GABORONE UNIVERSAL COLLEGE OF LAW

DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

CREATIVE ARTS / EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES

– STUDY MODULE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Unit 1: Creativity:

Definition of creativity

Importance of creative activities

Unit 2: Art: A tool of creativity

Two/three Dimensional Art

Art and stages of mental development

Shading, printing, drawing, designs and colour theory

Children’s art display in a classroom.

Unit 3: Music, Games and Dances

The importance of music, games and dances

Types of music

Rhymes, tongue twisters and riddles

Songs for promoting correcting attitudes and values.

Unit 4: Craft Activities

Paper mache

Using beads to make necklace

Tie and dye

Unit 5: Dramatic play

Development stages of dramatic play

Planning and preparing the environment.

MODULE .............CREATIVE ARTS/EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES

B001ILFNJ8

Welcome to unit........................., This is a module where we are going to focus on creative

activities, music, storytelling and language experiences for preschoolers. Stages of
development and appropriate curriculum are explored. Students are required to demonstrate
competence in these areas through hands on participation in classroom activities. Topic
includes encouraging creativity, stages of children’s needs and level of development. In this
module we are going to cover the following units:

Unit 1: Creativity:

Definition of creativity

Importance of creative activities

Unit 2: Art: A tool of creativity

Two/three Dimensional Art

Art and stages of mental development

Shading, printing, drawing, designs and colour theory

Children’s art display in a classroom.

Unit 3: Music, Games and Dances

The importance of music, games and dances

Types of music

Rhymes, tongue twisters and riddles

Songs for promoting correcting attitudes and values.

Unit 4: Craft Activities

Paper mache

Using beads to make necklace

Tie and dye

Unit 5: Dramatic play

Development stages of dramatic play

Planning and preparing the environment.

GENERAL AIM: by the end of this module you should
1.know and understand creative arts/early learning experiences.
2.teach young children in well prepared environment.

Unit 1: Creativity:

Welcome to unit 1 of our module. It is very important for young children to be creative, as
well as you, as their teacher. Creativity will improve young children’s learning and
development. There are many activities which you should do with your children to improve
their creativity. Therefore, in this unit, we are going to cover the following topics:

1. Definition of creativity

2. Importance of creative activities

Objectives: By the end of this unit, you should be able to

1. define creativity

2. Explain the importance of creative activities.

1. 1 Definition of creativity

Before we talk a lot about creativity we should start by defining it. I am going to give
definitions which will all come to the same meaning. It is advisable to do that so that you can
understand creativity.

Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created. It is also the
qualitative impetus behind any given act of creation, and it is generally perceived to be
associated with intelligence and cognition.

Creativity is the ability to produce something new through imaginative skill, whether a new
solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic objects or form. The term
generally refers to a richness of ideas and originality of thinking. Psychological studies of
highly creative people have shown that many have a strong interest in apparent disorder,
contradiction, and imbalance, which seem to be perceived as challenges. Such individuals
may possess an exceptionally deep, broad, and flexible awareness of themselves. Studies also
show that intelligence has little correlation with creativity; thus, a highly intelligent person
may not be very creative.

Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves
two processes: thinking, then producing.

Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being, creativity requires passion
and commitment. Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths. It brings to our
awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of
heightened consciousness-ecstasy.

A product is creative when it is (a) novel and (b) appropriate. A novel product is original not
predictable. The bigger the concept and the more the product stimulate further work and
ideas, the more the product is creative.

1.2. Importance of creative activities

Now that we have defined creativity, we should go into the importance of creative activities.

Through simple everyday actions and play, young children develop physical, social,
intellectual, emotional and creative abilities known as creative development. Early childhood
education often focuses on children learning creative abilities through play. Children's
creative abilities may be explored through their ideas, curiosity and feelings towards the arts,
movement, music and imaginative play. Children of all ages delight in expressing their ideas
through sounds, colours, shapes and role-playing activities. Creativity in children can be
developed by engaging them in activities that enable them share their ideas, thoughts and
feelings. There are different aspects of creative development in children.

Emotional Creativity

Emotional creativity is a measure of how children respond to their environment, the objects
and people around them. Children respond in different ways to what they see, hear and touch.
They can also communicate their own feelings due to the nature of their surroundings.
Centre-based child care arrangements may help develop social skills in young children and
prepare them for kindergarten. The interaction with other children their own age goes a long
way in improving social skills and people acceptance in kids.

Exploring Media and Materials

One other importance of creative activities is that they develop young children’s exploration
skills. Exploring media and materials is the aspect of a child's creative development in which
his reaction to media, pictures, toys and three-dimensional objects are observed. Toys like
building blocks and representations of television characters can help a child develop creative
instincts. For example, many dolls and action figures can be distinguished as characters from
a fictional world rather than real objects or people. The role of media and materials cannot be
overemphasized in regard to creativity in children. Positive building skills and role play are
developed by providing proper toys for kids.

Creative Imagination and Imaginative Play

Creative imagination and imaginative play is another importance of creative activities. They
are the results of how young children respond to dance, stories, music, role-playing and art.
Imaginative writing and drawing characters go a long way in developing a child's creativity.
Dealing with different colours and painting pictures of different characters build the child's
mind and improves her ability to test different colour variations. The creative arts have a
significant bearing on the early creative development of a child. Writing skills can also be
harnessed by engaging the child in creating replicas of written symbols and objects.

Creative Music and Dance

The other importance of creativity activities is that it improves the children's ability to
distinguish different sounds such as the banging of a door or the running of tap water and
musical sounds that elicit dance movements is important at an early age. Children exposed to
different musical tones and patterns of dance movement may be able to adapt quickly to these
tunes and mime or sing songs easily from memory. Such children are likely to develop ample
creative instincts at an early age.

Knowledge and Understanding

Creative Activities improves young children’s knowledge and understanding. It is important
to support your children in understanding the world around them. Give them the opportunity
and tools they need to grow and learn. Expose them to people, plants and animals and show
them how to act and respond to different objects in their environment. Allow them to
investigate and explore their surroundings in a safe manner. Your support and encouragement
gives your child the courage they need to grow, learn and succeed in life.

With so many activities and programs to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide what
will work best for your children, and it is especially important during their early years to
ensure that their activities promote positive growth and ingenuity. Creative movement can
best be described as a process that engages all the child’s senses in order to find inspiration
and delight in the world around them. When you sing a lullaby to an infant, they may not
understand the words, but that does not prevent them from experiencing and absorbing the
melody. In a creative movement class, even though many skills are still developing, we strive
to provide a warm, secure, and calm environment that encourages this growth and introduces
a child to new concepts. Even very young children can be inspired and taught through a
creative movement class. By incorporating music, props, and stories, they become engaged
participants, learning how to move independently and how to listen for instruction. The more
little ones hear and do, the more they absorb, imitate, and learn to express themselves as they
develop.

A creative movement class with story time for toddlers and preschoolers is an extension of
the family experience, an intermediate step for the child between home and formal schooling.
The story time brings magic and imagination into the classroom, transporting children into a
fantastical world where anything is possible. Incorporating elements of the story into the
classroom lesson, reading the story, and subsequently dancing to it allows the children to
become fully immersed into this land of fantasy. This allows the teacher to utilize the
student’s imaginations, which helps them become aware of their bodies by connecting
physical abilities to their fairytales. For example, an instructor can use an image of a starfish
from The Little Mermaid to show children how to stretch their arms and legs out wide;
oppositely, she can use the image of the seashell to have students “clam” up with arms and
legs by their sides.

For the older preschooler, the creative movement philosophy helps introduce more
complicated concepts and dance progressions while maintaining a magical, open atmosphere.
Students learn how to piqué by pointing their toe “to fit into Cinderella’s slipper”; they learn
to port de bras by allowing their arms to “be light and graceful like fairy wings.” The
objective is to motivate students to use their own creativity to further understand the
relationship between their physical and mental selves. Creative movement is a foundational
proponent to many early development classes, but whether you are taking a class or perhaps
playing at home, remember that it is never too early to begin dancing and reading with your
child!

ART in early childhood education programs is an essential building block of development

and bridging learning with other subject areas. Young children enjoy creating and looking at
art, which benefits them in many ways. Finding fun ways to incorporate simple art activities
into everyday learning in the preschool setting is a wonderful way to engage and educate
children.

ART Satisfaction

When young children complete an artwork, they feel a sense of satisfaction and an
understanding of their control over materials and decisions made in the art-making process.
Offering preschoolers simple, open-ended art activities such as easel painting helps
youngsters feel that sense of accomplishment.

Fine-Motor Skill Development

Fine-motor skills are developed during art exploration. Doing art activities such as clay or
play-dough encourages a young child's budding skills. Remember that the fine muscles of the
hands and fingers are developed when manipulating play-dough, which encourages their
pencil-holding skills.

Learning About Artists

Sharing artwork from different cultures and times teaches preschoolers about new artists and
concepts. Experimenting with new art materials and techniques broadens young children's
understanding of the world around them and introduces them to art appreciation. Showing an
artwork, and then having preschoolers create their own rendition of the painting is an
excellent way to introduce a fine artist and his work.

Self-Esteem

Displaying children's artwork around a classroom or within the home encourages young
children's self-esteem. When children view their finished artworks displayed in a respectful
way, it encourages them to continue exploring their art skills and also to respect art
themselves. For preschoolers, art is a means of self-expression, so when their artwork is
appreciated by others, they truly feel special. Offering activities such as creating family
portraits helps preschoolers explore their ability to be creative and make representations.

Cognitive Development

Young children's cognitive development is encouraged through the exploration of art with
sensory exploration. Early art offers the ability to introduce concepts from other areas of
study, such as math, in a fun and creative way. Children learn about shapes, patterns and lines
through art, encouraging their future math skills. Preschoolers enjoy the challenge of creating
a shape collage by cutting pre-drawn shapes out of construction paper, which encourages
their cognitive development

SUMMARY:

In this unit we defined creativity. We also discussed the importance of creative activities.
which we said are: Emotional Creativity, Exploring Media and Materials, Creative
Imagination and Imaginative Play, Creative Music and Dance, Knowledge and
Understanding. We went on to briefly look at art. Then we went on to say that children’s fine
motor skill development, Self-Esteem, Cognitive Development is developed through art.

References:

Mayesky M. (2008) Creative Activities for Young Children: USA: Cengage

www.testden.com
Unit 2: Art: A tool of creativity

Now it is time for us to get deeper into creativity. We are going to start doing that by looking
at Art: which is the tool of creativity. What is art? Good! All your answers are correct.
However, let me add onto your definition and tell you that art is the expression or application
of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or
sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

However, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says that the definition of art is controversial
in contemporary philosophy. Whether art can be defined has also been a matter of
controversy. The philosophical usefulness of a definition of art has also been debated.

Contemporary definitions are of two main sorts. One distinctively modern, conventionalist,
sort of definition focuses on art's institutional features, emphasizing the way art changes over
time, modern works that appear to break radically with all traditional art, and the relational
properties of artworks that depend on works' relations to art history, art genres, etc. The less
conventionalist sort of contemporary definition makes use of a broader, more traditional
concept of aesthetic properties that includes more than art-relational ones, and focuses on art's
pan-cultural and trans-historical characteristics.

Let me give you the last definition which I have and say that art has been defined as a
vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means for exploring
and appreciating formal elements for their own sake, and as mimesis or representation.

2.1 Benefit of Art:

Art to Conquer Boredom and Stress

Let me start by looking at the benefits of art in young children. Encouraging your children to
doodle when they idle is the perfect solution to boredom. Just give your children enough art
material and allow their imagination to run wild. Sitting down with your children, and
drawing something as well, is an excellent way to spend quality time with them.

There is a wide range of media available for your children to discover their artistic side. You
can start your children with pastels, switch to water colours as they grow up, and, if they
nurture the art habit, you may even see them graduate to oil paintings one day. Encouraging
art also includes letting your children try their hands at modelling with play dough, pot
painting, and other activities. Think out of the box. Have your children make something out
of odds and ends, like a paper bag puppet, for example.

Dabbling in art is also a great stress buster. In fact, psychologists encourage a child to draw
so that they can draw inferences from the child's art and psychoanalyse them. Drawing and
painting can also be an ideal way for children to vent their pent-up feelings,
for instance, if a child is abused and you ask them to draw anything, they can draw the person
who abuses them being a very big man beating them, or doing how they abuse them.
2.1 Two/three Dimensional Art

Going into another topic, let us now discuss two/three dimensional Art.

2.1.1 Two dimensional art:

What is a two dimensional art? Two dimensional arts is simply any type of art that has width
and length without depth. This can be paintings, posters and even photographs. Two-
dimensional art consists of paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs, which differ from
each other primarily in the technique of their execution. Probably, our initial response to all
four is a response to subject matter--that is, we first notice what the painting, drawing, print,
or photograph is all about. Such recognition leads us into the work's meaning and begins to
shape our response to it. Beyond the recognition of subject, however, lie the technical
elements chosen by artists to make their vision appear the way they wish it to appear, and
these include MEDIA and COMPOSITION.

Media

The media of the two-dimensional arts are paintings, drawings, prints, and photography.
Paintings and drawings can be executed with oils, water colours, tempera, acrylics, ink, and
pencils, to name a few of the more obvious. Each physical medium has its own
characteristics. As an example, let us look at oils.

Oils are one of the most popular of the painting media and have been since their development
around the beginning of the fifteenth century. They offer artists a broad range of colour
possibilities; they do not dry quickly and can, therefore, be reworked; they present many
options for textural manipulation; and they are durable. Look at the texture in the brushwork
of Van Gogh's (van-GOH or van GAHK) The Starry Night. This kind of manipulation is a
characteristic of oil. Whatever the physical medium--that is, painting, drawing, print, or
photograph--we can find identifiable characteristics that shape the final work of art. Had the
artist chosen a different physical medium, the work--all other things being equal--would not
look the same.
www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object (Retrieved on 12th August 2013)

Composition

The second area we can isolate and respond to involves artists' use of the elements and
principles of composition. These are the building blocks of two-dimensional works of art.
Among others, these elements and principles include LINE, FORM, COLOUR,
REPETITION, and BALANCE.

