Chalk City

It is a perfect sunny day: not too sunny, not too cold. A jeans a jumper kind of day. What do you do you might ask? Well, normally I would say go for a nature walk or catch a train for an outing in the city. But on this particular day, our baby girl was sleeping, dad took our car to get serviced so Lachlan and I were stuck at home.
Being the clever little lady that I am, I asked Lachlan if we could bring the city to us. "Oh yeah!" he said ever so excitedly. "How might we do that?" I probed him. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "How about we use this chalk?" The wheels began turning in his head at this point. "We draw a city, mommy!"...and so we did. I asked Lachlan what our city needed: a Woolies (our local supermarket),hospital,police and fire stations,school, park (with a slide and sandbox, of course) and most importantly a train station. How could Lachlan live in any city without a train station?! I added a church and some additional houses.

So there on our driveway we drew what would be hours of fun. We both crawled back and forth on the concrete moving our cars around on the road that we both ended up with holes on the knees of our pants. I asked Lachlan where we should drive to next in our town and as we arrived to our destinations we realised we had no where to park. This is the best thing about a chalk city, you just draw as you go! We added parking spots and trees where we thought trees should go. When we came to railway tracks, Lachlan said we needed boomgates so we drew some too. Before you knew it we had a very busy town complete with a zoo and skyway or sky "train" as Lachlan likes to call it. The next best thing about a chalk city is that it is cheap! Got a driveway or sidewalk? Yes, you say? well then you are halfway there! Find a piece of chalk and a few cars and you are all set. If your child is deprived of toy cars then grab a couple of rocks or sticks and pretend those are cars. Use your imagination and have fun!

The Hundred Languages of Children

Like most professionals in child development, I have done a lot of reflecting. As a teacher I spent time reflecting on what I just saw a child do; why is he doing it? why is it so important to him? I may not know the answer but I know it important to let him continue for as long as he needs to achieve his goal. As a researcher I reflected in a similar way; what am I looking at? What could this possibly mean? If I altered this would I have the same effect?  As I parent I suppose I reflect in all the above ways while looking at Lachlan. I often think that this is how the great Piaget must of felt; watching his children, documenting them and wondering so many things. I do hope Piaget had time to enjoy his children's childhood and took the time to sit back at some point and just take it all in without wonder but just watch in pure delight and simplicity; those are the best moments for me, although I will continue to be fascinated my Lachlan's development!

It wasn't until after I graduated university that I began to explore a philosophy  that made me do more reflecting than I have ever done in my early childhood journey.The Reggio Emilia Approach, which you can read about in past blogs (search Reggio, on the blog and some snippets will pop up) is one that has fascinated the world. Thousands of educators/researchers flock to the mid-sized Italian town each year to study and tour their schools. I think like me, these people leave so inspired but yet feeling like they have so many more questions to ask. When you talk to the educators there, they provoke so many more thoughts and questions that you feel like Pandora's box has just been opened and you realise there is sooooooo much more that you need to try to wrap your head around. This is difficult for those that don't live in the Reggio culture and community. Culture and community is so important to their education of children in a way that busy Americans and Australians certainly can not understand. We say that these things are important but we really don't have a society structured for this. Our busy lifestyles and pursuit for individual dreams has left us more separated than ever before. Many people don't know their neighbours and couldn't call the parents of their child's classmates by their first names, let alone name all the children in their class without a reminder. All of this doesn't necessarily mean that our culture breeds selfish people or bad parents, I'm sure we make up for it in other ways. What it does mean is that we just can't take a philosophy such as the Reggio Emilia Approach and implement it into our own culture with a flick of a switch. We can take pieces here and their but it will become altered and transformed by our own influences; as it should!

Loris Malaguzzi is an amazing educator who founded the Reggio Emilia Approach (really the children 'founded' it but he was the one who recognised and labelled what he saw from the children and what educators could provide to further their development.) Below is his description of what he calls 'The Hundred Languages of Children' which is the foundation of the Reggio Curriculum. It has been translated to English. I hope you will read it and like all poems spend some time to reflect on what the words mean to you and what they would mean to your child.

