Nurturing Young Artists

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 07:17:00 +0000

In our art programs for toddlers and preschoolers, we focus on process- based art activities. This means that the child is free to explore and make observations about the art activity without direction towards a final finished product. As parents, we frequently want to "help"our child make the project "correctly." Especially during holidays, we want to have cute crafty projects created by our children to pull out in later years. However, this can inhibit the child's creativity. Prominent art educator and writer MaryAnn Kohl says the following:

“Art is a creative process, not a pre-planned product. Picture the difference. A child is given cotton balls, glue, scraps of paper, and a paper plate. These materials will become part of a creative experiment for a child, as they manipulate and explore the possibilities. There is no planned design or product. However, if someone were to require the child to make a bunny on the paper plate from a pre-designed bunny that is shown to the child as the example to follow, all creativity is lost and the project becomes a craft.”

Here's an article with more on this topic

Wow! Study Shows Big Benefits of Kindermusik!

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:09:00 +0000

During our class time, I don’t always mention the reasoning behind each activity. However, Kindermusik’s curriculum is based on the most up-to-date research in child development, and there is a reason and focus for each activity. Now, a new study shows the benefits of these activities.

A recent study found that repeated enrollment in Kindermusik improves a child’s ability to plan, guide, and control their own behavior.

“Children currently enrolled in Kindermusik showed higher levels of self-control than those never enrolled and those previously enrolled. …This suggests that in order for children to reap the benefit of increased self-control as a result of Kindermusik participation, it is important to have repeated and recent Kindermusik experiences and remain enrolled in the program.”

“Four-year-old children who had been exposed to Kindermusik for longer periods of time are better off in terms of self-control—namely a child’s ability to plan, guide, and control their own behavior—than similar children with less Kindermusik history.”

“These experiences, stop-go, high-low, fast-slow, short-long, and loud-soft, whereby children’s motor behavior is guided by the music, appear to be good exercise for young children’s emerging self-regulatory skills.”

The study, “The Effects of Kindermusik on Behavioral Self-Regulation in Early Childhood,” was conducted in 2005 in the psychology department at George Mason University in Virginia.

Results were made available to Kindermusik in May, 2005. The study was conducted by Adam Winsler Ph.D and graduate student Lesley Ducenne in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University.

The 15-month study included 91 children between the ages of 3 and 5 who were split into three groups: 23 students currently enrolled in Kindermusik, 19 students previously enrolled in Kindermusik, and 49 students of similar family backgrounds from local preschools who had never had Kindermusik.

The children were observed doing a variety of tasks that required self-control such as slowing down their motor behavior, delaying their gratification, refraining from touching attractive but forbidden toys, quietly whispering, and compliance with instructions to initiate or stop certain behaviors. Parents also completed surveys.

The study was supervised by Adam Winsler, Ph.D, Applied Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University.

Art Ideas-Ocean Bottle

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:05:00 +0000

The kids in the Discovery Tree Art & Story class enjoyed some great activities and art projects this summer. Here’s one quick and easy art idea you can do at home.

Ocean Wave Bottle: Toddlers, preschoolers, and even older kids will love making this wave bottle. They will enjoy making the blue waves rock gently back and forth.

You need: an empty plastic water bottle with lid, oil, water, liquid blue food coloring, and superglue (optional, to keep child from opening the bottle).

Fill the bottle about half full of water, then add oil to the top. We used vegetable oil, you could also use baby oil. Let your child drop in some blue food coloring- at least 5 or 6 drops. Be sure to watch as the blue drops slowly drift through the oil. Put a small amount of superglue around the rim, and tightly fasten the cap. Let your child shake the bottle gently to disperse the coloring.

The clear oil will create a layer on top of the blue water and will create waves when gently rocked. If the bottle is shaken vigorously the oil and water will temporarily combine, but will separate again.