2.1.2 Three dimensional art:

What is 3 Dimensional ? You are correct, let me add on to say that a 3 dimensional art is the
art of producing representations of natural or imagined forms in three dimensions. These are
height, width and depth. Sculpture is a 3 dimensional artwork created by shaping or
combining hard materials, such as marble stones.
Three dimensional art for young children.
A three-dimensional art project is an effective way to get preschoolers interacting with their
world using art. Making art in three dimensions can help preschoolers develop important
motor skills and learn to work with art tools like safety scissors, glue and paint. There are all
kinds of three-dimensional art projects that are appropriate for preschoolers, including
classics like pasta art and painted rocks. A three-dimensional art project is an effective way to
get preschoolers interacting with their world using art. Making art in three dimensions can
help preschoolers develop important motor skills and learn to work with art tools like safety
scissors, glue and paint. These are the things which you are going to use with your children
for fine motor development. There are all kinds of three-dimensional art projects that are
appropriate for preschoolers.
 Below is an example of a three dimensional shape:

www.eyetricks.com/3dstereo.htm (retrieved on 12th August 2013)

 Three Dimensional Art Activities

Three dimensional art activities include things such as sculpture and clay work. It is an art
that can be looked at from many different sides or angles. Many crafts can be included in
three dimensional art activities

Development of three dimensional art

Recyclable Object City

Gather recyclable objects, such as paper towel tubes, egg cartons, milk cartons, plastic bottle
caps, and yogurt cups. Give your preschoolers a stiff piece of paper, and have them construct
a cityscape by gluing the recyclables to the paper. Use markers to turn cardboard tubes into
tall buildings, egg cartons into buses and cars, and plastic cups into people to live in the city.
Have them recreate the city/town or village you live in, or create an entirely made-up city of
his own design. These days our villages have places of interest, if not, there are televisions
where these children watch beautiful places. Therefore, giving them these materials to create
a city, town or village will not be a problem to them.

The second three dimensional activity which you can give to your children is:

-Provide children with many types of clay. These can include play dough, homemade clay,
salt clay, and modelling clay.

Salt Dough: Salt dough is super simple to make and is a bit easier to manipulate than potter's
clay. Add one cup of salt to one cup of flour and slowly add water until the dough is
manageable. Add a bit more flour for softer dough. Salt dough can be painted when it dries;
therefore, it is a good choice when creating ornaments or other sculptures that can be given as
gifts. Allow children to use simple tools with the salt dough such as a rolling pin, cookie
cutters or scissors. To create a larger sculpture, consider allowing children to use toothpicks
to make the sculptures sturdier.
Clay can be shaped, moulded, and cut. Some tools for working with clay that are most of the
times readily available include cookie cutters, rolling pins, ice cream scoops, bottle caps,
potato mashers, old scissors, toothpicks, and screws or bolts.

Potter's Clay: Stiffer and slightly harder to manipulate than play dough, potter's clay is an
excellent medium for preschool children. Not only will it give your preschooler's fine motor
skills a workout, but it will also dry into a sculpture that can be displayed or taken home and
given as a gift. Try keeping a few books with pictures of famous sculptures on hand while
children are creating with clay. Encourage children to examine the pictures of sculptures, but
allow them to create in whatever way they are most comfortable

 Wood scraps can be used to make 3-D objects. Young children can glue, nail or
clamp wood scraps together to make unique structures.
 Large boxes are great for making structures in which children can play. For example,
go to your local appliance store and ask to have a large box saved for you. Bring the
box to class, cut out a door and window, and help children decorate this "house" with
paints and fabrics.
 Aluminium foil can also be used to make sculptures. Children can crinkle it to make
three-dimensional shapes and designs.
 Look around and collect things that can be used to create a "theme" collage. As you
walk around the school yard, pick up sticks, leaves, pebbles, straw, bark, and sand to
glue onto a piece of cardboard to make a collage.
 Your children can also make prints by using kitchen utensils. They can dip the
utensils, such as a potato masher, into water-soluble paint and then make their own
designs on a piece of paper

Found Object Sculpture: Consider placing a large bin in your classroom labeled "Found
Objects." This can include anything from toilet paper and paper towel tubes, to pretty rocks
and minerals, to fabric scraps or colorful paper. Allow children to place anything they wish in
the found object bin, and ask parents for donations of unique items. When you have a large
collection of items, encourage children to create something with the objects. Children can
work collaboratively to come up with an idea and execute a plan for building their sculpture.
Provide lots of masking, duct and scotch tape for children to secure their sculptures!

Finger Weaving: This activity may be difficult for young preschoolers, but others may have
the fine motor skills necessary for this intricate work. Tie a loose knot of wool around your
thumb. With your palm facing up, wrap a loose loop of wool around each of your fingers.
When you reach the pinky, wrap a loose loop and then lay the strand of wool over your
fingers going back towards your thumb. One finger at a time starting with the pinky, lift the
loop up off of your finger and over the strand. This completes the first row of "knitting", and
it will now be hanging from your index finger. Keep wrapping loops and pulling them over
the strand until you create the length of knitted wool you desire. This will be difficult for
some preschoolers, but with practice, it is a great fine motor activity.

Two dimensional vs. three dimensional art.

In Mathematics geometry, shapes that have length and width but lack depth are two-
dimensional. That is, they lie in a plane and do not occupy space. Examples are circles,
squares, triangles, parallelograms, and various polygons. Those objects don't have volume but
have area.

Three-dimensional objects are called solids and have three dimensions: length, width, and
depth (or height). They occupy space and have volume. Examples are spheres, cubes, cones,
and cylinders, to name a few

2.3 Art and stages of mental development

Introducing your children to art can play a pivotal role in their development. Art can help
develop a child's creativity, imagination, cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities, fine
motor skills, and much more. Children who regularly participate in a
comprehensive art programme are four times more likely to be elected to class office, four
times more likely to be in a math or science fair, and four times more likely to win an award
for writing, according to research published by Americans for the Arts.

Art helps build self esteem as children take pride in the works of art they create. It helps to
develop their problem-solving skills, especially when faced with three dimensional problems
such as sculpting. Art helps children to improve their sensory awareness and
improve their manual dexterity. This is because a child needs to observe something, try to
recreate what he sees in his mind's eye, and try to match it with reality

2.4 Shading, printing, drawing, designs and colour theory

Let us now look at the shading and colour theory. I have decided to put them together
because they complement each other. When children shade, they make colour, Therefore we
cannot separate them. You may ask yourself why I want to talk about colours. You need to
learn about these colours so that when your children ask you to give them a certain colour,
you will be able to mix the right colour and please your children. Look, you don’t have to
straight away teach your children words like Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colours. Just
teach them the names of colours slowly, starting with primary, then go onto secondary and
when they are big enough, teach them tertiary colours.

Shading/colour theory: Colour theory is a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the
visual effects of specific colour combination.

With colours you can set a mood, attract attention, or make a statement. You can use colour
to energize, or to cool down. By selecting the right colour scheme, you can create an
ambiance of elegance, warmth or tranquillity, or you can convey an image of playful
youthfulness. Colour can be your most powerful design element if you learn to use it
effectively.

In strict traditional artistic and painting concepts, red, yellow and blue are the primary
colours, and all other pure colours can be created by mixing red, yellow and blue paint.
Many people learn a bit about colour in elementary school by mixing paint or crayons in
these primary colours. However this red/yellow/blue colour model is rarely used outside of
paint-pigment mixing.

When mixing colours of light, usually Red/Green/Blue, you are using the additive colour
system. You could refer to this as your "RGB Model" or "RGB colour space". All the
possible colours can be created by mixing these three coloured lights which is referred to as
the gamut of those particular lights. All these colours when mixed together in equal portions
create white; when no colour present the colour is black. Additive colour applies to computer
monitors, television and video projectors, all of which use combinations of red, green and
blue phosphors.

For printing purposes, the colours used are Cyan, Magenta and Yellow; this model is called
the "CMY model". In the CMY model, black is created by mixing all colours, and white is
the absence of any colours (assuming white paper). As colours are subtracted to produce
white, this is also called the subtractive colour model. A mix of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow
actually gives a muddy black so normally black ink is used as well; when black is added, this
colour model is called the "CMYK model". A much more detailed discussion of colour
models, particularly as they apply to colour for computer displays, can be found in the colour
space article.

The Colour Wheel

Traditionally colours are represented on a wheel of 12 colours: three primary colours, three
secondary colours (created by mixing primary colours) and six tertiary colours (created by
mixing the primary and secondary colours). Artists use a traditional colour wheel based on
the Red/Yellow/Blue model with secondary colours of orange, green and purple. For all
computer-based colour, a wheel based on the RGB model is used; this encompasses the CMY
model as well since cyan, magenta and yellow are the secondary colours for red, green and
blue. (Conversely the secondary colours for cyan, magenta and yellow are red, green and
blue.) In the RGB/CMY colour wheel, orange is a tertiary colour between red and yellow and
purple is a tertiary colour between magenta and blue

Tints and Shades

The colour wheel is based on "pure" colours; for every colour there are also darker and
lighter versions. Darker versions are produced by adding black or removing light, and are
called shades; they are sometimes also called "deep" or "dark" colours. Dark shades of
yellow, oranges and some reds are typically called browns. Lighter versions are produced by
adding white or more light, and are called tints; they are also sometimes called "pale" or
"light" colours. Very light tints are also often referred to as "pastel" colours; light tints of
some reds, oranges, and yellow are tans.

Colour wheel with shading for colour picking.

Colour Harmony and Colour Schemes

Harmonious colours are colours that work well together, that produce a colour scheme that
looks attractive; the colour wheel can be used as a valuable tool for determining harmonious
colours. Complimentary colours are colours directly across form each other on the wheel.
These are typically colours that will produce a strong contrast. Split complimentary colours
are those on either side of a complementary colour; these colours contrast, but not as strongly
as complementary colours. Triad colours represent three colours equidistant on the colour
wheel; this typically provides a balanced colour scheme with reasonable contrast. Analogous
colours are colours next to each other on the colour wheel. They typically harmonize well but
may not provide enough contrast, and are perhaps best used in conjunction with a
complimentary colour. Monochromatic colours are all shades and tints of the same colour.

Cool and warm colours

Warm colours are red, oranges, yellows and green-yellows, and are typically thought to
express warmth, comfort and energy. These colours also tend to make things stand out from
the page or screen. Cool colours are violets, blues, aquas, and greens. Purples can be warm or
cool. When they are used together, cool colours seems to move away from the viewer, and
express coolness, detachment, stability and calmness.

Neutral Colours

Black, gray and whites are neutral; browns, beiges and tans are sometimes considered to be
neutral as well. Neutral colours are intended to send no messages but often work
harmoniously with other colours. They are sometimes thought of as colours "off the colour
wheel".

Schemes from Nature

Combinations of colours found in nature often work well as colour schemes even if they don't
fit specific patterns discussed above; examples of these schemes include "autumn colours"
and "spring colours"

Colour in Painting

In painting the well-known "colour wheel" is a tool to teach beginners the essential
relationships between colour hues: The primary colours (red, blue, yellow) are combined to
form the three secondary colours (purple, green, orange) in a hexagon. A primary colour
(R,B,Y) will have a secondary colour for its opposite —ergo red's complement is green, blue's
is orange, and yellow's is purple. Adding a complementary colour to a colour on the canvas is
the traditional technique for making shadows, as well as for choosing a balance of colour
overall, so that the eye does not tire from an overuse of red, for example.

Shadows

In color theory, "shadows" generally refers to a general choice between adding black
pigment, or using a complementary colour to contrast a colour, thereby making it darker by
mixture or by optical illusion. The reason is that adding black to make a shadow tends to
flatten the painting —neutralizing any dynamic colour interactions that would otherwise
occur. Adding a complement, accomplishes the task of defining the darker area, and at the
same time, adds another colour, creating a more realistic and dimensional look.
Pigment

Depending on the quality of the paint, the balance between colours varies greatly with
pigment. One way to test the quality of oil paints is to make a sample of black by mixing the
primary hues. To produce black, blue and red are mixed to a dark purple, which is gradually
bent toward a colourless black by adding smaller amounts of yellow. Testing the balance of
the mixture simply requires separating a small portion and adding white spreading the grey
out on the palette. If the grey is colourless, then the black is pure. Poor pigment quality makes
a muddy, purplish/greenish glob, while better paints will blend to black or very close to it.

The Colour Wheel

The colour wheel or colour circle is the basic tool for combining colours. The first circular
colour diagram was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666.

The colour wheel is designed so that virtually any colours you pick from it will look good
together. Over the years, many variations of the basic design have been made, but the most
common version is a wheel of 12 colours based on the RYB (or artistic) colour model.

Traditionally, there are a number of colour combinations that are considered especially
pleasing. These are called colour harmonies or colour chords and they consist of two or more
colours with a fixed relation in the colour wheel.

Colour Impact is designed to dynamically create a colour wheel to match your base colour.

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Colours

In the RYB (or subtractive) colour model, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue.
The three secondary colours (green, orange and purple) are created by mixing two primary
colours. Secondary additive colours are produced by mixing two other additive primary
colours together.

The additive primary colours are Red, Green and Blue.

When these additive colours are mixed, they produce three other secondary colours. These
are:

 Cyan

 Magenta

 Yellow

See the picture below. Secondary colours is where primary colours intersect.

www.walkme.com (Retrieved on 13th August 2013)

Activity:

Look at the secondary colours above and use oil paint to make them. What names are these
colours generally called?