The Hundred Languages

The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.
And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

-Loris Malaguzzi (translated by Lella Gandini)

I was very blessed to be able to go a few weeks ago to The Hundred Languages Exhibition that tours around the world. An organisation that I belong to, the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange, received some funding from the state of Victoria and was able to sponsor this brilliant exhibition. It was wonderful to not only see educators attend but parents who were just passing by drop in to see the exhibition. The exhibition was free and for the whole community and I really hope that it was enjoyed by many. There were certainly many parents in awe by what they saw and inspired by the work of children in Reggio, as it showcased many of the children's projects (ideas and thoughts they came up with at school which they used materials to explore and experiment). Parent and educators are fascinated by the concepts these children come up with and the ways they go about representing it. The exhibition is a great example of how far children can go to teach themselves if we provide the right materials and use provocation to send their questions down various trajectories. I highly recommend all parents to see this exhibition if you can and bring your children! It is interactive. I've included some photos of Lachlan exploring the exhibition hall in this blog.

Let It Be

We can learn a lot from the Beatles; specifically Paul McCartney's mother who used to whisper those wonderful words of wisdom, "Let it be." Those lyrics always seem to run into my head whenever I'm around a bunch of parents who are supervising their children doing an art and craft. Lachlan is in a few play sessions throughout the week and there is always a craft time. Now 'craft' to me is an activity that one sets out to do with an anticipated outcome; such as making a wind chime or a sock puppet. Craft time at play group consists of an example of something for the children to make with the same materials provided so they may replicate it. That is craft. We don't do many craft projects at home. We are more of an expressive arts family so I leave out all sorts of materials (known as the hundred languages of children) for Lachlan to decide what he'd like to create or invent. He enjoys both art and craft so it is nice for him to have the opportunity to do both.

I always get itchy eyes however when I watch these craft experiences at play groups and even some schools I visit. There are always a handful of parents who just can not 'let it be.' For whatever reason they take over the child's craft or direct them as to exactly where they should place something. I feel sorry for the children of parents with this type of personality because they miss out on an opportunity to practice important developmental skills and also to be creative. Can't craft after all have a creative element? Why can't a child decide what colour to paint the wind chime or what creature he wants to make his sock puppet. Who cares if the chime doesn't sound lovely to us if it sounds lovely to the child? So what if the eyes of a sock puppet are where the ears should be if the child can say in the end, "I made this myself!"

A classic example is one I witness every week of a parent taking over her child's art activity. Every week the parent asks the child if she wants to do a craft and the preschooler skips over eager to participate. It begins well; the child selects her materials and begins pasting them to the paper. Soon she is interrupted with "don't paste them all around the same spot!" The child doesn't skip a beat though and continues to paste them where she wants them to go. Again the mother chimes in, "Spread them out." (The chorus of 'Let It Be' begins to play in my head...)This time the mom moves the already pasted items to another location on the paper. The child so used to this just sits back and now looks around the room at what else she can play. (how I really want to whisper those words of wisdom...)The mother oblivious of the child's lack of interest now continues working on the art project and finishes the entire thing and also making corrections to her daughter's previous pastings. Quite proud of herself the mother says to her child, "Now look there. You did a beautiful job on this picture!"....Now I'm telling MYSELF to 'Let it Be!' because I want to say, "Are you crazy? Hello? YOU did a beautiful job, not your daughter. Well, she was doing a beautiful job until you decided to become the craft Nazi and take over her creation!!" Of course being the good sport that I am and afraid that this reaction might be frowned upon at play group, I bite my tongue and focus on Lachlan's creation. His of course looked nothing like the example. There were pieces here, there and everywhere. It was beautiful to him and that is all that mattered. He had a big smile on his face when he was finished which tells me he was quite proud of his work.

I understand that when children reach primary school that they may be asked to replicate something and may be graded according to how well they completed the task. Generally in this case, the child is asked to make something that is within their developmental capacity. The teacher wouldn't ask them to make a bird house if he didn't feel the child could use a glue bottle and read directions on a paper. The objective of many of these assignments are just that; seeing if the child can follow simple part directions. Young children however are still trying to fit all the pieces together of how things work and how they will appear if they do this or that. They are working on holding scissors and crayons, squeezing glue bottles, drawing squiggles which will become lines or circles over time. They need the freedom to just 'be' to get the feel of how to make things work for themselves. It takes a lot of experimentation and trial and error for them to do this. This is in fact how children become good problem-solvers; by testing the waters out for themselves and figuring out what works and what doesn't. If parent step in before a child waves the white flag, we are taking away important learning opportunities and also sending the message of  'you can't do this on your own. you need me.' Let's let the children figure out when they need help. Most of the time they will ask for it and if you have a shy child or one who gets frustrated easily, simply ask them if they would like help before you jump in.

