Make Your Mark!

Dots and lines on a child’s early work may seem meaningless, but often carry much more significance if we look and listen a little more closely.

Imagine that you were holding a crayon for the very first time.

Imagine the feeling of making your very first mark......

The realisation that you had the control to create something permanent…

What meaning could a line hold?

-a child’s freedom to move his/her arms

-a child’s freedom to explore the sounds made as he/she makes lines or dots

-a child’s visual activity in connection with his/her kinesthetic activity

-a child’s exploration of movement “round and round” , "up and down”, “dot dot"

-a child's exploration of mathematical concepts e.g. Length, shape, size etc

-a child's attempt to communicate through writing
"See I can write my own name!"

-a child’s attempt to make sense of his/her world

~The re-enactment of an experience:

Liam drew a line and dots and as he drew he said “Liam is running (the line) and jump, jump, jump! (dots)”

~A visual record of an experience:

Alyssa painted a sequence of large zig-zag lines and said that her drawing was about a “lion dance”

-a child’s expression of his/her imaginary world

“This is Erik flying”

Let Them Draw!j

Let’s consider for a moment:

What happens when we try to control the lines a child makes or to teach them the ‘correct’ way of drawing?

What happens when we ask a child to “draw something!” when all they really wanted to do was to let their arms move free?

What happens when we tell the child what we think they have drawn rather than what they were trying to portray?

Alternatively, what happens when we value the marks a child makes?

“That’s an interesting line. It goes up and down and up and down!"

Giving value to a child’s work by spending time observing it, or discussing what we see in a non-judgmental way, may send the message that we care, providing a sense of security, opening a door for the child to communicate more about his/her experiences.

When a child learns that he/she has freedom in drawing, that the marks made are valued, the child may begin to develop confidence in his/her ability to explore concepts and to communicate or express thoughts, ideas and experiences through mark making. 

Let them make their mark on the world <3

PROCESS over Product!

PROCESS over Product!

The Importance of Process Art with Young Children

by Miss Jess Lam-Chan, 11 January 2016

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

“I can do it!”

Children are in control of their own experiences; they learn that they have the ability to take direction, make decisions and that their opinions and ideas matter.

As they are not expected to create a pre-determined product, they can experience success and feel pride in their own creations.

Creativity

Children are free to explore materials at their own pace, discover different ways in which they can use the materials, combine materials and take them apart in infinite ways. The more time children have with a particular material, the more confident they will be in their use of it and may discover new ways to create with it.

Communication

Children are actively making sense of the world around them and can express their thoughts, feelings and experiences through art.

Children may also use their art as a starting point for further communication.

Cognitive

Children are not following a set of instructions or a finished sample. As such, they may need to observe, predict, plan, problem solve and make decisions. They develop flexibility in their thinking as they discover multiple ways of using materials.

Sensory

Giving children the space to put their hands into paint, glue, clay etc stimulates their senses and this “contributes in crucial ways to brain development. Think of it as “food for the brain”. Stimulating the senses sends signals to children’s brains that help to strengthen neural pathways important for all types of learning”, (S. Gainsley, 2011, Highscope Extensions, Vol.25, No.5, Pg 2)

Physical

Both small and large muscles get a work out through various art experiences. For example, manipulating play dough or clay helps with the development of fine motor skills needed for writing.

 

Isaac observes a friend squeezing paint from a squeeze bottle (which had been independently retrieved fr
om our art shelf). Isaac explores this technique on two different surfaces- paper and mirror.

Gabby combined different materials and media to create this piece of work.

Andrew pours coloured glue onto a piece of paper and feels the glue with his hands.

Process-Focused Art VS Product-Focused Art

An extract from: http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences

Characteristics of process-focused art experiences

• There are no step-by-step instructions

• There is no sample for children to follow

• There is no right or wrong way to explore and create

• The art is focused on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, and materials

• The art is unique and original

• The experience is relaxing or calming

• The art is entirely the children’s own

• The art experience is a child’s choice

• Ideas are not readily available online

What children might say

“Look what I made!”

“I’m going to do another!”

“Can I have more time?”

Characteristics of product-focused art experiences

• Children have instructions to follow

• The teacher created a sample for children to copy

• There’s a right and a wrong way to proceed

• There’s a finished product in mind

• The children’s finished art all looks the same

• The children experience frustration

• The teacher might “fix mistakes”

• The whole class took part in an art project at the same time

• Patterns and examples are readily available online

What children might say

“Can I be done now?”

“Is this right?”

“I can’t do it.”

“Mine doesn’t look like yours.”

Three Simple Steps to  Provide and Encourage Process-focused Art Experiences:

-Offer TIME and SPACE for free, child-directed exploration of art materials

-Appreciate what your child has created e.g. displaying their work in a frame

-Comment, non-judgmentally, about what you see  e.g. “There are so many yellow dots!”, "That's a long line you drew!"

 Oh...and there's just one more step to add....

ENJOY THE PROCESS! :)