If then these secondary colours are mixed, they produce what are called 'Tertiary Colours'

-Tertiary colours
Tertiary colours are combinations of primary and secondary colours.

There are six tertiary colours; red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-
violet, and red-violet. An easy way to remember these names is to place the primary name
before the other colour. So the tertiary colour produced when mixing the primary colour blue
with the secondary colour green, is called 'blue-green'. Look at the picture below.
 www.walkme.com (Retrieved on 13th August 2013

Tertiary colours are combinations of primary and secondary colours

Activity:
Look at the wheel of colour above and analyze it.

Printing Theory:

Four-colour printing:
Black can be obtained by mixing R, G and B colour together according to a certain
proportion, then is black colour still needed? Yes, because black is widely used in actual
design, so it is not economical to produce black by three colour inks in actual usage. This is
why four-color printing appears. Moreover, black produced by R, G and B looks false, while
black produced by direct preparation of ink looks stark.

Four-color principle is well accepted by people. It equals to four films in output, and cyan,
magenta, yellow, black (C,M,Y,K) channels in Photoshop. When we modify the channels in
image procession, we actually change the film.

Drawing Theory
There are several different ways in which children can draw using crayons or pencils. First,
they can press either hard or soft with their crayon to create a lighter or darker colour. You
can help your children to "gradate", which means they can start with hard pressure and move
to a lighter pressure to create a fading effect. Teach them to draw lines with their pencils to
create a textured look. This is called hatching or cross-hatching. They can also layer different
colours with light pressure to create other colours! Even the type of paper they use will affect
how their drawing looks will look like.
Drawing for Children: This is a free drawing program for children with many nice options.
You can draw with many different pens, you can put stamps on your drawings; create all sort
of text effects, and much more. The program is suitable for very young children and has a
child mode especially for them. But it also provides lots of fun to older kids. It is used by
hundreds of thousands of kids all over the world. The best way to see what is possible is to
simply download it and install it.
Picking up a crayon and making marks on paper is often the very first art activity for young
children. Drawing requires very little in the way of materials (simply a sheet of paper and a
drawing tool), is easy and engaging for all ages and levels of ability, and is usually mess free.
When they draw their pictures, don’t laugh at them, just enjoy their drawings.

Let us look at what drawing allows children to: It allows them to

EXPRESS themselves
PROCESS their world
EXPERIMENT with ideas and techniques
MAKE ART anywhere
INTERACT with others
develop FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Here are some ideas, activities, and posts that include drawing games, creative drawing
prompts, and experimenting with unique drawing surfaces. In addition, there is information
for parents about drawing supplies, how to talk to kids about art, and drawing at different
ages.

www.walterfoster.
com/...tips-for-kids( Retrieved on 13th August 2013)
Design
Graphic design is an important skill to teach kids. Good design is needed for school
newspaper, posters, websites and yearbooks. It's also important in advertising, branding and
in communications jobs. Graphic design skills are imperative for personal and business
websites, in advertising billboards, brochures, product labels, newsletters, business cards, and
in print publications. According to business author Daniel Pink, right brain skills, including
graphic design are becoming increasingly important for American workers. Graphic design
projects for kids include basic designs on paper, website and newsletter designs, or product
labeling.
At the heart of any graphic design is a simple line. The type of line and lines that are included
can communicate concepts universally. A straight horizontal line is calming, whereas a
diagonal line creates a sense of movement. Repeating a diagonal or curved line represents
rapid movement or momentum. Zigzags also convey movement. A pyramid or triangle, with
lines of equal length denotes stability.
Instruct children to make flash cards with one or two types of lines to display how each line
and combination conveys emotion and ideas. Explore lines further by varying their length,
curves and by creating patterns with the same types of lines.
Elements and Principles
Elements of design need to be unified for a successful graphic design. Elements include lines,
colors, and size of objects, shapes, white space, pattern, value and movement.
Instruct children to experiment with construction paper cut-outs to make Matisse-like
pictures. Shapes and colours can be repeated into patterns, or a contrast can be created with
small and large shapes or by using two opposite colours. Repetition of shapes will create
movement and symmetry of elements creates a balance. Remind your children to use spaces
between elements to create rhythm, and to increase visual appeal.
Projects
Logo design is a basic graphic design project for children. Instruct them to use the above
principles to design a logo for their school sports team, their church or a favorite sports team.
Redesigning a popular brand label is another way to encourage children to think creatively
about graphic design.
Instruct your children to design their own cover for a favorite book, CD, DVD or video game.
The art should include the title of the piece as well as art or images that represent the theme
and ideas in the chosen media.
Direct your children to create a blog or newsletter that using drag-and-drop or WYSIWIG
technology. Provide a list of elements that need to be included, from a logo and photo to text
boxes and photo captions.
Involve your children in hands-on graphic design projects which go beyond the computer
screen and paper. Suggest to your children that they take a common product and improve
upon it in some way, using a new package design. The exercise will have kids thinking about
new ways to do things. They should apply graphic design principles, elements and colour
theory to create the product label.
2.4 Children’s art display in a classroom.
Ideally, all children’s artwork should be displayed at all times. Informal balance is usually
more interesting than a formal arrangement. Balance light and dark, bright and dull areas, as
well as sizes and shapes. This adds to the quality of the art display. Display areas, no matter
how small, should not be overcrowded, and a display should not be left up so long that it
becomes stale and faded.
It is best to keep in mind that the purpose in displaying children’s artwork is to let
everhildren’s art displays should be planned with the children in mind even though adults will
be enjoying them too. A great deal of teaching and learning can take place in front of a well-
planned display one enjoy what children are thinking and doing.
Things to Keep in Mind When Displaying Children’s Artwork
Remember that the child’s eye level is much lower than that of an adult. Place displays low,
where children can approach, touch, feel, and even smell them if they feel like it
 Display children’s artwork unimproved. This applies to any finished work as well a work
that is to be used as part of a larger display. For example, do not cut a child’s painting to form
leaves, flowers, or other decorative designs. If leaves are needed for a display, the child
should be presented with paper and this shape before drawing, painting, or making a collage
on it.
Display reproductions of famous paintings or original art by professional artists in the same
display with the children’s artwork.
Leave some undecorated wall space to allow children to rest their eyes and avoid
overstimulation.
When displays are changed, always leave some areas unchanged so children won’t feel
uncomfortable in what might appear to be new surroundings.
Reasons for displaying children’s artwork.
How teachers handle children’s artwork when it is finished says much about how they value
children’s efforts. Children experience pride, joy, and satisfaction when they see their work
displayed. Children’s art displays can be a meaningful experience, aiding development
anaesthetic values.
Teachers often assume responsibility for deciding which artwork to display. A better
alternative is to ask children to make the choice. Giving children the opportunity to decide
which painting or drawing they want displayed conveys a sense of respect for their judgment.
Also, the children’s opinions may be quite different from the teacher’s! Children can help in
planning art displays. They can select their best work for display. A display area that is at the
child’s eye level can be.
Thoughtfully displaying children's art products and other work is important for a number of
reasons. First, displays surround children with beauty that they themselves have created.
Next, how children's first expressions, no matter how primitive, are treated will determine, in
part, how children feel about themselves and how freely and fully they will be able to express
themselves through a variety of media in the future. When children know their ideas and their
work are valued they are affirmed. They know they can achieve. They will get excited about
their work.
Displays serve to extend and expand children's project work and explorations of their world.
Information in the form of photographs, pictures, or real objects added to a display reinforces
children's learning and motivates them to learn more.
Well-displayed work informs others about early childhood education. What and how young
children are learning becomes clearer to parents, administrators, and other adults when they
can view, handle and read about what children are doing and learning in the early childhood
program. Even so, displays are primarily for children. Displaying children's work gives them
a chance to think about their past. As they look at and handle a display, children can reflect
and reminisce. They have the opportunity to talk and think about their work in the past and
make plans for future work.
How to display children’s artwork;
A painting or drawing can be placed on a large piece of coloured construction paper with
pieces of rolled masking tape, pins, staples, or thumbtacks. This creates an easy and
inexpensive way of producing a reusable frame. Even the simplest drawing or painting takes
on a lively personality with a little colour around it. Try using bright colours that repeat a
colour in the drawing or painting; keep in mind, however, that the picture should stand out,
not the frame.
A written description next to children’s art displays gives teachers a way of documenting how
the work was created, what materials were used, what problem-solving processes the children
experienced, and how the artwork represents the children’s knowledge and feelings about a
topic. Not all children’s artwork has to be about something. Some children may just enjoy
exploring and experimenting with the materials. This is part of the creativity which we
discussed at the beginning of this module. Children may also include emergent writing in
their drawings and paintings.
Labelling children's work helps to communicate the progress children are making or what
their drawing, painting, invented spelling or other work means.
Another way to display children’s artwork is to create books. The books can be placed in the
art area or on the children’s bookshelf. Artwork that the children create on the computer can
be printed out in vivid colours and framed or made into books. Children can tell about their
artwork at group time. Books can also become mini-portfolios to document children’s
growth. Changeable Books, described below, encourage the children to make choices and
change pictures when new artwork is created.
You can write a description of what the child's work means on the back of the work or the
back of a frame. When displaying this child's work, copy his or her description and place it
underneath the displayed work. Or, you might tell what the child was doing or saying at the
time a piece of artwork was created.
Include still life objects in displays of artwork . Hang things from the tops of windows or the
ceiling to add other types of islands of beauty in your room.
SUMMARY:
In this unit we covered a lot, that is: Benefit of Art – which was Art to Conquer Boredom and
Stress. Then we went on to talk about Two/three Dimensional Art, Media and Composition.
Then we discussed Development of three dimensional art.
Our discussion led us to talking about how to improve young children’s art activities. We said
you can use Recyclable Object City, Salt Dough and Potter’s Clay, Found Object Sculpture
and Finger Weaving. Then we looked at Art and stages of mental development.
We then discussed Shading/ colour, where we said there are three types of colours – Primary,
secondary and tertiary. Then Printing, drawing, designs and theory. We also looked at the
Colour Wheel, Tints and Shades, Cool and warm colours, Neutral Colours and Schemes from
Nature. Then we discussed Shadows, Pigment, Printing Theory under what we covered Four-
colour printing:

We went on to talk about Drawing Theory, Drawing for Children. We then looked at some
ideas, activities, and posts that you can do with your children. Our discussion led us to talking
about Design. Then we discussed Elements and Principles, Projects. Then we looked at ways
of displaying children’s art. In our discussion, we discussed what you should keep in mind
when displaying children’s artwork. We also looked at reasons for displaying children’s
artwork and how you should display children’s artwork;

Unit 3: Music, Games and Dances

Welcome to unit 3 of our module. This is a unit where we are going to discuss further issues
concerning the arts. This time we are going to discuss music, games and dances. This is part
of the ways in which young children get busy, develop and enjoy themselves.

In this unit we are going to discuss the following topics:

3.1The importance of music, games and dances

3.2 Types of music

3.3 Rhymes, tongue twisters and riddles

3.4 Songs for promoting correcting attitudes and values.

Objectives: At the end of this unit, you should be able to

1. explain the importance of music, games and dances

2. name music, games and dances

3. create Rhymes, tongue twisters and riddles

4. prepare and teach Songs for promoting correcting attitudes and values

3.1The importance of music, games and dances :

We are going to look at the importance of music, games and dance in young children. I have
decided to discuss each one of them separately. Let us start with the importance of music.

3.1.1 The Importance of Music in Early Childhood

I think we would all agree that most young children love music. But why is music so
important to children? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

 Music has a positive effect on young children’s development!!

New research shows that music has a positive influence on young children’s cognitive skills
such as spatial reasoning and memory. Research also shows that providing children with a
rich and stimulating environment involving all the senses, including the auditory sense, can
support children’s healthy growth and development.

For children, music provides many, many benefits. Experts agree, there are lots of good
things about letting your children learn to play an instrument. Here are some reasons why
your children should learn to use the musical instrument. are better able to focus and control
their bodies play better with others and have higher self-esteem

1. It will boost their brain power

 Music stimulates parts of the brain that are related to reading, math, and emotional
development." Children who are exposed to music have proven to be high academic
achievers than those who are not.

2. It will improve their memory

Research has shown that participation in music at an early age can help improve a child's
learning ability and memory by stimulating different patterns of brain development," says
Maestro Eduardo Marturet, (2009) a conductor, composer and musical director for the
Miami Symphony Orchestra.

3. It helps them socially

Picking up an instrument can also help your children break out of their social shell too,
experts say. "Socially, children who become involved in a musical group or ensemble learn
important life skills, such as how to relate to others, how to work as a team and appreciate the
rewards that come from working together, and the development of leadership skills and
discipline

4. It's a confidence builder

Are there any areas of life that aren't enhanced by having good confidence? Probably not.
And if you want your child to develop their confidence, learning to play a musical instrument
can help. The children play these instruments on their own.

5. It teaches patience

We live in a world of instant gratification, but real life demands having patience. When you
are playing in a band or orchestra (and most musicians do), you have to be willing to wait
your turn to play otherwise the sound is a mess. That inadvertently teaches patience. "You
need to work together in a group to make music," says Dotson-Westphalen.

6. It can help them connect

Who doesn't sometimes feel a little disconnected from their lives? Music can be a much-
needed connection for kids (and adults too!). It can satisfy the need to unwind from the
worries of life, but unlike the other things people often use for this purpose, such as excessive
eating, drinking, or TV or aimless web browsing, it makes people more alive and connected
with one another.

7. It's constant learning

In some pursuits, you can never truly learn everything there is to know. Music is like that. It
is inexhaustible -- there is always more to learn. This improves young children’s intelligence.

8. It's a great form of expression

People pay a lot of lip-service to expressing yourself. But how can kids really do that? One
great way is through the arts -- like music .It gives pleasure and expresses nuances of
emotional life for which there are no words.