Well that's all from my little soap box this evening. A little food for thought. Hopefully something will resonate within some parent that is reading this. If you have been a craft Nazi, it is okay. It doesn't mean you are a bad parent, it just mean that perhaps you can examine your tactics and try to loosen up a bit. Try letting your child be in control for a change. You might even have time to have a cup of tea during this time. Imagine that? Until next time...Happy Parenting!

Emerging Ideas: What Can We Do?

When I do work as a consultant, one of the most common questions I get asked by child care professionals is, "what activities can we do with our under three's? It seems like all we do is the same stuff over and over!" It can be tricky to come up with new ideas to stimulate your child or infant, especially if you are interacting with your child based on an emergent or Reggio approach, where you offer resources and activities based on interest that you have observed from your child. Most children under the age of two are not speaking in complete sentences or are pre-verbal so it makes it even more challenging to try to figure out what they are interested in. I generally say to people, "watch, watch, watch!...and pay attention very closely to what they are trying to accomplish developmentally." Lachlan for example began on a "things that turn" kick when he was about nine months old. He wanted to get his hands and fingers on anything that could rotate; great for cognitive and fine motor development. At almost 17 months he is still fascinated by wheels, gears, knobs...you name it. I began to feed this interest by offering these items: cars, a telephone with a dial (remember those!...always remove the chord, please!), a toy stroller for his doll and "Ted," and his favourite; trains! From there 'things that turn' evolved into 'transportation vehicles.' At the moment his mind is delighted by Thomas the Tank Engine, small wooden cars, our council rubbish collection truck and airplanes. We draw pictures, use paint rollers (that turn!) sing songs and play with magnets that portray these items...and of course offer books on the topic! We never forget the books in our house! I found some Thomas books at a garage sale which Lachlan has fallen in love with. I'm not generally in to buying children a bunch of licensed character stuff but when we were out shopping Lachlan pointed to something and said "Thom, Thom." When I looked there was a tracksuit with Thomas. I couldn't resist and it was on sale (okay, that is my excuse like all good moms!) He was so excited when I bought it. He hugged the sweatshirt all the way home. When he wears it and we ask, "Where is Thomas?" he looks for him on his shirt. Thomas has definitely become a favourite in our house and it wasn't from watching him on TV. It was from books! He does now have a die-cast Thomas and a few friends which he happily chugs around the house.

We also made a box car with an medium size box. Lachlan did all the work. I handed him some plates for wheels and he coloured them and the box. I let him stick the wheels on the box where ever he wanted--this is an important element when doing any creative activity; let your child create and invent, avoid trying to manipulate them or their work to make a 'picture perfect' piece of art. There is nothing expressive or creative about that; that is just reproduction and replication, not expressive art!

Noticing what your child is doing developmentally, will be a big help in determining what activity they are ready for. When Lachlan began taking an interesting in placing pegs into his peg board, I figured that he might like trying to stick other objects into things (don't worry I didn't give him a straightened hanger and light socket, so put down the phone). Instead I took out some play-dough and popsicle sticks. He concentrated very intently on the materials. He had to learn that he need to use a certain amount of force to push the sticks down enough so that they would stay. Lachlan has always been so gentle when he plays and moves things, you could tell he really wanted to just gingerly place the sticks on the dough, but the result wasn't what he wanted so he learned to be a bit more forceful. I then offered him feathers to place in the dough. He enjoyed the textures and experimenting with the different level of resistance the dough and the feather bring when joined together. All of this intrigued him for a good 10-15 minutes which is not bad for a toddler; he is about 15 months old at the time. That of course is something else to consider; avoid getting your hopes up thinking that your little one will sit for a half hour or more engrossed in something. They are usually into it or they aren't! Never force something and respect when they have had enough. They like to stick around long enough to get out of it whatever they feel they need. When they have had enough they are ready to move on to something else...and they will!

