CHCFC508A: Foster children’s aesthetic and creative development

Support children to participate in the expressive arts

Contents

Encourage children to talk about their creations 3

Share enthusiasm for creative work with children 4

Encourage children to respect and appreciate the creative work of peers 6

Provide children with opportunities to discuss and explore artwork, design and/or images 7

Visiting museums, galleries and other areas of interest 7

References 9

2 Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 © NSW DET 2010

Encourage children to talk about their creations

It is essential that we maintain an atmosphere where children feel encouraged and supported in their creative pursuits and discoveries.

Observe, listen to and notice the child. Comment naturally and with real interest on what they are doing; acknowledge what your own senses are telling you and what engages your own aesthetic sense. Use descriptive language. ‘I can see, Kira that you have really thought about the colours you have chosen for your painting. That is very, lovely, gentle blue that you have used.’

Kira might then reply ‘Yes, it for the sky this morning’; which will naturally provoke further conversation. Much better than assuming what a child has created or painted. We have all probably said to a child at some point: ‘Wow, that’s a wonderful horse’, only to discover that is not a horse at all!

Be aware of cultural and individual differences regarding children’s preferred method of engaging in creative work and, how this may influence your interaction with them. Watch, listen and learn; value difference and diversity.

Provide opportunities to discuss creative work in both spontaneous and planned small group times, but never force a child to participate or be involved here. Encourage children to articulate what they see and feel by providing rich and powerful language that describes visual art and other creative experiences. ‘What wonderful, strong, dark lines you have drawn with the charcoal. They make me think of a dark, stormy day.’

Services in Reggio Emilia encourage conversations between children and children and children and staff as part of their child focused practice. Children are seen to learn much from one another and, are both encouraged and supported by thoughtfully posed questions and comments. Questions are used to provoke divergent and lateral thinking, consider a variety of ways to solve a problem and contribute to and collaborate on projects.

Be ever alert to possibilities for engagement and extension, but don’t be afraid to be silent sometimes as well. Sometimes conversations just need time, space and permission to develop.

Activity 1

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 3© NSW DET 2010

Share enthusiasm for creative work with children

As responsive carers we are naturally interested and excited about children’s creative work. Listed below are some ideas to prompt shared enthusiasm:

• Encourage children to talk about their visual art experiences in terms of both the process and product. ‘Jacob is really enjoying the cool, smooth feel of the clay.’, ‘Paris has made a wonderful pot, look at the interesting patterns, weaving in and out’

• Invite children’s comments. Open-ended questions can be very useful. ‘I wonder what’s happening here – would you like to you tell me about it, Isabel, it looks very bright and colourful?’ Other words to use are: who, where, why, what, when and how.

• Use acknowledgement and encouragement rather than praise. ‘Trevor, you are concentrating so hard on that collage’

• Observe, empathise and listen—verbalize your thoughts to the child. Talk about the process as the children are involved. That way you are valuing the process, not just the end result.

• Investigate materials with children and encourage them to spend time choosing them.

• Add materials according to children’s interests and emerging stories.• Children need time to experiment with materials and develop their skills

before moving on to more involved aspects. For example in collage work, developing from two-dimensional work on a paper base to three-dimensional work on boxes.

• Give children ample time to explore and experiment freely, to complete or revisit their art experiences. They may wish to work on it the next day or week later. Provide spaces and places for ongoing work and projects.

• Allow children to take their time and work at their own pace. Do not rush or hurry them.

• If a child says: ‘I don’t know how to draw it’, it often means the child does not know how to start. Talk to the child about where to start and break the task down into steps. Which part would they like to start on first? You could ask the child what they know about what they want to create and start from there. Perhaps find a picture or photo of what the child wishes to draw and use this as a provocation. Alternatively you could take the child to see what they wish to create—it may be a flower in the garden or a truck outdoors.

4 Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 © NSW DET 2010

• Gently guide children to replace brushes and other tools into the correct pots of paint. This will enable the next child to use the provision to become engaged in an exciting experience.

• Avoid asking children ‘what is it?’ when they have made something or drawn or painted something. If children show you that they want a response to what they have made, a suggestion could be ‘I see you have joined those pieces very carefully’ or ‘You have made those blocks stand up very well’.

Encourage and invite children's comments

• Help children brainstorm ideas. Try asking: ‘How could we change this?’ or ‘How could we fix this?’