9. It teaches discipline

Music improves young children’s discipline because it needs a lot of practice. For one to
take time to practice she has to be well disciplined. Exposing children to musical instruments
is the key to discipline. They are naturally curious and excited about them.

10. It fosters creativity

Above all, playing music, particularly as children get to more advanced levels in it, is a
creative pursuit. Creativity is good for the mind, body and soul.

Why were lullabies invented? They soothe children and calm their reactions to stress. This in
turn reduces the stress in the entire family. Over time, children memorize lullabies and start
to sing them. Music is often a huge part of childhood. A toy piano, drums, xylophones and
guitars are favorite toys for children. The school should encourage children to experience
music. A great way to do this is to provide toy instruments to the children. These don't have
to be expensive.

Children can play and enjoy their own music. While they may not develop professional
talent, they will gain an understanding of music that will help them relax in the future. As
they get older, consider music lessons. Qualified instructors can teach children how to play
the piano, a skill that they can use for life. Your centre may have a music or band program.
Check out all of the available options that will give a musical education to children.

Plato once said that music “is a more potent instrument than any other for education”. You
will find many teachers of young children who would agree with him. Recent research has
found that music uses both sides of the brain, a fact that makes it valuable in all areas of
development. Music affects the growth of a child’s brain academically, emotionally,
physically and spiritually.

Here are skills that music and movement can help develop:
1. Participating in a group
2. Social skills
3. Express emotions
4. Enhance self‐concept by sharing music and dance of each other’s culture
5. Refine listening skills‐noticing changes in tempo or pitch
6. Awareness of movement and body positions
7. Creativity and imagination
8. Learn new words and concepts
9. Explore cause and effect
10. Develop large motor skills
11. Improve balance, coordination, and rhythm through dance and movement activities
12. Improve small motor skills‐learning finger plays and playing musical instruments.

Music is physical. Music can be described as a sport. Learning to sing and keep rhythm
develops coordination. The air and wind power necessary to blow a flute, trumpet or
saxophone promotes a healthy body.

Music is emotional. Music is an art form. We are emotional beings and every child requires
an artistic outlet. Music may be your children’s vehicle of expression.

Music is for life. Most people can’t play soccer, or football at 70 or 80 years of age but they
can sing. And they can play piano or some other instrument. Music is a gift you can give
your children that will last their entire lives. Some children sing before they go to sleep, do
you know that? Yes they do.

Musical appreciation comes best through the playing of an instrument to a degree that far
surpasses mere listening to iTunes. To give children a chance to calm down, it is important
to instill musical appreciation from a young age. Your children do not have to be a musical
prodigy, they just have to enjoy music for their own pleasure. Children who love music will
often surprise you with their ability. Give them a chance to show what they can do. Keep
emphasizing that music is fun.

Let us now look at ways in which you can use music with your children.

1. Use a song to greet each child in the morning during morning meeting as part of
attendance.
2. Use a song or instrumental music during transition times such as clean-up time or
snack preparation time.
3. Play background music during free play or centres’ time. Be sure the music isn’t too
loud or distracting from the children’s activities.
4. Play quiet lullabies or soft classical music during nap time or rest time.
5. Use music to teach letters, shapes, numbers or any other concepts in the curriculum.
6. Sing songs and play instruments as part of the daily routine.
7. Use music to enhance games and movement activities.
8. Add music to creative drama and art activities.
9. Use music to help children learn about other cultures and other lands.
10. Use music to celebrate special events like children’s birthdays and holidays.

Young children enjoy making music with others!!

Making music with others gives children a wonderful feeling of belonging to the group.
Children who might have difficulty joining in activities with others because they are shy,
have limited English ability (ELLs or language delayed) or special needs, can freely
participate when it comes to a music activity.

Music makes young children happy!!

Children seem to experience much pleasure and joy listening to music, making music and
moving to music. Whether they are singing along to a CD, playing a rhythm instrument or
skipping to music around the classroom, most children seem to thoroughly enjoy
participating in a music activity. How wonderful it is that with very little effort, a you can
 bring such happiness to children each day just by providing the opportunity to do a little
something with music

Whether you are musical or not, you can add the element of music to your child's life.
Experts agree that music can strengthen children's minds and serve as a fundamental skill of
learning.
Music develops children's sense of patterning and memory skills.

Listed below are more ways in which you can add music to your children’s life.

 Play a variety of music in the background when your child is playing.

 Encourage your children to move to the beat of music.
 Introduce simple instruments to your child such as a play guitar or harmonica.
 Show your children how to make their own instruments such as simple drums and shakers.
 Teach your children simple children's songs such as “Tlhogo magetla”
 Show your children how to keep time to the beat of music through clapping and tapping.
 Help your children make up their own songs by adding new words to familiar tunes.
 Discuss music that is fast and slow; music that is high or low.
 Have your children draw to music and express what the music tells them on paper.
 Teach your children how to hum a tune.
 Sing familiar songs and have your children fill in the rhyming words at the end of some
lines.

3.1.2 Games

What is the importance of games in young children? Well, you are correct. Let me add and
say that young learners love to play, and they participate in a game with more enthusiasm and
willingness than in any other classroom task. Yet, games are sometimes perceived as
entertaining activities, playing which children are not really learning. There are teachers who
fail to realize the importance of games, considering them not a wealth of various techniques
and an opportunity for real communication but an uncontrolled and noisy waste of time.
However, children in general learn better when they are active. Thus, when learning is
channelled into an enjoyable game, they are very often willing to invest considerable time
and effort in playing it. Moreover, in view of diverse learning styles and preferences the
students display, benefits from games seem to cater for everyone as children find playing
activities much richer language studying work than doing other kinds of practice. If you
design those games properly, they may become an excellent and essential part of a children’s
learning programme.

The more variety we can introduce into teaching, the more likely we are to meet the needs of
all the different learners. What is more, as children need to be motivated, exciting and
relevant classroom exercises appear to be necessity if real understanding and acquisition is to
take place. For games are activities with rules, a goal to achieve, and an element of fun; they
seem to be challenging and interesting enough to keep the young students occupied and eager
to complete the task. The majority of activities, which are found in resourceful materials for
teachers, are based on the belief that the games children enjoy and are interested in playing
outside the classroom can be adapted and exploited for use in the English language classes.
Furthermore, as they use English for real purposes, they make the children play and learn at
the same time. Moreover, games help to create a context in which children’s attention is
focused on the completion of a task without realizing that language items are being practised.
As a result, language learning takes place in a context that children can directly relate to.
However, it is always necessary to keep in mind the interests and needs of the learners.
Games can provide a valuable learning experience in which the children practice and revise
language only if they are carefully chosen, according to students’ styles of learning.

On the other hand, it is noteworthy that games like any other activity or tool can be overused
when exploited too much so that the motivating element disappears rapidly.

Let us go on to look at the importance of games in the development of young a child.

Playing games is an important activity for your children’s social and mental development.
Educational games are important for keeping your children interested in learning. For
example some games come with educational skills and academic contests, such as spelling.

Through games your children can also learn about teamwork. Games teach them about
sportsmanship. Through these games, they can develop critical thinking.

Games create courage and inspire your children to prove themselves as the best at what they
do. It teaches them how to make quick decisions and how to work well under pressure.

Games teach your children about what is good and bad and gives them a chance to learn more
about people, animals and countries.

Games have much significance in healthy child development. Games allow and encourage
children to process information and to make sense of their own world.

Some games are completely based on fitness. Through these games your children learn how
to keep fit and healthy. They can also learn about skipping, walking and kicking. Some
games create a sense of construction. Recreational games such as board games increase
mental and physical skills.

Computer games can also help your children develop their computer skills. For example,
between the ages of 3-4 years, your children can play moving square game and colour
matching. Through these games, they can learn how to move the mouse in order to catch a
moving square and match colours. Remember the colours that we talked about in unit 1.

Jumping block game is also available for children between the ages of 4-5 years. They can
learn how to change a block by clicking the mouse.

Between the ages of 5-6 years they can play Moving image game. This teaches t hem how to
change the direction or scene by clicking a computer mouse.

Some games also teach your children how to add, subtract, divide and multiply which is good
for their mental development.

How Do I Choose Child Development Games for My Child?

Child development games are good ways of assisting your children to develop much
knowledge of their bodies as skilfully as being experienced and enjoying activities. It is
important to choose the right game for your children. Here are some tips to remember when
choosing the perfect games for your child.

 Determine the games that are suited to the age of your child. Games that involve
physical activities are perfect for toddlers. Children who are at their toddler age love
to do physical activities.
 Identify the interests of your child. Make sure that your child would enjoy and have a
wonderful time learning. If your child has interests in puzzles, then you may let him
engage in trivia games, word puzzles and jigsaw. Identifying your child's interests
will also help you choose games that will get him off on the right foot.
 Also make sure that the games will help your child in developing his social skills.
Make sure that the games are interactive. It is also better if you and other members of
your family can join in. This will not only help him develop his social skills but will
also serve as a family bonding activity.
 Educational games are also perfect for your child who loves to discover things and
ideas. He will surely learn many things and will develop his intellectual abilities.
Educational games are also perfect for you if you like engaging in your child's
activities.
 Make sure that the games that your child engages in are safe. Safety is the most
important factor to consider when choosing games. They should not cause harm to
your child. Make sure that the games would not cause harm to your child even when
you are not around.

Find time to join in with your children's activities to ensure their safety while playing and at
the same time spending a quality time together. Choosing the perfect child development
games for your children will develop them emotionally, intellectually and physically.

That you can use to develop your children.

Type of Examples of
Your Child's Development
Games Games

Hopscotch
Personal and social development... working with others,
Physical Follow-my- taking turns.
Games leader
Physical development... develop strong muscles and co-
Hide and seek ordination.

Personal and social development... being part of a group,

turn taking.
Pass the parcel
Party Games
Creative development... moving to music.
Musical statues
Physical development... strong muscle development, hand-
eye co-ordination skills.
 Lotto Personal and social development... sharing and taking
turns.
Table-top Snap
Games Mathematics... counting, matching and sorting.
Matching games
Language and literacy... communicating with others and
Counting games learning new vocabulary.

Ucpmarjononline.co.uk/management (Retrieved on 13th August 2013)

Games that are likely to be enjoyed by your children

 Football
 Snap
 Bingo
 Obstacle races
 Picture lotto
 Hunt the thimble

What you can do to help your children.

 Good supervision is important and your children should be allowed some freedom but
you should assist them to be aware of their limits and the outcomes of their actions.
 You should set clear rules and boundaries in order for your children to be aware from
the start on how far they could climb or take-turns in child development games for
instance.
 Children love to be outdoors than closed indoors of homes. Their age demands to
explore the nature as everything they find outdoors is new and exciting for them.
They are curious about all what they see outdoors. You should take your children
outdoors frequently. But simple outdoor walks or jaunts won't be exciting for
children. They need activities.
 Games, treasure hunts, etc., will make them happy and refreshed. Outdoor activities
with other children will make children to learn the basics of social living and time
spent with parents will make them feeling higher level of affection with parents.
There are several advisable outdoor activities for children.
Outdoor games are very important in the overall development of a child. Playing outdoor
games helps the children in improving their socializing skills, listening skills as well as verbal
skills. And it also helps the children in the regular exercise of the body which in turn helps in
keeping the body fit and healthy. Apart from these there are other good aspects of playing
outdoor games and you need to be aware of the fact and encourage your children to play
outdoor games.

Importance of dance
Let us now look at the last part of this topic, which is dancing! Dancing benefits a child's
education. Through dance, children not only learn the benefits of exercising, but they also
learn coordination, balance, flexibility, stamina, stability, memory and discipline. Let us look
more on the importance of dance.
  Dancing Improves Memory

Dancing requires memorization. Children improve their overall memory when trying to
remember steps.
 Learn How to Listen
Dancing teaches children how to listen, whether it be instruction or for the beat. When
children are listening, they are not talking.
 Develop Social Skills
Dancing shows children how to interact with their peers in a positive manner. Dancing at a
young age is non-competitive.

Dance is a powerful ally for developing many of the attributes of a growing child. Dance
helps children mature physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. The physical
benefits of dance are widely accepted, but the emotional, social and cognitive attributes have
only recently begun to be appreciated.

Physical Development: Dance involves a greater range of motion, coordination, strength and
endurance than most other physical activities. This is accomplished through movement
patterns that teach coordination and kinaesthetic memory. Dancing utilizes the entire body
and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness. Young children are naturally
active, but dance offers an avenue to expand movement possibilities and skills.

Emotional Maturity: Dance promotes psychological health and maturity. Children enjoy the
opportunity to express their emotions and become aware of themselves and others through
creative movement. A pre-school child enters a dance class or classroom with a history of
emotional experiences. Movement within a class offers a structured outlet for physical release
while gaining awareness and appreciation of oneself and others.

Social Awareness: Dance fosters social encounter, interaction, and cooperation. Children
learn to communicate ideas to others through the real and immediate mode of body
movement. Children quickly learn to work within a group dynamic. As the ongoing and
sometimes challenging process of cooperation evolves, children learn to understand
themselves in relation t
o others.

Cognitive Development: Young children will create movement spontaneously when present-
ed with movement ideas or problems that can be solved with a movement response. Move-
ment provides the cognitive loop between the idea, problem, or intent and the outcome or
solution. This teaches an infant, child and, ultimately, adult to function in and understand the
world. The relationship of movement to intellectual development and education is an
embryonic field of study that has only recently begun to be explored.

Through dance, children develop enhanced sensory awareness, cognition, and conscious-
ness. It is this heightened state that creates the magic of movement that is dance.
The benefits of dance for children far outweigh any potential stereotyping that may come
about as the result. Children, whether male or female can learn many things from dance
classes that go far beyond practical applications in their dancing. These life lessons are part of
the appeal of dance classes to parents around the world

Discipline and self-control are very important character traits when it comes to dance. You
must practice and you must hold yourself in the proper positions for the moves you need to
take. Your children will also learn to take turns, to share attention, and to cooperate with
others. These are very important skills for a young child to develop and dance classes are
often offered for children at a much younger age than many team sports.