Sometimes when children are bored with materials you have provided, they may often what to leave the table or area and take the materials with them to do something else. If what they want to do is not destructive, then I encourage you to let their idea play out and see where it takes them. For example, Lachlan found was using stickers and decided that he wanted to leave the art table and walk around with the stickers. I let him do so waiting to see what he had in mind. He began to stick the stickers on one of the drawings that he had made the week before which was hanging on the wall. This certainly was not hurting anything and I was delighted that he wanted to stick them on paper and not the walls! However, Lachlan has tried on occasion to leave his art table or easel with crayons and paint. This I do not allow because I like the colour of my walls just the way they are and I'm not looking for any 'Lachlan Originals' to go on the furniture or floors! He learned quickly that if he wants to keep hold of those tools he will have to use them on the designated materials provided. Lay down the rules early and be consistent. This will avoid confusion for your child and make the process go much easier. Plus, you've given your child some power over the situation which is all children want anyway. The lesson is simple for them; they choose; if they want to paint they paint on the paper. If not, the paint gets put up. If you are consistent in all aspects of discipline in this way, you won't end up with a bunch of power struggles. You make they rules, they have the power to decide what they want to do.

The Atelierista in You

Recently we returned for a long holiday in Europe. Most of it was holiday, but some of it was work related. I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Reggio Emilia, Italy, the place where the Reggio Emilia Approach was birthed. The Reggio Emilia Approach is one that recognises children thrive and learn best in an environment that supports individualism, creativity, respect for oneself, others and the community. It is a curriculum that is guided by the children; this is accomplished when teachers observe their students closely and form close bonds and communication with them and their parents in order to provide the necessary resources to the environment in which they can explore and learn. Teachers use provocation to stimulate the act of questioning and peak curiosity. The Approach is unique because it heavily relies on parent and community input and support; because each and every community is different, the Reggio Approach can not be replicated or put in a box and taken to another part of the world for use. Each community would offer its own qualities and culture. So while schools and childcare centres can use principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach, they will never fully function like a true Reggio school.

One fascinating aspect about the Reggio Approach is the place it has for atelierstas or art teachers. Reggio schools have a separate atelier (studio) in all the childcare centres that is supervised by an atelierista. Children share this space and the materials within, known as 'the hundred languages of children,' with other classrooms. The materials are appropriately called 'the hundred languages' because they are what the children use to express their thought, feelings and emotions. Access to varying materials is very important in creative expression. The resources provided should stimulate all the senses so that the young budding artists have a kaleidoscope of media to choose from. The materials are so important because they are a means of symbolic representation, in which the children can manipulate to reflect their thoughts and ideas. Thoughts now become something that others can see and even feel. The end result is left for further interpretation by others. The materials affect the children--each stroke of paint may encourage another...and another. The child not only influences the material, but the material influences the child. As the child alters the material to accomplish a particular goal, the material will move or present itself in a new way that will further inspire the child. As you can see, a beautiful relationship between the artist and material is formed. This is probably why so many artists and musicians talk about their work with such passion; they too are transformed during the creative process. This is also why children tend to always gravitate towards certain media--'they just like the way that it feels', they will tell you. The simple-minded adult will assume that the child is talking about how the material makes them feel physically; perhaps gooey, smooth or cold. An atelierista, however will see the emotional side and ask the child, " how does it make you feel?" Perhaps the child may respond with, "happy or excited." I once asked a child this very question while she was painting a picture and she told me that the painting made her feel pretty. When I asked why she said because she could paint herself to look however she wanted. She really wanted her ears pierced but her parents wouldn't let her until she was eight (sure was a very mature six and a half going on sixteen). Through painting, she could paint herself and have as many piercings as she wanted!

