized sound. One of the tasks of teaching music is to introduce young children to the different ways in which music plays with and orders sound. Listening, rhythmic activities, singing and playing instruments form the basis of creative music experiences, through which the elements of music – rhythm, timbre, dynamics, form, melody and harmony – are organized into compositions that speak to our mind, our body and our emotions.

The goal of music experiences for young children is to develop each child into a musical person. A musical person is not just a consumer of music, not a professional musician. A musical person is someone who is tuneful, beatful and artful. A tuneful person carries the melodies of wonderful songs in their head. A beatful person feels the beat of music of all kinds and the natural rhythms of the world around them. An artful person responds to the expressiveness of all music with their body and soul. We owe it to the children we teach to give them the gift of music. Music education must start before the child is born and be intensive throughout the early years. To do this we need to become comfortable ourselves in the world of music. We do not need to be virtuosos. However, we do need to become knowledgeable about the elements of music and how children develop musically, as well as enthusiastic about music and music experiences for children.

My instructor shared her Pinterest board, Music. This collection of images suggests a variety of music experiences and resources appropriate for young children.

During week 15, I watched a video featuring Fred Rogers, creator/host of the iconic PBS children’s series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In the video, Mister Rogers visits STOMP, which is a group of people who use their bodies and a lot of different materials to make music and rhythms.

This video is an example of appropriate television programming for young children. Through this video children can learn the following 5 SPECIFIC things about music/making music.

Music can be made from many different materials, not just instruments.
Music takes a lot of listening and paying attention.
Music is heard differently by everyone, so it is okay if it is different from the norm.
One object can be used to create multiple sounds.
Working together with others will help create more rhythms and beats.

Music can be made by using many different materials. These materials can create many different sounds, not just one. Opinions about music is subjective and everyone hears music differently. Listening to music and helping make music takes patience and a lot of listening. Listening is especially important when creating music with others because you have to pay attention to the sounds and beats that everyone else is making.

nyrsery rhymes for creative activites .mp4

Week 14: Exploring Rhythm Through Nursery Rhymes

I explored rhythm, one of the elements of music, through nursery rhymes.

I selected the following two nursery rhymes:

Humpty Dumpty
It's Raining, It's Pouring

Here are the words to the first nursery rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again

Here are the words to the second nursery rhyme:

It’s raining, it’s pouring,

The old man’s snoring.

He got into bed

And bumped his head

And couldn’t get up in the morning.

As I recited the first nursery rhyme, I clapped a steady beat. As I recited the second nursery rhyme, I clapped the rhythm of the words. The video at left documents this exploration of rhythm.

Week 14: Playing Along

I explored the elements of music by participating in a play-along.

I used the following objects as my instruments:

A plastic container
A card game
A glass cup
A metal cup
A carboard box

PXL_20220426_014233324.mp4

Week 14: Playing Along

I played along to a samba song.

Here are three different things children can learn about the elements of music - rhythm, timbre, dynamics, form, melody and harmony - by participating in a play-along:

Rhythm goes with the flow of the song and the beats that are in the music.
When working together, children may find it easier to find the harmony of music.
Playing different materials will teach different timbre and dynamics.

The video at left documents this exploration of the elements of music.

Week 15: Exploring Dance with Mister Rogers

I watched several videos featuring Fred Rogers, creator/host of the iconic PBS children’s series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

In the first video, Mister Rogers visits the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.misterrogers.org/special-guests/.

This video is an example of appropriate television programming for young children. Through this video children can learn the following 3 SPECIFIC things about dance.

Although dance may look easy, it takes a lot of skill and time.
Dance can be done by any gender at any age.
Dance requires a lot of patience and discipline.

Week 15: Exploring Dance with Mister Rogers

In the second video, Mister Rogers visits Ying Li.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Mister+Rogers+dance+harlem&&view=detail&mid=EF370D027AADE624460FEF370D027AADE624460F&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DMister%2520Rogers%2520dance%2520harlem%26qs%3Dn%26form%3DQBVR%26sp%3D-1%26pq%3Dmister%2520rogers%2520dance%2520harlem%26sc%3D0-26%26sk%3D%26cvid%3DAF4A03045D7E489A81696AF91CC4416A.

This video is an example of appropriate television programming for young children. Through this video children can learn the following 3 SPECIFIC things about dance.

Dance is a creative piece of art.
Dance can be done to show emotions and feelings through a piece of music.
Ther are many types of dances, but they all include the creative movement of the body.

Swan.mp4

Week 15: Moving Creatively

Representing Swans Through Creative Dance

I imagined I was a child who had been investigating swans and, as part of that investigation, had been invited to express with my body, through spontaneous creative movement, what I felt and thought about swans, while listening to a recording of “The Swan” by the composer Saint-Saens, performed by Yo Yo Ma (cello) and Kathryn Stott (piano). I explored the elements of creative dance - time, space and energy – during the activity. The video recording of my exploration appears at left.

This is how I explored time while moving creatively: During the song I moved fast and slow depending on the pace of the song.

This is how I explored space while moving creatively: I started off crouched down and I opened up throughout the song and used more space with my body

This is how I explored energy while moving creatively: Throughout the song I tried to mostly move freely and when the song slowed down, I would make more tense movements.

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