Your children will also learn the importance of being part of a group as many dances involve
everyone in the class. Dance classes also teach your children about music, rhythm, and beat.
Your children will become more coordinated as the result of their dance classes and these
classes are a great way in which to encourage physical fitness and exercise.

By teaching your children early in life the importance of movement and fitness you will instil
lifes. Dance for children will also help build self-esteem in them as they accomplishe new
goals and in them the tools they will need in order to remain physically fit throughout the
course of their tasks each week. You should watch closely however and make sure that this
isn’t backfiring by having your children in a style of dance that they find frustrating.

3.2: Types of music

We have been discussing the importance of music topic 3.1. It is now time for us to talk about
different types of music. Why do you think we should discuss different types of music? Well,
you are correct. If you remember well, we said that music helps in the development of young
children. As such, you need to know different types so that you can help those children.

No matter what the media 'industry' says or does, music shall always remain a form of art.
Even when made solely for the purpose of getting rich, it still needs a source of expression.
Every genre has a build-up and then a follow-up. Every style has its high point. In this
century, there are such a large list of musical genres and styles that it would be impossible for
anyone to listen to every piece of music created even in a hundred lifetimes

Let us now look at the types of music which we have in the world today.

3.2.1 Classical Music:

This is the music of the old days. The kind of music that most of us have forgotten, yet listen
to everyday. Because most of what we hear now is derived from what the great classical
composers created decades and centuries ago. We may think of classical music as what
orchestras play in a giant auditorium, wearing black clothes, with a conductor frantically
waving his staff about. That's a very base description of something that the composers
dedicated their lives to. The main categories in classical music go a little like this:

-Orchestral Music
This is the usual grand collection of many musicians (more than eighty), grouped according
to their instruments, guided by their sheet music, years of training and practice, and the
conductor. It started in the early 17th century and evolved into the sub-categories given
below.
= A symphony consists of four movements (sometimes three). They usually differ from each
other through the kind of emotion they are designed to invoke.
=A suite (pronounced 'sweet', French for 'a sequence') is an arrangement of short movements,
either self-composed or taken from someone else's composition.
= An overture is a piece of composition that acts as the curtain-raiser to the opera.
= A concerto is essentially made of three movements that are created solely for the purpose of
letting the soloist instrument shine out. This is unlike a symphony, where all instruments
perform in unison.
= Ballet is orchestral music that is based on dance movements. This type was created and
nurtured during the Romantic era.
= Incidental music is directly related to stage music; it provides the motion to an act. The
sections are short and often repetitive.
=Chamber music
This is musical work composed specifically for a smaller instrumental arrangement (smaller
than an orchestra).

-Opera
The most popular type of classical music to come out of the Baroque era was the opera. It's
an orchestra set to an entire play. The composition can be created to accompany an act or
display the emotions of a character on a colourfully constructed background.

You also have two other types in this category: vocal music and solo instrumental music.
=Vocal music may or may not be accompanied by instruments, while solo instrumental music
is not accompanied by anything.

Apart from the above 'types', you also have the major 'styles' of classical music:
Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic and Contemporary (or neoclassical). Each movement or era
can be distinguished through chronology and the location of their origin.

3.2.2 Rock Music:

The origins of rock 'n' roll are as foggy as the genre is popular. What I can offer you is this:
the term was coined in 1955 by Alan Freed, a disc jockey from Ohio. The oldest form of rock
'n' roll (1950s) was a mixture of R&B, country and rockabilly (it was just called hillbilly
music back then), only it was faster, louder and 'dangerous'. The man at the forefront of this
genre was (and still is) Elvis Presley, followed by personalities like Chuck Berry and Little
Richard. The rock scene in the 50s was more about shock value, which included fashion
statements, sexually-oriented lyrics and dance moves catering to a young audience in
particular.

That was as short an introduction to the genre as one can make. What followed were
generations of largely American and European artists, each influenced by their predecessors,
trying to make something better. Whether that was through clothes, the rhythm or harnessing
and even catalyzing political agenda, rock music was, is and will be, all about shocking the
current generation.

The one great push for music into the whole rock band scene was arguably done by The Yard
birds. The band includes the three guitarists that helped shape rock music - Jimmy Page, Jeff
Beck and Eric Clapton. Each member contributed heavily to the band as well as creating
entire separate realms of rock, namely the band Led Zeppelin (founded by Jimmy Page).

All in all, rock can be largely sub-categorized into the following types or styles. Bear in mind
that they are more of less styles of rock rather than completely different genres, and that an
artist or a band can be found in more than one style (like Led Zeppelin can be found under
hard rock, psychedelic rock and folk rock. Queen falls under progressive rock and glam
rock).
=Alternative rock is anything that peaked for brief periods of time and was out of the
ordinary, even by rock standards. This includes grunge, indie, new wave, punk and goth to
name a few. Alternative rock can be defined more through movements rather than individual
bands.
=Art rock, which is the early form of psychedelic rock and progressive rock. It is led by the
bands Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Pink Floyd and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi was
also known as the pioneer of acid rock).
=Arena rock, which is just a different way to see the greater rock bands of old: under heavy
lighting, dynamic stage acts and crowd inclusion. The style focuses more on the stage (like
Woodstock) than any band in particular.
= Metal is perhaps the branch of rock with the most number of offshoots. It is believed to be
initiated by Black Sabbath. It also includes Iron Maiden, who are a part of the heavy metal
movement called New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
= Glam rock can encompass a wider range of other styles of rock, and add feminine detailing
and promiscuity. This includes David Bowie, Queen, Elton John and T. Rex. There's also
glam metal with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith.
These main styles have a wide array of sub-categories, giving you hundreds of styles in rock
music, like death metal, British invasion, southern rock, roots rock, college rock, Christian
rock, etc..
3.2.3 Blues:
The reason why blues became so popular can only be understood when you look at its time of
creation. The origin of blues is too unclear to pinpoint to one artist or one year; for the sake of
historic importance, it's believed that the blues music was created in the late 19th century, by
the black slaves that were forced to work in the cotton fields. Blues has firm roots in African
traditional music. But above all else, the purpose of making the blues is always the same: the
expression of intense emotions. It is the one reason why this genre had such a profound effect
on America, and eventually the world.

Blues is usually categorized by the location of a style, because everywhere the blues went, it
caught a different feel.
= Mississippi delta blues came from the Mississippi delta region. It's the oldest known form
of blues as a genre, from which other forms later evolved. Artists included in this style are
Muddy Waters and Memphis Minnie (When the Levee Breaks is a perfect example of the
delta blues).
=Chicago blues came next, when the delta musicians started travelling to the big city to look
for a better life. Which is why Muddy Waters can be considered as both a delta blues man
and a Chicago blues artist. The biggest difference between the two styles is the use of electric
guitars and a slightly faster pace in the latter.
=Texas blues came out after America saw how big Chicago blues was getting. The style was
made famous by artists like Lightnin' Hopkins and Freddie King.
= Blues rock was one of the last big blues styles to hit it big. It's largely inspired by the
Chicago blues and started in the 1960s by bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and ZZ
Top.

3.2.4: Jazz
Jazz is the second genre born from African traditional music. It is considered to be America's
first indigenous form of music. It is believed to have started after the Civil War, when the
black people were free to travel and seek employment.

Similar to the blues, the jazz styles are also classified according to time and location.♫
Ragtime was the most popular form of jazz. It started in the late 1800s and included heavy
use of the piano. It was a little different from the other jazz styles because it was formally
composed, rather than improvised. Check out 'Shoe Tickler Rag' and 'The Maple Leaf Rag'.
=New Orleans jazz started in that city and focused on collective improvisation.
=Chicago jazz is where the swing really started swinging. It's characterized by a fast hip-
swerving rhythm fronted by a solo sax improvisation.
= Bebop is all about nonsensical syllables that are more percussive than literary (like the Bill
Cosby memes). Bebop came after the swing era and around the start of WW II.
=Cool jazz is a direct response to the then-declining bebop jazz. It was more classical and
formal.
=Smooth jazz is one of the last styles implemented. It is heavily influenced by R&B and
funk.
=Scat jazz is a form of vocal jazz similar to bebop. Check out Ella Fitzgerald.

3.2.5: Electronic:
Electronic music is much older than you think. The first in the history of electronic music
was Thaddeus Cahill and his telharmonium in 1897. Since then, composers started using the
concept of electronically generated music to produce scores that were impossible to replicate
by man through existing mechanical instruments.

Because of its definition, it becomes difficult to ascertain whether a piece of music is

electronic or not. Electronic music means it is synthetically produced. So the previous
century would call anything that wasn't acoustic as electronic. Today, it means music that
sounds synthetic, regardless of it being made using computers or not. It is mostly dance-
oriented.

The full list being too big, I've mentioned the bigger categories of electronic music.♫ You
have the house and lounge music that falls under ambient music. Electronic rock uses
instruments like the etherphone and the mellotron.
=Then you have the big styles meant for dancing, like disco, eurodance, electronica and
techno.
=There are also experimental styles like industrial music and glitch.
= Dubstep is a relatively new addition (late 90s) to the genre, which branches out into brostep
and wonky.
=The list also contains vague styles like chip tunes (video game music) of which
nintendocore is an offshoot.
Listen to artists like Chemical Brothers, Infected Mushroom, Bass nectar and Daft Punk to
get an idea of electronic music.
3.2.6 Folk:
Folk music can be broadly classified into two groups, traditional folk and folk revival. Not
styles, like other genres. There is only one type - folk. The actual folk songs are something
that are indigenous to a culture, popularized at events and passed down mostly orally. It is
often the case that a folk song does not have a singular credible artist (or cannot be found).
The songs are sourced as anonymous and are therefore, not owned by anyone. They are
always lyrically important, with an easy rhythm to guide the song. Also, it is mostly the
working class that engages in expressive songs. It is they who make the folk songs, which is
why the songs are about daily life and the workers' struggle, or about nature and wildlife, or
even lullabies for children.

The other group can be collectively called folk music or folk revival music. It is
commercially successful, credible to artists who exist and are relatively new (since the 19th).
The sound is derived from the folk songs of old (usually sticking to one style) and the lyrics
are created wholly by the artist or drawn from the folk song itself. Artists that have made folk
music include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger and
Joan Baez.
3.2.7 Country:
Country music originated around the 1920s, part in Southern U.S. and part in the
Appalachian mountains. It comes from a combination of southern folk songs, gospel and
blues music. It all started with 'Sallie Gooden' by Eck Robertson. His style was similar to
what we can call country music. The genre was made famous by Jimmie Rodgers, who is also
known as the Father of Country Music.

Here are the bigger styles of country music:

= Bluegrass is heavily influenced by American traditional music or roots music. It was
created by Irish and British immigrants that landed in Appalachia. The name actually comes
from Bill Monroe's band Bluegrass Boys, who are from Kentucky, the Bluegrass State.
= Honky-tonk is a type of pub music that is derived from ragtime. The style is more about
country and blues songs that refer to the honky-tonk pub life (southern pubs, the kind that
would keep a mechanical bull), like Hank Williams' 'Honky-Tonkin'' and 'Honky-Tonk
Women' by The Rolling Stones.
=Rockabilly is basically of rock 'n' roll and hillbilly music. It can be considered a part of both
the genres. It started out in the 50s and is popular to this day.
= Outlaw country focuses on the 'outlaw' image and music of the Wild West, like Willie
Nelson's Shotgun Willie.
=Alternative country is like alternative rock; it covers everything country that isn't
mainstream. It's difficult to call an artist's entire work as alternative, usually it's only a part of
their work.

3.2.8: R&B
R&B, which stands for Rhythm and Blues, was a name coined due to need rather than style.
During the 40s, any music created by the African-American populace was termed 'black
music' or 'race music'. The term was quite offensive and therefore, stunted the growth and
popularity of the artists. In order to make it sound more upbeat, Billboard reporter Jerry
Wexler coined R&B, and the phrase has stuck since then.

A much generalized answer to what R&B means is the vocal styles of blues music, spread
over different rhythms. These rhythms come from almost anywhere in mainstream parts of
gospel, jazz, country and rock 'n' roll. It is this rhythm that sets R&B apart from blues. This
implies R&B can encompass all the said categories, while maintaining its own style.
=Funk can be considered to be a part of R&B. It includes James Brown (the creator of funk)
and Earth, Wind and Fire. The music is primarily meant to be danced to.
=Contemporary R&B is music that fits into the R&B category after the 80s.
=Soul is a style generated from a heavy influence of gospel music on blues and R&B. The
style was largely created by Ray Charles.
=Neo Soul is almost like soul, except it includes influences from hip hop, rap and pop. It's
basically an R&B style that started in the late 90s.
R&B is also classified through the set lists that radio stations play, spawning branches like
urban adult contemporary and urban contemporary.

3.2.9 Hip Hop

The music of hip hop is just a part of the whole culture, a very big part. The music is marked
by a significant importance to the bass and the beats, with rapping as the predominant vocal
art form. Which is why rap is a part of hip hop culture and therefore, its styles are also a part
of hip hop music.

The term was coined by Keith Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The man
who is believed to be the originator of hip hop music is DJ Kool Herc. Afrika Bambaataa,
one of the artists who created break-beating is considered the grandfather of hip hop. Then
you have Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin who founded Def Jam Records. Them, along with
others like Run D.M.C. and Public Enemy are called the pioneers of hip hop.

The music is divided into two parts, DJing and rapping, although both of them are regularly
used together. DJ Kool Herc and many others started the art of turntablism, which includes
disc-scratching, sampling and crowd control using live audio techniques.

