learning &development

THE

Most early years settings are well-organised when it comes toproviding opportunities forspontaneous activities in the arts

and crafts area. Many have established ‘arttrolleys or shelves’ which give childrenopportunities to select resources and createtheir own works of art, be they collages,drawings, paintings, prints or cuttings.Alongside these paper-based activities, thereare often opportunities to use play dough,modelling clay and boxes and other materialssuch as short pieces of wood to producethree dimensional constructions too.

Much of the success of these activitiesdepends on the quality of resources and onthe adults’ attitude – in particular, theirwillingness to give young children the timeand opportunity to explore what can be done.The key is to introduce techniques such asprinting or marbling and then make themreadily available for the children to use whenthey are ready and when they have time to experiment and to find out what can be achieved.

Teach Nursery 27

Some settings also provide for creativeexpression in the outdoor classroom – oftenencouraging large constructions and givingopportunities for painting using large brushes.There is no doubt children benefit from theseresources. However, have you everconsidered providing the same freedom ofaccess to activities by offering an ‘outdoor artshelf’, with different resources such as twigs,leaves and petals, pebbles and other nature-given resources, which can be found in thegarden, during walks in the local park and atforest school activities. These can enhancechildren’s sensory learning and extend yourcollage and construction resources.

This kind of outdoor provision may alsoencourage social skills and promoteopportunities for children to make individualcontributions to cooperative efforts. Why notcreate a tree mobile that can be decoratedwith a variety of hangings made by differentchildren such as birds made of twigs, CDreflectors, rainbows made from see-throughcoloured plastic sheets, and bows and plaitscreated from ribbons and strips of fabric.

Creative thinkingElsewhere, why not use a large sheet ofchicken wire (be careful to protect the edgesas they can be very sharp), securely attachedto the nursery fence, as a base for groupweaving. Provide a basket with strips of fabricand ribbons, wools and coloured pipecleaners, silver foil and strips of plasticsheeting. You could exchange theseresources for natural weaving materials suchas blades of grass, leaves, twigs and petals.Encourage large constructions using largehollow blocks (if your setting is lucky enoughto have them) or substitute these withcardboard packing cases or plastic crates.Use the sandpit to create a sculpture withpebbles, shells and twigs available forpossible adornment. Provide clay for makingpots and animals.

Use the ground to make pictures withcoloured chalk or large sheets of paper forfootprints, handprints or, if you’re feeling braveon a hot day, a body print. The outdoorclassroom offers opportunities for large-scalework and for leaving activities unfinished to becontinued the next day.

Talking to children about their art projects,inside or outside, can be an interestingcontribution to their creative process;however, here we need to tread cautiously –asking direct questions may pressurizechildren into giving answers. Expressingappreciation of colours, shapes and forms is agood way to begin such conversations. Someof the Reggio Emilia documentation providesa good guide to gaining a deeperunderstanding of adults’ role in contributing tochildren’s creativity.

Finally, having an artist in residence isanother excellent way to stimulate children’screativity, while giving them new ideas aboutthe different techniques they can use.Remember, at all times it is important tocelebrate each individual’s or group’s efforts;photographing the various contributors atwork and so recording the steps andprogress of their artistry is one way of doingthis. Sharing the photographs with childrenwill give practitioners further insight intochildren’s thinking. And parents will benefitfrom these pictorial records too, by gaining afresh insight into their children’s creativity.

METHODMontessori Taking arts and

crafts activitiesoutside caninvigorate young

children’s creativity, saysBarbara Isaacs...

RETRAIN WITH THE WORLD’S

LARGEST GLOBAL EDUCATION

MOVEMENT FROM HOME…

Montessori Centre International is Europe’s

largest Montessori training college. Its

distance learning course offers you the

flexibility and support to study when and

where you want – in your own time and in

your own home. To find out more about

Montessori home learning, visit

montessori.org.uk/mci_training

or call 020 7493 8300.

takingitfurther

Montessori Qx_Layout 1 05/10/2012 14:34 Page 3