• Provide a variety of tools and accessories to complement the experience, e.g. when children have experimented with clay or dough, provide rolling pins to flatten the piece.

• Remember it takes time for children to become proficient with materials. For example, show children how to use scissors rather than cutting for them.

• Value the child’s work. Use space thoughtfully for any display. Involve the child here in how their work is documented, remembered and presented. Always ask first.

There are more wonderful ideas about supporting and facilitating children’s creative expression in Rapunzel’s Supermarket, 2nd edn, and It’s not a Bird Yet: The Drama of Drawing by Ursula Kolbe.

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 5© NSW DET 2010

Encourage children to respect and appreciate the creative work of peers

Children are very skilled at supporting and encouraging one another. Recognise and support the value of peer interaction and guidance. A responsive carer can best facilitate this through thoughtful role-modeling and positive and constructive guidance.

Focus on encouraging children to develop an intrinsic appreciation of their own work, and that of others. Use questions and comments that allow for self reflection and development of their own approach to creative undertakings.

Respect each child’s unique and individual approach to the process of creating. Creativity is not a competition. Avoid comments like ‘Rona’s painting is the best I’ve seen today’ or ‘Jack is going to get a big stamp for his construction.’ Too many adults never pick up a pencil and draw today because their piece was never hung on the wall or ‘stamped’ as a child.

Encourage children to help each other. Children who have more experience will willingly help others and peer collaboration will result.

Children collaborating together on a visual art project

6 Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 © NSW DET 2010

Provide children with opportunities to discuss and explore artwork, design and/or images

Visiting museums, galleries and other areas of interestChildren’s programs offered by museums and galleries have developed greatly in the past decade. Many galleries and museums consider children as one of the most important segments of their visitors and provide age-specific exhibitions, workshops, holiday and weekend programs and interactive exhibitions. When we visit museums and galleries with children, we do not have to visit only exhibitions specifically for children. Adult visual art excites, empowers and invites children to discover and appreciate shapes, forms, colours, textures, patterns and light and shadow.

Harrison (1999, Rattler, Issue 51, p 6) suggests: ‘Within the community, museums and galleries aim to provide life-long learning patterns for visitors.’ Museums and galleries are becoming aware of community needs and offer exhibitions in the community, not just on site. For example, outreach programs attached to galleries and museums offer services to remote areas in the form of loans, mobile or travelling exhibitions and staff knowledge.

If you are unable to visit metropolitan or regional galleries and museums, local libraries hold minor exhibitions or art workshops for children. Local councils also hold festivals and a range of special cultural events.

Experiencing works of art first hand with children can be a very valuable and enriching experience. Kolbe (2002) makes the following suggestions when planning a visit to a museum or gallery.

Planning the visit• Find out what is to be shown in the exhibition ahead of time and, if

possible, collect some postcards and photographs of the exhibits.• Talk to the children about the exhibits beforehand.

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 7© NSW DET 2010

• It is preferable to take a small group of children, but if you take a large group make sure you can divide them into small groups with an adult.

• When you are there, talk with the children and ask questions, e.g. what do they notice, why did the artist use those colours? If possible, relate the works of art to the children’s own experiences.

• Perhaps you could take drawing materials and clipboards with you so that the children are able to record their visit.

• After a visit, give children art materials – perhaps drawing and/or painting so that they can revisit the exhibition in their own way. You will be surprised at the amount of detail in the children’s works and the recounting of their memories.

A collection of prints to inspire

Some galleries can be visited online. You or the children can click on images which you could then print. Here are some useful sites to investigate:

http://www.nga.gov.au and search for an exhibition called Frances Derham—Childhoods Past: Children’s Art of the 20th Century. You can click on the images. This exhibition is in the National Gallery of Australia. There is also information about Frances Derham who was a pioneer of child art in Australia.

http://www.nga.gov/kids (The National Gallery of Australia, Children’s site)

http://www.artsconnected.org (Arts connected)

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au (National Gallery of NSW)

Activity 2

Other areas of interestHere are some other ideas for promoting creativity in children.

• Visit a florist or nursery.• Visit the local shops.• Visit a hardware store.

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• Walk amongst gardens or your local park – look at trees, flowers, plant life.

• Visit different places of worship.

ReferencesHarrison (1999) Rattler, Issue 51.

Diploma of Children’s Services: CHCFC508A: Reader LO 9326 9© NSW DET 2010