Hip hop has an incredible number of styles, each bringing something different to the
table.You have
= the evergreen freestyle rap
=the popular gangsta rap
= the experimental branch, Avant garde hip hop
=the rave scene's ghetto house and ghettotech
= the incendiary political hip hop
= the geeky nerdcore
= psychedelic
= horrorcore
= Christian hip hop
And the whole scene is divided into the East Coat and West Coast hip hop!

3.2.10: Ska and Reggae

To be precise, reggae can be called an offshoot of ska, because ska came before reggae. To
know how reggae started, you'll have to take a look at ska and rocksteady.

Ska is roughly a mixture of calypso and jazz. It is more percussive than melodic and very
upbeat. You can divide the styles of ska into three generations or 'waves':
=The first wave is the original ska movement started in Jamaica in the 1950s. It was the
experimental stage, so you have a muddle of styles coming together. Jamaica was already
exposed to jazz and blues at this time, so the influence is easily heard (Desmond Dekker,
Toots and the Maytals).
=The second wave (aka two-tone) was the opposite of what happened in the first wave.
Britain's grip on Jamaica was weakening, and Jamaica responded in an explosion of culture.
Their music (like Bob Marley and the Wailers, who are from the first wave) was being heard
in both Europe and America. By the 70s, you saw bands like Madness from London, that
created and promoted ska.

=The third wave came in the 80s and was way more punk than 2-tone. It was faster in tempo
and was liked mostly by skinheads.
Rocksteady is the name of the genre between ska and reggae. It was intended for dance, was
much slower than ska and used offbeat rhythms. Alton Ellis is known as the Godfather of
Rocksteady. You'll also find bands like the Skatalites and a number of popular ska artists in
this style.

And then came reggae. The thing is, 'reggae' is used as the umbrella term for Jamaican music,
not ska. So even though ska and rocksteady came before reggae, we call them a part of
reggae, for the sake of convenience. So reggae basically takes all the most interesting
elements from its past forms and melds them together to make the music of the Rastafari
movement. Your prominent types of reggae music are:
=Early reggae, which started in 1968. It had more elements of funk in it, making it groovy
and often instrumental.
= Roots reggae started after the 70s. It is the most popular form of reggae (read Bob Marley).
= Rockers reggae is what you get when a rock musician gets into reggae. It's more
aggressive, pumped up and heavier on the sound of the drums than its beat.
=Lovers rock is the romantic version of reggae. While Bob Marley sung about loving the
world, Maxi Priest sung love songs.
= Dub music came out of the 60s reggae scene. It took all the recorded reggae stuff and
electronically modified to give a more "trippy" experience.
= The last big one was dancehall, which is more vocal (rapping often replaces singing) and
follows a live band that produces the 'riddim' (rhythm).
Raggamuffin is a sub-style of dancehall (more electronic), reggaeton is an urban mix of
reggae (Sean Paul, Daddy Yankee. Reggaeton can also be a part of Latino music) and reggae-
fusion is a mix of reggae and the genres popular in America, like R&B, jazz and hip hop.

You also have a few vague styles in reggae, like ragga metal (raggamuffin and metal),
Nyabinghi (Rasta ceremonial music using special nyabinghi drums), dub poetry and toasting
(talking over a riddim rather than singing).Back to Top
Latin American MusicLatin music goes a lot farther back and deeper than what it is today.
While you have the Latino artists making pop dance-and-romance numbers, the older forms
of Latin music are incredibly different and yet humble.

All in all, Latin music is something that comes from any part of Latin America, be it Cuba or
Brazil or Argentina. Or it used to; now Latin music also includes artists from the U.S.A. and
Europe that have a Latin background or style.

3.2.11; World
World music is a catch-all term to describe any music that doesn't come into the major genres
already mentioned above. More accurately, if it's not something that doesn't fall into featured
lists in America and Britain, then it's pretty much world music. That means world music
gives you the most diverse types of music there are. And although reggae can be included in
world music, it is still big enough to get a separate space for itself.
World music is usually based on ethnic music from different parts of the globe. It isn't folk,
and is therefore credible to artists and bands. For example, The Corrs, Shakira and Enya fall
into world music. This means that world music can be just as popular as other mainstream
genres, while still including culturally individual artists and works that cater to specific
audiences. Thus, categories like j-pop (Japanese pop) and k-pop (Korean pop) are also world
music.

This category will contain all the culturally rich music that isn't mainstream, like traditional
Setswana music, Inuit throat singing, Celtic music, the Indonesian gamelan, gypsy music,
exotica, Enka and Caribbean music.
=meditation
=gospel
=healing
Regardless, new age music is the one genre where there is absolutely no need to divide it into
types. The music is supposed to be explored by experiencing it yourself. It won't guide you to
any meaning. It only helps you get to your own.
And it keeps going on and on. We usually follow a common pattern of simplicity when it
comes to the broader genres, but for anything more specific, we all have our own ideas and
tastes. I believe you need genres for the sake of being technical. Besides that, there is no
division apart from personal choices. Which is why there is in essence, only one genre. And
that is music.

Music comes in many different types and styles ranging from traditional rock music to world
pop, easy listening and bluegrass. Many genres have a rich history or geographical
significance, a cult following or music roots that go far beyond the 20th century.

Kind of music appropriate for young children

It has been proven over and over that music education greatly improves the child’s
development. The benefits of early musical training cannot be disputed.
But there is a big problem: what kind of music is appropriate for children?

For the younger age (2-5), it is obvious that childish simple songs are the best repertoire.
Children enjoy it without any difficulty.
But the problem arises with the next stage (5-10), which is the most important for musical
development. Here is the core of the matter. Usually teachers enforce their own choice, which
most of the time is classical music. If watched carefully, children don’t seem too enthusiastic
about this.

The choice should belong to the child. But unfortunately the child’s taste might be
influenced by peers or tv shows in the wrong way.
By the wrong way I mean: for the girls, most disco and rap music pushes them into a too
premature understanding of sex; for the boys, most heavy metal transforms them, more or
less, into young evil monsters. Some parents may find both situations to be quite funny, but
they are not.

Why Medieval?.
In order to understand this, let’s look from a different point of view :”What kind of literature
do children enjoy most?” The answer is: FAIRY TALES. The young mind is mesmerized by
the magic and the filtered reality provided by these stories.
What kind of music relates best to fairy tales? Obviously, the music of the Medieval and
Renaissance age. And there is no better alternative to that.

In conclusion:
- music is very important for child’s development
- children don’t like most of the music they are supposed to learn
- the best choice and most acceptable is the medieval music, related to fairy tales which
children love.

3.3: Rhymes, tongue twisters and riddles

Let us now go on and look at look at the other types of arts, this time Rhymes, tongue
twisters and riddles. We will look at them separately Rhymes, Nursery rhymes not merely tell
stories. They help children to learn the wonderful sounds of the language. Simple words that
rhyme add a magical touch to these little poems for little ones. You are sure to find many
popular nursery rhymes for your child to learn, recite and cherish for years to come. You can
even use our rhyme dictionary to introduce your child to a vast vocabulary of rhyming words
from A-Z. Choose from either contemporary or traditional nursery rhymes to help your child
wander gleefully into the never-never land of sounds and language

There are a lot of different ways to approach teaching nursery rhymes to children. Many of
the children probably know most of the rhymes, but some will not. As an introduction, you
can first read (or sing) a rhyme to the children, while showing them the pictures. The children
could then sing along with you.

Word Families:
Many of the nursery rhymes contain common word families. You can use these rhymes to
teach these letter combinations (and how they are spelled and spoken), having the students
sound them out after memorizing the rhyme. For a list of some common word families and a
list of the word families contained in some nursery rhymes, click here. You can study one
word family a week. Students can use the Little Explorers Picture Dictionary to look for more
words that belong to word families

Related Activities:
As a related activity, have the children draw pictures about the rhymes or make simple paper,
craft stick, or paper bag puppets of the main characters and objects mentioned in the rhymes.
The children could then use their puppets while singing the rhyme to act out the rhyme while
they sing it. Many rhymes are great for this.

Using Nursery Rhymes to Teach Other Concepts:

 You can use rhymes to help reinforce other preschool and kindergarten lessons. For
example, Hello Mr cock! What is the time?, can be used in a unit about telling time.
Make a simple cardboard clock with movable cardboard hands that the children can
 move along with the rhyme (since the time changes in each verse of the rhyme).
Combining this with stick puppets can make a really nice lesson on telling time.
 The rhyme Ten Little Monkeys can be used in a unit on numbers. Make (or have the
children make) ten paper monkeys, and they can put out the right number of monkeys
for each verse of the rhyme. The rhyme One, Two, Three, Four, Five also works for
this, using fish.
 The rhyme Monday's Child can be used as a supplement to teaching the days of the
week. You can use rhymes to introduce the children to the idea that languages and
customs change over time. Many of the words used in rhymes are slightly archaic but
have modern-day equivalents. For example, in the rhyme Old Mother Hubbard, ask
(or tell) the children what the modern equivalent of cupboard is (a cabinet). Also, the
rhymes can introduce the children to some of the interesting differences in the ways
we live now and how people lived long ago. For example, in the rhyme Rub-a-dub-
dub, Three Men in a Tub, one of the men is a candle-stick maker. You can explain
that long ago, people didn't have electricity or electric lights, and used candles for
light. Jack and Jill are fetching water; this can start a discussion about where we get
water now and how people used to go to wells for water and carry the water home.
These rhymes can lead to a discussion about the many differences between now and
then.
 Teach your child nursery rhymes. Nursery rhyme books are an excellent way to begin
teaching your child this early phonological awareness skill.
 Young children love repetition. They enjoy reading the same books over and over
again. This repetition is important in children’s learning process, and should be
encouraged. So when your child reaches for the same books or asks you to “read it
again” rest assured that hearing materials again and again is good for him.
 After you’ve read a rhyme several times, leave out the rhyming word and pause
expectantly. Ask your child what word comes next. Wait for a few seconds for a
response. If your child answers correctly, reinforce her by saying, “that’s right. See,
_______ rhymes with ________.” If she doesn’t say the word, say it for her, and ask
her to say it back to you. Say, “ see, ______ rhymes with _______.” Make this
process playful and enjoyable. Eventually, your child will begin to anticipate the
rhyming words and will fill them in.
 Once your child is able to predict rhyming words in her favorite rhyming books on a
regular basis, begin playing rhyming games with her where you and she think of
words that rhyme. For example, ask her to think of a word that rhymes with a word
that you say. Start out with words she already knows from her rhyming books
(without actually using the book during this activity). For example, if you are reading
The Cat in the Hat, ask her for a word that rhymes with “cat.”
 After your child is able to identify and say rhyming words from her books without
using the books, it is time to begin introducing new words for her to rhyme by making
up new rhymes. Tell her you are going to say a word, and that you would like to think
up words that rhyme or sound the same. Say the word “cat.” Your child will probably
say “hat.” Then ask for another word that sounds like cat. Wait for a response. If your
child offers a correct word, say “that’s right. ______ rhymes with cat and hat. If she
does not respond or gives another word that doesn’t rhyme, give an example of a
correct word, like “bat.” Again, keep it fun, and enjoyable. If your child has difficulty
with this task, discontinue and work more on vocabulary building with sight word
vocabulary flash cards. After your child’s vocabulary grows, you can come back to
the rhyming activity.
  Read children’s books of poems together. After you’ve read a poem several times,
repeat some of the activities above.

It is important to remember that rhyming is a developmental skill that will emerge over time.
Be patient with your child as he learns this skill. If he has persistent difficulty with rhyming
or other phonemic awareness skills, consider having his hearing screened. You can also make
an appointment with your child’s teacher to share your concerns and ask if the teacher has
also noted similar problems in school. The teacher can help you determine if it is a good idea
to continue with rhyming activities or if your reading time would be better spent building a
different skill. Your teacher may also observe your child and determine if he needs extra help
in this area.

Reading, songs and rhymes are very important for the development of your child. They not
only help with using and understanding words but give your children an interest in these
areas.
Song and rhyme teach us about language and help us to remember stories. Many legends,
fables and biblical stories are put to song or rhyme such as the Psalms which remind us of
God’s sovereignty.
Children love songs and rhymes with actions. This encourages them to be involved in group
activities. In participating we not only learn the song but the actions too. Both of which need
skill and lots of concentration to put the two together at the same time.
Reading, songs and rhymes can be used (especially with older children) as a form of
relaxation or unwinding before bed. When he is very young it doesn’t matter what you are
reading because it is the soothing sound of your voice that will relax him. You can use this
time to catch up on your mail, read a magazine or the latest novel.
As he becomes more interested in what you are reading, choose baby books with strong
bright colours and simple pictures. When reading, make it interesting. Talk about the
pictures. Choose fabric or cardboard pages for the very young so he may turn the pages
without tearing them. When putting an older child to bed, a story time can become part of his
bedtime routine. He will recognize it as a quality time with parents, you or loved ones, a
special time to calm down and relax before sleeping. This quiet time can be part of his
daytime sleep routine too.
Children who have been read to since early childhood grow to love reading. Reading is an
integral part of growing up and those who love to read are usually those who love learning.
It is ideal to start these activities when your children are very young. Form a habit of reading
and singing to them regularly, this will help them to concentrate, to sit still on your lap or
opposite you when they need to copy your actions
Tongue twisters

A Tongue Twister is a phrase or sentence which is hard to speak fast, usually because of
alliteration or a sequence of nearly similar sounds. It helps develop speech skills & helps in
speech therapy. Tongue twisters help develop speech skills in young children as well as older
children who need additional help with speech therapy

To get the full effect of a tongue twister you should try to repeat it several times, as quickly
as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing.

Tongue twisters are fun and help improve a child’s language awareness and pronunciation
skills. Let me give you one example of tongue twister:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Activity:

Write at least 3 Setswana tongue twisters.