Now, I didn't major in the expressive arts but I do consider myself creative (you really have to be when you are in my line of work and especially as a mom!). I have learned through experience and interactions with other colleagues and children that you can turn anything into anything! Children are especially good at teaching this lessons. Most of what I do was inspired by someone under the age of six and that is the honest truth! The beautiful thing about children is that they remind you what it is like to be a child and to think like a child--there are no boundaries and no rules when it comes to art and it is always okay to colour outside of the lines (an important lessons for parents and grandparents to remember.) Lachlan and I try our best to engage in one creative experience a day; this may be through painting, cooking, sculpting, you name it--the list goes on. I try to determine what he is interested in and go from their. For children under two who are pre-verbal, you achieve this by lots of observation and jotting down a few notes (these notes help when the mommy brain sets in). For example, Lachlan has been really interested in anything that turns (cars, gears, pinwheels, etc) and stars. Stars are the first shape that he began identifying when he was 6 months and he's been obsessed with them ever since. I found some foam star cut-outs at a dollar shop and offered those along with some strips or recycled corrugated cardboard for him to make a collage with. This was his first collage so I showed him how to use the glue-stick by covering his paper with it. I pressed a small bit of cardboard on so he could see where the process was going. I then stepped back and left him to it. I went to get the camera and when I returned he had already placed several stars and stripes on the paper. I praised him for his work. He added another star and then decided he was done. The who process was only a few minutes and then he was ready to hop off of his chair. He was very proud of his masterpiece! Later this week, I will take out some small paint rollers for him to experiment with on canvas. The rollers should excite him as they turn and I'm sure he'll mostly end up with paint on his hands then anywhere else!

When engaging in creative activities with children, consider the following tips:

1) Make sure the activity is fun! If your child isn't interested then don't force them. Sometimes they just aren't comfortable with the materials or aren't ready yet. Wait a few weeks and try again.

2) For young children, show them what the art tools are used for first and then let them have a go.

3) Remember that it is their masterpiece, not yours! Avoid altering or encouraging them to make something in a particular way--that is not creativity, that is replication.

4) Offer a lot of different resources. Recycled goods are best! Old birthday and Christmas cards cut into strips are great for collages. Boxes and containers can turn into cars, animals, etc.

5) Put a mat down on the floor or table that is easy to wipe clean and always keep a wet rag handy for quick clean up of surfaces and hands.

If you don't have a paint smock, put your child in one of your old shirts. You can use a clothes pin to bunch up the excess material in the back.

6) When your child is finished, display their work of art where they can see it so they know you are proud of their accomplishment.

7) Ask open-ended questions about their work. Don't just say that you like it, ask them to tell you something about it; this also allows you to figure out what it is that they made. After all, you don't want to call it a beautiful cat when it is really a moose!

8) You don't have to buy expensive materials. You can use an adult easel if you already have one, lower it to the bottom for your child. You can also make your own paint stand by using a shoe box. Cut circles on the bottom of the box that will fit the paint cups. Make the holes slightly smaller so that the cup lip won't fall through the hole. An example is shown in one of the pictures above. You can also make your own paint cup holders by using small yogurt container tubs that have plastic lids. Use and exacto knife to cut a small circle in the cent of the lid, large enough for the paint brush to fit in. If the plastic is sharp after cutting, cover with some masking tape. These containers prevent paint messes if your little one accidentally tips over the paint cup.
9) When buying paint, buy the basics! All you need is the primary colours: red, yellow and blue. It is a great lesson for your child to mix the colours. Imagine their surprise when they mix red and blue and get purple! You can also provide the hues white and black to make additional shades (such as mixing white with red to get pink) and contrast.
10) Be creative with your art tools. For example, a toy car can be used to make a painting by rolling the wheels in paint and making tracks on the paper. You can also make wheel tracks in play dough. Leaves and feathers also make fun paint brushes. Don't forget about the body either; mix it up and instead of painting with your fingers, use your feet! Long butcher paper is great for this.

Wonder what is in Lachlan's atelier?
1) Lots of natural light! Put easels by windows if possible.
2) Recyclables: shredded old holiday cards, corrugated cardboard, egg cartons, paper towel rolls, foil, small boxes and containers, rings from milk and juice jugs, lids, muffin paper.
3) Finger paint and poster paint
4) Hand stamp paint
5) Paint brushes, various textured rollers, textured stampers, sponges
6) Die cut foam shapes
7) Feathers, gum nuts, dried leaves, small twigs
8) A4 paper and rolls of butcher paper.
9) Adult easel which is shared with his daddy.
10) Paint smocks
11) Shoe box paint stand
12) Crayons, markers, chalk (sidewalk chalk for outside)
13) A4 display book to showcase artwork after it is removed from the wall.