Nurturing Creativity: The Importance of Art in Early Childhood Education

1. Chapter OneEDU 216

2. Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up. - Pablo Picasso

3. Children between the ages of 1-8 are busy discovering the nature in their world. • They are not creating a product---- they are involved in a process! • Why do you think this statement is true? • Children are at play! • They gain control of their motor skills. • They learn to use symbols

4. Toddler • Need to explore with all senses • Limited self-regulatory skills • Engage in parallel play • Developing large muscle control • Short attention spans • Need to repeat actions • Understand more than they can say

5. Toddler Activity • Activities that allow for exploration • Activities that allow to manipulate materials • Give few instructions • Have close supervision

6. Three Year Old • Shows more self control • Usually does not put inappropriate things in mouth • Developing control over wrists, hands and fingers • Increased attention span

7. Activities • Offer a wider variety of materials • Value the process not the product • Encourage to use materials • Supervision still required

8. Four and Five Year Olds • Exhibits a more mature grip on drawing tools • Can concentrate for about 30 minutes on an activity • Can work with a small group and share supplies • May dictate or write stories • Can follow a 3 step direction • Can classify objects and make predictions • Can use words to describe qualities of objects

9. Activities • Can use a variety of media • Can be self selected or group activity • Ready for aesthetic and art appreciation activities • Use art to express ideas • Can work on their own, and manage materials with adult supervision

10. Six Seven and Eight Year Olds • Holds materials with a mature grip • Can concentrate for up to an hour on a project or an on-going project • Can initiate, participate, and assume roles in cooperative group activities • May write stories • Understand that objects can share more than one quality.

11. Activity • Need to have self selected activities with a wide range of materials • Be introduced to art activities that require specialized skills or sequencing projects • Can be expected to carry out and organizing art activities Describe a time when you observed a non-age appropriate or age appropriate activity with a partner.

12. Why Should art be taught to young children? • To be an integral part of their lives • Purpose could be decorative • Purpose could be communicative • Purpose could be aesthetically pleasing • Purpose could be spiritually expressive 

13. Art is a Child’s First Language (Reggio) • It is essential to the growth of their minds. • Children do not separate art from their daily activities • It reflects how children’s minds are dealing with the world • It is through the exploration of materials and environment that children begin to develop graphic symbols to represent thought.

14. Art Helps Children Grow by: • Improves well-being • Builds visual perception • Creates Community • Develops Thinking • Child’s first language • Nurtures Creativity

15. What are the components of a thoughtful art program for young children?  • Goals - The long term changes in behavior that the activity is meant to foster. (The goal cannot be done with one activity.) • Environment - Surrounds the child where they think and learn. It is where they think and learn. • Delivery - This is how the activity is presented. • Activities - The activities provide the content - the concepts, tools, media, and techniques.

16. Current Research • Gardner- When activities, children can learn in whatever way best fits their intellectual strengths. • Olson (1997) - Children learn to write in the same way written language developed from pictures. (Children’s drawings as “first order SYMBOLS” that represent objects or actions.) Olson proposes a joining of art and language instruction. Art is the beginning of writing. 

17. Current Research • In the Reggio Emilia Preprimary Schools, children’s art is used as one method of recording observations, ideas, and memories of experiences. • Katz and Chard (1990) - Art, rather than being a separate part of the curriculum, is then used throughout the curriculum as an important way children can explore ideas and communicate about the project or theme. • Torrance (1970) - defined creativity as being able to see a problem, form ideas about, and then communicate the results. 

18. Creativity is not something that can be taught, but something that must be nurtured.

19. A thoughtful art program should: • Help a child grow • Educate the whole child • Be taught by someone who can think artistically • Integrate art into the curriculum • Use art to express what they know

20. A thoughtful art program should: • Provide perceptual, sensory and kinesthetic experiences • Encourage self-reflection and responding to the art of others • Introduce children to rich visual experiences from a wide range of artistic heritages • Provide an environment in which the creative process can flourish

21. For next Tuesday…. • Read chapter two. • E-mail me one paragraph reaction about this evening. (Preferred michele_beery@wilmington.edu) • Personal timeline (page 59) Due 1-26-10 • Begin looking for lesson plans and an article to review. • I’ll be sending you the arts standards and power points for Chapter 2.