Why tongue twisters? Because it helps the child to get better at articulating words quickly
and clearly. Tongue twisters should be done repeatedly and as quickly as possible without
mistakes

Listen and speak

You could focus on listening and speaking before looking at the written form. Play or say the
tongue twister then tell your students that they are going to repeat the sentence bit by bit after
you. Start by asking your students to repeat the last part of the sentence and building up to the
full tongue twister like this:

Using tongue twisters in class is a fun and challenging way of providing pronunciation
practice. Tongue twisters don’t always make sense but your students will enjoy trying to say
them and learning about this quirky part of traditional English-speaking culture. Here are
some ideas for using tongue twisters on Learn English Kids with your learners.

Riddles.

What is a riddle? A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled

meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are
problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity
and careful thinking for their solution, and conundra, which are questions relying for their
effects on punning in either the question or the answer.
Let me add and say that it is a question or observation deliberately worded in a puzzling
manner and presented as a problem to be solved.

In most African societies, riddles are a form of art. They are simple and elegant ways to
communicate a lot of meaning in few words. Riddles play an important role in the traditions
of African speech and conversation. Like proverbs, African riddles are brief and based on
observations of nature. However, with riddles, the listener is expected to guess the answer to
a question or the meaning of a statement. Riddles make an important contribution to
children’s full participation in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of African
communities, especially by fostering critical thinking and transmitting indigenous
knowledge. Riddles are used mainly for entertainment and stimulating thinking. We have
included riddles as a form of entertainment, especially for children. This is an outstanding
way of introducing them to African literature and critical thinking. Like, the proverbs and
folktales, this activity is optional.

Riddles have important functions like socialisation and recreation, riddles alsohelps in
sharpening one’s reasoning skills and quickness of wit, and attempts to show how riddles
foster quick mental flexibility on the part of the child as he/she grapples with different
possibilities and probabilities in the search for correct answers to given riddles

One type of children’s entertainment is a way to develop creative thinking. Riddles give
children the spirit of competition.

References:

David Byrne: (2012)How Music Works: UK Canongate Books Ltd

Dan Lucian (2009) Eduardo Marturet: The Maestro of Symphony

Ucpmarjononline.co.uk/management (Retrieved on 13th August 2013)

Unit 4: Craft Activities

Welcome to unit 4 of our module. In this unit we are going to talk about craft activities. Craft
activities are important to the development of young children, as such you need to know how
to assist them in these activities. In this unit we are going to cover the following topics:

4.1 Paper mache

4.2 Using beads to make necklaces

4.3 Tie and dye

Objectives: At the end of this unit, you should be able to

1. explain how to make paper mache

2. select beads suitable for making necklaces

3. make necklaces using beads.

4. produce materials made of tie and dye

Importance of craft activities

Let me start this unit by looking at the importance of craft activities in young children. What
do you think is their importance? Great!! All your answers are correct. However, I have to
add on your wonderful answers.

Crafts have been around since the beginning of time when people made everything they used
with their hands. Crafts were initially created for trading, selling, spiritual or artistic
expression, as well as creating personal and household articles.
Today, crafts are a great pastime and educational tool for kids. It can not only keep the kids
entertained on a rainy day, but also extend a child’s fine motor skills , develop concepts like
colour or numbers and see scientific processes like gluing and paint drying in action.
Craft allows kids to explore ideas or concepts and then express it by making something to
keep, entertain others with or simply look at for visual pleasure.

As a learning activity, arts and crafts have traditionally been passed over in favour of more
academic pursuits. But craft – particularly developmentally appropriate craft activities – can
aid learning in other areas like language , music , art , social studies, science , maths , health,
and nutrition.
Craft for the under-5s
At this age, craft is more about passing the time when it’s too rainy to go to the park, but it’s
a great way to engage your pre-scholar, toddler or baby in ideas that provide foundation for
future learning.
 Benefits can include:
 Extending their thinking across multiple patterns of intelligence
 Develop higher thinking skills
 Enhance multicultural understandings
 Build self esteem
 Gain positive emotional responses to learning

Arts and crafts are really important for children from a very young age (even a one year old
can enjoy finger painting) and it remains important long after they can read and write. On
deep level, art is a form of communication, it is another way of expressing ourselves and
our emotions and it can help with processing feelings and experiences. And perhaps less deep,
but equally important, art and craft sessions allow children to gain self confidence, belief in
their abilities and to learn through play.

4.1 Paper mache

Paper mache is one of the art and craft activities which young children enjoy most. What is
paper mache? Papier mâché is a French word for "mashed paper". Paper mache is a popular
method of creating three-dimensional projects. Paper bound with a strong adhesive dries into
a sturdy shell that takes the form of its mold. In this procedure, a balloon is used as the mold
for the paper mache

Paper Mache Paste Recipes :

Paper Mache Paste Recipe 1.

White flour and water make a remarkable strong paste. In fact, some folks think paper mache
is strong enough to build houses with. Your finished sculptures might not be strong enough to
hold up a house but you can sand them and drill them, just like wood.

Boiled Flour and Water Paste:

Many people use a paste that is made of white flour and water that has been brought to a boil.
For you to make a strong structure, you need to apply more layers of paper to make your
finished sculpture stiff enough. However, it does dry clear, so many people prefer it. To make
boiled paste, make a heaping tablespoon of white floor with a cup of water in a small
saucepan and stir until there are no lumps. Put the pan on stove at medium heat and bring to a
boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow cooling. The paste will be very runny at
this stage, but it will gel as it cools.

Raw Flour and Water Paste:

This paste is stronger than boiled paste, as such, you can complete your sculpture with only a
few layers of paper. To make up the paste, just pour some white flour in a bowl, and add
water gradually until you have a consistency that will work well, mix well so that you don’t
have lumps.

How thick should you make your paste? Well, you are right. It is actually up to you.
Experiment with thick pastes that resemble hotcake batter, and thin pastes that are runny and
water. You get to decide which ones you prefer.

Keep in mind that it is the flour, and not the water, that gives strength to your paper mache
sculpture. And also remember that each layer of paste and paper that is added to your project
must dry completely to keep it from developing mold.

Speaking of mold, why not use wallpaper pastes that contains fungicides? There are two
reasons why you should use white flour pastes instead of ingredients that prevent mold. First,
white flour is cheaper when compared to any other type of art supply. Secondly, it is not good
to dip your hands in something that contains poison. It would even be more important f small
children were helping you with your projects.

To prevent the development of mold in your projects, you just need to remember that molds
cannot grow without water. Therefore, take every effort to dry out your projects completely.
You can put your sculptures in a place which will make them dry quickly. The main trick is
to make sure the sculpture is dry all the way through. If any dampness is left inside when you
apply paint or other finish, the sculpture will eventually rot from the inside out.

Glue –Based paste:

If you don’t want to mess with flour and water, and you don’t mind spending the money for
some Elmer’s glue.
Paper Mache Recipe 2

Papers to Use for Paper Mache

The traditional paper to use for paper mache in newspaper, which is torn into short strips.
(Cut edges should be avoided because they don’t blend in. Newspaper is cheap, and it is a
soft paper that is easy to bend and mold around a sculpture.

However, you can also use brown kraft paper from paper bags, which will give your
sculpture a naturally warm colour if the piece is left unpainted.

You can also use softer papers, like paper towels and even tissue paper. The soft papers are
used to fashion delicate details, and textured paper towels can be used to add an interesting
final coat.

Gesso Recipes:

Gesso helps to seal the paper mache and provide a nice white ground that makes your paint
brighter.

Easy Glue and Joint Compound.

You can make your gesso using about 3 parts joint compound, 1 part Elmer’s Glue – All and
some white acrylic paint if you want the gesso nice and white. The paint isn’t really needed.
You can apply a coat of this gesso, sand it or use a lightly damp sponge to smooth it out, and
then add another layer if the surface still isn’t smooth enough.

PowderedMarble Gesso recipe:

For a thicker home-made gesso, you can use calcium carbonate (powdered marble) and white
glue. The traditional proportions are 2 parts PVA glue (Elmer’s or an achievable book –
binder’s (PVA glue if you worry about pH), 4 parts water, and 8 parts calcium carbonate. To
make it nice and white, add 1 part powdered titanium or zinc white pigment. If you want to
thicken the gesso to cover bumps faster, you can use more powdered marble.
 Finishing Your Paper Mache Sculpture:

You can use any type of paint on your sculpture. I usually use acrylic craft paints, and a final
glaze made from water-based Verathane mixed with a bit of brown, or copper paint from the
craft store. This final coat is put on with a brush and then immediately rubbed of with a paper
towel, leaving the darker colour in the dips and valleys of the sculpture.

Two main methods are used to prepare papier-mâché; one makes use of paper strips glued
together with adhesive, and the other method uses paper pulp obtained by soaking or boiling
paper to which adhesive is then added.

With the first method, a form for support is needed on which to glue the paper strips. With the second
method, it is possible to shape the pulp directly inside the desired form. In both methods,
reinforcements with wire, chicken wire, lightweight shapes, balloons or textiles may be needed.

The traditional method of making papier-mâché adhesive is to use a mixture of water and
flour or other starch, mixed to the consistency of heavy cream. Other adhesives can be used if
thinned to a similar texture, such as polyvinyl acetate-based glues (wood glue or, in the
United States, white Elmer's glue). Adding oil of cloves or other additives such as salt to the
mixture reduces the chances of the product developing mold.

For the paper strips method, the paper is cut or torn into strips, and soaked in the paste until
saturated. The saturated pieces are then placed onto the surface and allowed to dry slowly.
The strips may be placed on an armature, or skeleton, often of wire mesh over a structural
frame, or they can be placed on an object to create a cast. Oil or grease can be used as a
release agent if needed. Once dried, the resulting material can be cut, sanded and/or painted,
and waterproofed by painting with a suitable water-repelling paint.[1] Before painting any
product of papier-mâché, the glue must be fully dried, otherwise mold will form and the
product will rot from the inside out.

For the pulp method, the paper is left in water at least overnight to soak, or boiled in abundant
water until the paper dissolves in a pulp. The excess water is drained, an adhesive is added
and the papier-mâché applied to a form or, especially for smaller or simpler objects, sculpted
to shape.

4.2 Using beads to make necklace

Let us now look at how you can use beads to make necklace

Before we talk about how you can make necklaces with your children, let me tell you that
there are many types of beads. We need to talk about these so that you know what you are
looking for when you want to use them. This will also help you to use a variety of beads so
that your children do not get bored of using the same thing throughout. Some of these is as
follows:

= Cylinder beads:

These are the best beads to use to achieve smooth, even beadwork. Their broad range of
colors, combined with their precision shape, make them the beads of choice for very detailed,
flat designs, including photo realism designs.
= Cubes beads:

Just like the name suggests, cubes beads, not surprisingly, are shaped like cubes. But not all
cube beads are the same; various brands and styles differ in the shapes and sizes of their
holes, the sharpness of their corners, and their method of production

= Seed bead:

Sead bead is one of the most common terms used to describe the tiny glass beads used in
beadwork. Informally, it can apply to any small glass bead. This is why you may sometimes
encounter other styles of beads appended with the term "seed beads.

= Magatama beads:

Magamata beads also have a liquid-like shape, but they are slightly different than drop beads.
Magatamas produce a subtly unique texture in beadwork, and you can also use them to accent
beaded fringe.

= Cut beads:

Each of the cut beads have one or more flat sides. These facets add extra sparkle and
interesting texture to your beadwork. Many vintage beaded accessories, such as purses, are
adorned with cut beads.

= Farfalle beads look like two-ended drops. They create lots of interesting and creative
beadweaving opportunities

= Bugle beads:

These ones look like tiny tubes of glass. They're most popular for use in fringe, but you can
also weave them into flat or tubular beadwork

= Drop beads:

Just as their name implies, are shaped like drops of liquid. You can use them in fringe or to
add texture to flat or tubular beadwork

Making your necklaces:

You'll need a few basic supplies, but making beaded necklaces is truly easy. All of the items
needed are inexpensive and can be found at any craft store. Specialty beads of glass or stone
can be found at a bead store or at one of the many online retailers.

Gather your stringing materials. The best kinds are flexible beading wire and beading
thread

Look for wire that has 19, 21 or 49 strands of stainless steel wire, coated with nylon. (Strands
that only have 3 or 7 wires will kink easily.) Beading thread is a great option if you are
stringing lightweight beads and it comes in several different colors.
Look for silk cord which comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses if you will be showing
some of the stringing material in the project

Before cutting your thread or wire, determine the length of your necklace and add 4-8 inches
(10-20 cm), so that you have enough to connect the clasp to the stringing materials

Gather 2 crimp beads, 1 clasp, and the beads for the desired necklace

Slide a tiny bead on the threading material, then the crimping bead, then another tiny bead
about 1 inch (2.5 cm) or so down.

Place one end of the clasp (the jump ring) on after the crimp bead and make a loop with the
stringing material

Place the end of the stringing material through the clasp section and then the bead-crimp-bead
combo and use the crimping tool/chain nose pliers to crimp the bead in place

If using bead thread, you may wish to put a dot of super glue of hypo cement on either end to
ensure that the beads and crimp stay on.) These steps will protect the stringing material from
rubbing on the ends of the crimp bead, which may cause the necklace to break.

holes Choose your beads and lay out your design before stringing; using a beading board can
be beneficial allowing the design to be laid out and measured before stringing.

When you are satisfied, string them onto your necklace. Be sure to leave about 3-4 inches
(7.5-10 cm) of stringing material at the end.

Use a clasp section/ jump ring and the bead-crimp-bead combo and try to push the remaining
stringing material into the bead below the crimp bead.

