Writing and Drawing Resources in ECE
Te Whāriki
(1996) mentions that children should be given the opportunity to develop “skills with media that can be used for expressing
a mood or a feeling or for representing information, such as crayons, pencils,
paint, blocks, wood, musical” (p.80). The Technology of pencils, pens,
crayons and coloured pencils has really changed the dynamics of teaching. Within
my centre all of the above is available at all times in two areas inside and
two areas outside. We have each utensil grouped accordingly so that the
children can identify the resource and the grouping. The children have access
to these drawing /writing tools throughout the whole day and are able to move
them to a different area if they prefer not to draw/write there. Within Te Whāriki
(1996) it states that “Children should have easy access to resources that enable
them to express themselves creatively and that help them to develop concepts of
mathematics, reading, and writing.” (p.73). At these areas I consistently make
minor changes to encourage the children to use these resources through
providing different shape, size, colour, and textured materials to write and draw
on.
Due to my
philosophy I don’t really like talking to children too much while they are
writing or drawing as I feel that it can put them off their own individual plan
even just by me interrupting. I do a lot
of observations and wait for the child to include me within their writing or
drawing which often happens as they are very proud of their work and want to show
me. This then gives me the opportunity to talk about the colours that they have
used and so on. Too often I see other teachers trying to just add a comment
about the child’s drawing as they walk past such as “wow that looks great” but
in actual fact that has stopped there train of thought and the child then
usually stops what they are doing after a couple more seconds. Through
observation I am able to see the children’s pencil grip and how there fine
motor skills are developing. I have a small book in which I jot any major
development I observe. I may note that a child is left handed and continues to
hold the pencil really high and then after encouraging the child to find a
comfy spot lower down the pencil I will note when and if the child is doing
this confidently. This makes for great documentation of history and present
development. Observing drawing and writing allows for me to facilitate the
development and recognition of their colours, shapes, symbols, feelings, fist –
four fingers – pincer grip development.
Children
are able to gain many skills through having access to writing and drawing resources.
The child is able to develop their fine motor skills through gripping the
pencil. Children are able to make decisions about what to use and develop
recognition over the different effects each tool makes. Children are able to
develop their understanding of colour and hand eye co-ordination through
something that is not teacher led but offers complete child control. The child
is able to be creative with the writing and drawing tools through mixing them
together and exploring in a way that they cannot fail this develops “skill and confidence with the processes of
art and craft, such as cutting, drawing, collage, painting, print-making,
weaving.” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.80)
Reference list
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te
whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā
mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand:
Learning Media.
Kia ora Sam,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading you blog on the writing and drawing resources in your centre. I like how you have multiple areas that are set up throughout the day, where the children are able to move to freely and express themselves. I also like how you mentioned that you are constantly making little changes to the resources in these areas. I think that it is important to have a range of resources for the children to explore, so that they don’t get bored and disinterested with using the same resources, and that they are able to express themselves in a range of ways.
I found it interesting how you mentioned that you do a lot of observing, while children draw and write, and wait for them to spark conversation. I also agree that children can get put off when teachers are constantly interrupting, and that sometimes it is just better to leave them to it. It is great that you are taking notes of the children’s development. They are able to learn so many skills through writing and drawing, such as; fine motor skills and the recognition of different symbols etc, it would be interesting to be able to look at their history of development and how far they have come.
One idea that I have, that I think you may find interesting, is putting on music, which reflects the mood, while the children are drawing and writing. I have also found a great activity that is similar to ‘musical chairs’ but instead of using chairs, the children draw on the paper when the music is on and stop when the music stops. http://aplaceofourown.org/activity.php?id=224
Kia Ora Sam, What a great blog you have written here.
ReplyDeleteI really like how your centre ensures that crayons, pencils, blocks, paint, wood and musical items are accessible at all times for children. This is so important to inspire the children to get creative by using these technological tools. Also I like how these tools are accessible in so many areas. I have not come across this before these resources have always been made available in one area either outside or inside. I think this would be great for us to implement in our centre.
While reading your blog I found it interesting how you really appreciate the child’s thought processes and the way they work while drawing etc. This is so great because so many teachers don’t think about this and constantly feel the need to talk or interrupt children while they are busy. When, as you have said it interrupts the child’s train of thought and can put them off what they are doing. If you wanted to incorporate some more technology into your experiences with children you could maybe put a camera nearby. This may help children initiate more of their own learning by taking photos of their own or others work.
I found this awesome clip on youtube you could show your children if you wanted to to incorporate more technology and teach them how to draw. I think you’ll really like this Sam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ENor1NUlo
Sam this was a great blog to read about, I love that way that your centre allows them to have drawing utensil both inside and out as this can change the way a child may be feeling depending on the environment they are in. I also really love how you included your philosophy into there and how you allow that children to explore freely without you talking or interrupting them. This is a good skill for teachers to have as I feel may teachers lose this skill and then become unable to judge whether it is the right time to interrupt a child.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see you make observations as these are the keys tools for a teacher to be able to make change and also it is good to see you making note as well, as this is a good way to go back and see what needs to be changed and have a good reason for it to be change. In this blog you have explained good ways in which you allow children to write and draw, from what I have read it seems like you are very keen on getting your children to learn to write and hold the pencil right there is a great site that you can print out different pages that can support children in learning these skills.
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/newzealand/#.UD6KuMEgfX8
Kia Ora Sam, It’s great to see that you provide a range of these resources daily and are always accessible for the children. As my centre is a mixed aged setting, some of the resources a kept away or higher so that the younger infants and toddlers can’t reach them. This is a safety issue as well as a concern as the older children aren’t always able to access the resources and then hindering them from using them. I can see that these are valuable resources that children (especially preschool) should have access to so that they can express themselves and also use have practice using these different types of non-digital technology.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you foster children when using these resources by observing them and waiting for them to invite you into their play. This is a great teaching tool when children are exploring new or different resources. As children have so much knowledge already, teachers should be using these experiences to allow children to explore what they already know, be curious and problem solve. By teachers jumping in and interrupting the children we can actually create children to be disinterested or stop their train of thought.