I was recently asked to facilitate a 5 part creative arts series. Through discussion with the educator who reached out to see what they were interested in exploring in this series, we started with the idea of expressive arts and ended up creating content that would look at creative arts and making connections to How Does Learning Happen?
We started with our first session to be a discussion around the difference between process and product based are. Rather than having a conversation about one is better than the other, we looked at when one might be a suitable option over another. Educators were also invited to think about the materials and experiences they currently have available to the children (on a regular basis). They were also encouraged to reflect on how much input the children have in deciding what they want to create and how much time it takes them to prep specific art activities and invitations.
As the weeks went on, I brought a variety of different materials for the educators to explore and discuss more together. Through our discussions, we were able to uncover some barriers or hesitations, problem solve, share ideas and set some goals. In week 2 the educators were able to explore a variety of pens, markers, pastels, crayons and water colour paints with a variety of papers. In week 3, I brought some open ended materials with clay, sticks, wire, pipe cleaners and twine. Week 4 was all about print making – a variety of materials to make different marks and prints along with different ways to use paint in the printmaking process. Our final week offered materials from nature along with paper, markers, crayons and pencils to explore.
During our final discussion, I incorporated a question from a separate PD I am participating in that allows us to think about the possibilities of concepts they might explore or encounter to be aware of how they may show us this rather than planning for specific outcomes or way(s) they will engage with the materials. What concepts might children encounter or explore through a variety of art materials? This question allowed the educators to reflect on the materials and discussions over our time together in this series. Some of the answers that were captured included: transparency, reflections, emotions, permanency, cause & effect, texture, sharing, belonging, light, friendship, colours, shadows, sorting, nature, self-reg, mixing, identity, pouring, and living & non-living things. We continued the conversation to discuss how we might notice they are exploring these concepts with the different materials we have explored throughout the series.
In addition to offering community professional development opportunities to bring educators and staff together, ELQI is also available to offer PD to your centre/program specific to your current goals and interests. Reach out if you are wanting to have ELQI facilitate a PD opportunity for your centre or program.
Early Learning Quality Initiative 