Be careful not to pull the stringing material too tight. Leave a small amount of slack in the
necklace (2-4 mm or 1/4 inch). This leaves room for the beads to move and rotate, so they
don't rub on each other or the stringing material too much. If the stringing material is too tight
the necklace will be rigid and this can make the design look angular instead of slightly
rounded like a necklace should be

Crimp the second end and cut the stringing material with slush cutters. It is not recommended
that you cut the wire too close to the crimp bead. 1 inch (2.5 cm) of wire, carefully hidden in
the bead holes, is good insurance against breakage

Benefits of using beads to make necklaces:

Making of necklaces benefit children a lot.

1.Children make necklaces for fun, thus improving their emotional development.

2. Children develop their fine motor skills as they handle the beads and put them through
thread.
3. There is also the development of hand and eye coordination.

4. They also develop social skills as they work together.

5. Children also develop their cognitive skills as they make patterns when using these beads
to make necklaces.

I have given you a few examples of why you need to give your children time to make
necklaces. You should then look for more benefits and do the activities with your children.

4.3: Tie and dye

Tie-dye is a process of tying and dyeing a piece of fabric or cloth which is made from knit or
woven fabric, usually cotton; typically using bright colors. It is a modern version of
traditional dyeing methods used in many cultures throughout the world. Tie-dyeing is
accomplished by folding the material into a pattern, and binding it with string or rubber
bands. Dye is then applied to only parts of the material. The ties prevent the entire material
from being dyed. Designs are formed by applying different colors of dyes to different
sections of the wet fabric. A wet t-shirt is much easier to dye than a dry t-shirt. Once
complete, the material is rinsed, and the dye is set.

Making tie dye with kids

Kids love working with colour. It stimulates their minds and provides a constructive creative
outlet. And they can take pride in having made it themselves - every time they wear it! Tie-
dyeing is a great group project for education, making team uniforms, or just for fun. Parents
win too, because bright colours make children visible wherever they go.

Whether you're planning on tie-dyeing with your own

children or as an activity at school, camp, or a
birthday party - there are a number of things you'll
want to keep in mind.

Young children shouldn't be burdened with mixing

solutions, and it is up to you to set up and guide them
through the process. More mature kids will easily
comprehend and perform every step in the process by
watching the "how to" videos or by following along
with someone who has.
T-shirts usually cost more than the dye and other materials. If you're throwing a
party, you might just ask those children to bring their own white cotton t-shirts (no
polyester).

Make sure to let parents know what they need to provide well ahead of time. It's a good
idea to have a few extra shirts on hand "just in case", and so you can use up any leftover
dye.

Some children will want to do lots of planning and ask many questions during

each phase of the process, while other children will simply want to get started working
and do everything their own way.

Be supportive of different learning styles, and provide each child with as much
information as they want while giving them as much creative freedom as you can

Just insist on some basic ground rules - the process involves folding and tying the project,
soaking it in soda ash solution, and applying the dye colours IN THAT ORDER. And,
soda ash solution is NOT to be mixed with dye. Many children will want to defy these
basic conventions in the course of their exploration, so it's a good idea to help them
understand the importance of keeping each step separate and avoiding cross
contamination.

When working with groups of children, remember that you may need to coach them on the
importance of sharing and being respectful of one another. It's easiest to work outside
where it won't matter when things get spilled or when dye ends up on someone's shoes

If possible, use separate areas for folding, mixing and dyeing. Otherwise, you'll want to
make sure all of the folding and tying is finished before you break out the dye. Have the
kids complete each phase in small groups to make things more manageable.

Label individual shirts so they don't get mixed up. Use a sheet of plastic cut it into small
pieces. Write names on each piece with indelible marker, punch a holes in them,
and attach one to each shirt tag using a loop of string. Plastic labels from a label maker
work great too.
When time is a factor, mix the soda ash and dye solutions ahead of time. Store
mixed dyes in a cooler on ice or in a refrigerator so they don't lose strength.

Rubber bands are handy for keeping disposable gloves on small hands. If hands do get
stained with dye, and this will happen to some, the stains will disappear within a day or
two.

Perform the dye application phase over plastic storage bins to catch excess dye. Shallow
cardboard boxes lined with plastic bags make a good low-cost alternative. Or just cover a
plastic table with LOTS of newspaper to absorb excess dye.
Dyed items can be wrapped in a sheet or two of newspaper and placed in plastic bags
while they react overnight. If the kids are going to take their creations home before they're
washed out, you'll need plenty of plastic bags to send projects home in. It's also a good
idea to send home printed washout directions so parents will know what to do with their
child's masterpiece.

Alternately, you can elect to microwave the projects as detailed in our "how to" videos and
wash them all out together.

If you have an old microwave available this is the way to go because everyone gets to see
their finished creations almost right away, and there's nothing messy to transport home

Groups that tie-dye together should also consider setting aside a later time for the kids to
get together and show off the shirts or other items they've made.

Teams that make tie dye uniforms get to do this at every game

When you understand how to tie-dye using a simple proven system, you can lead the way
to a fun and rewarding experience.

Setting up your Tie Dye Space:

Let us now go on and look at the way in which you should prepare the place where you
will do your tie and die. These are just general guidelines.

1. Cover table with disposable plastic tablecloth.

2. Put out metal roasting pans on protected table to make two "stations" for tie dyeing.
Make sure your children put gloves on before they begin to dye.

3. You might want to have paper towels nearby for quick clean up.

4. Pre-fill and mix squirt bottles with dye.

5. Before you begin, let an adult pre-rubber band (and label) the shirts. Most preschoolers
don't know how to use rubber bands yet.

6. You should pre-wash the shirts before you begin the project as unwashed shirts won't
take the dye as well as a washed shirt. Before dyeing, pre-soak the t-shirts in water and
wring out to avoid dye puddling. Dye soaks into a wet shirt more easily.

Tie-Dyeing with Preschoolers:

In an ideal group dyeing situation, you have 2 or 3 adults helping with the tie-dye project
(especially if there are more than a few kids). You might not have trouble tie-dyeing alone
with three kids, but you will need three adults when tie-dying with your preschool class
of 25 kids. If you don't have enough adults, consider drafting an older child to help.
  1 person will oversee the tie dye table
 1 person will help prepare the child (putting on aprons and rubber gloves, guiding
the child away after she is finished), and assist the tie dye table, mixing additional
dye, etc.
 1 person will watch all the kids who aren't tie dyeing at the moment!

For best results, limit the tie dye stations to 2-4 children at the most. In other words, don't
try to oversee more than 4 children at a table at once.

1.Tell children the rules before they begin:

2. You must have gloves and an apron on before you start.

3. Only one color of dye at a time.

4. Keep your shirt inside the pan.

5. Only squirt dye onto the shirt inside the pan. No dye squirting outside the pan.

6. Dye is a very special kind of paint, and it is very hard to wash off, so we have to be
careful where we put it.

7. Keep your eye on each child to determine when he has used enough dye. The shirt
should be somewhat saturated, but not dripping with dye. Some children need a "one more
color" warning before they finish.

8. When the child is finished, put her t-shirt in a labeled zip-top bag and seal.

9. Have a child remove gloves directly into the trash can, and remove apron/smock. Check
apron for wet dye before passing to the next child.

5. Send your children to hand-washing station, and then they're done.

6. Wipe up your child's area of any excess dye, wipe pan out.

If you are sending the t-shirts home with the children, label the bags with "rinse me out
tomorrow morning until water runs clear, then wash in washing machine with detergent
and dry as normal." You might want to pre-print labels if you have a lot of kids.

If you are taking them home to wash out yourself, just let them sit for 12-24 hours and
then rinse and launder as instructed on the box.

One 20-person kit was more than enough for my son's preschool class. Remember, you
will have to mix additional dye as you go. The 20-shirt kit comes with additional packets
of dye.

This is one of the many ways to make tie dye. Be careful while using some dyes around
children and all dyes stain
Get a piece of fabric or shirt (ideally white cotton), coloured dye, elastic bands (number
depending on the number of rings to create) and a small amount of soap. Set-up at a place
with a water supply nearby (sink area).

Rinse the fabric in water and soap, then wring Pinch about 1 inch of the fabric at the
center. Tie tightly with an elastic band Continue tying more elastic bands below each
other, spacing about one inch apart. Tie as many as you like. These will create circle
patterns on the fabric

Soak the fabric in the dye (and salt) and boiling water mixture as instructed on pack

Rinse well in clean water. The water from the squeezed fabric should run clear after.
Wring the fabric

Hang Outside to dry Hang Outside to dry Hang Outside to dry

NB: Wear unwanted clothes as you may stain them with dye!

Wait at least 72 hours before washing this as the colours might seep into other
fabrics/garments.

SUMMARY:

In this unit we looked at craft activities. We started by looking at the importance of craft
activities. Our concentration was on what young children benefit from craft activities. We
said that they benefit holistically.

We went on to look at paper mache. We said that Paper mache is a popular method of
creating three-dimensional projects. In our discussion, we then looked at different recipes
for making paper mache. These are just some of the recipes you can use. We talked of
creativity earlier on, therefore, this is the time for you to use your creativity to entice your
children into the art of making sculptures with paper mache.

In our discussion, we looked at ways of making necklaces with beads. Remember that
there are many kinds of beads which we mentioned in our discussion. It is now up to you
to look at those types, then decide which ones to use during your art activities. After this,
we then looked at what children gain from making beads.

Our discussion finally led us to talking about tie and dye. We looked at how you can make
tie dye with your children. We said that you shouldn’t burden young children with mixing
solutions, and it is up to you to set up and guide them through the process.

We then talked about how you should set the space for tie and dye. This is very important
because your working place should be clean and healthy. We ended our discussion by
looking at one way in which you can make tie and dye with your prescholars.
References:.

Editors of Phaidon Press (2005) The Art Book for Children Hardcover: UK: Phaidon
Press ,

Editors of Phaidon Press 2007The Art Book for Children, Book Two Hardcover UK
Phaidon Press Inc.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

O'Connor, Z. (2010). Color harmony revisited. Color Research and Application

www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object

www.eyetricks.com/3dstereo.htm (retrieved on 12th August 2013)

www.walkme.com (Retrieved on 13th August 2013)

www.walterfoster.com/...tips-for-kids( Retrieved on 13th August 2013)

Unit 5: Dramatic play

Welcome to the last unit of our module. In the past units we have been talking about
creativity in general. We are now going to look at the last part, which is dramatic play. As
you know, children learn through play, as such, it is important for us to learn about this
kind of art. In this unit, we are going to discuss the following topics:

5.1 Development stages of dramatic play

5.2 Planning and preparing the environment.

Objectives: By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1.explain the developmental stages of dramatic play

2.plan and prepare the environment for young children

5.1 Development stages of dramatic play

What is dramatic play? You are right. Dramatic play is when the child is involved in
make-believe or imaginative situations. This is different from active play because active
play is where a child is involved in playing and interacting with others and/or with objects.
Both of these types of play help the child play and interact, but only active play involves
other children. Dramatic play includes role-playing, puppetry, and fantasy play. It does
not require interaction with other children.

Creative dramatics involves spontaneous, creative play. It is structured and incorporates

the problem solving skills of planning and evaluation. Children frequently re enact a scene
or a story. Planning and evaluating occurs in creative dramatics.

How Dramatic Play Promotes Development

Let us now talk about how dramatic play benefits young children. It benefits them in many
ways. The following are those benefits.

Dramatic play engages children in both life and learning situations. Its’ real value lies in
the fact that it increases their understanding of the world they live in, while it works to
develop personal skills that will help them meet with success throughout their lives.

Length of time.
At first young children’s involvement in dramatic play may just last a few minutes before
children move on to something else. They are not able to sustain their play. As children
become more adept at role-playing, they can remain in play episodes for increasing
amounts of time. Remember that young children’s listening span is very short, as such,
dramatic play improves their concentration time.

Interaction.
Notice when and why can young children interact with one another in the Dramatic Play
Area. At an early stage, several children may be pretending at the same time but not
interacting with each other except if they need a prop someone else is using. At a more
advanced level, children have agreed on what roles they are playing and they relate to one
another from the
perspective of their chosen role.

Verbal communication.
Listen to what children say when they are engaged in dramatic play. If they are talking
from the perspective of the role they are playing, and communicating with others about the
make-believe situation, they are playing at a high level. Knowing these skills gives you a
framework for observing children’s play and deciding when and how to intervene.
Dramatic play is central to children’s healthy development and learning during the
preschool years. For this reason, every Creative Curriculum classroom includes an area
designed to inspire creative and imaginative play.

In the Dramatic Play Area, children break through the restrictions of reality. They pretend
to be someone or something different from themselves and make up situations and actions
that go along with the role they choose. When children engage in dramatic play they
deepen their
understanding of the world and develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
There is a lot of language development in dramatic play, and this ends up in development
of communication skills.
To engage with others in dramatic play, children use language to explain what they are
doing and ask and answer questions. They choose the language that fits the role they have
selected. They use reading and writing skills when literacy props are included in the
Dramatic
Play Area. Dramatic play encourages a child to communicate his thoughts through the
eyes of anyone he chooses. He mimics what he sees the adults in his life doing. By
pretending to be Daddy and Mummy, he internalizes words and sounds that Daddy or
Mummy makes so that he can use them in dramatic play. The benefits of an early
foundation in language cross over into all areas of learning.

Dramatic play promotes the use of speaking and listening skills. When children take part
in this type of play, they practice words they have heard others say, and realize that they
must listen to what other “players” say in order to be able to respond in an appropriate
fashion. It also teaches them to choose their words wisely so that others will understand
exactly what it is they are trying to communicate

In order to work together in a dramatic play situation, children learn to use language to
explain what they are doing. They learn to ask and answer questions and the words they
use fit whatever role they are playing. Personal vocabularies grow as they begin to use
new words appropriately, and the importance of reading and writing skills in everyday life
becomes apparent by their use of literacy materials that fill the area.

Social/emotional development.
To engage in dramatic play with others, children have to negotiate roles, agree on a topic,
and cooperate to portray different situations. They recreate life experiences and try to cope
with their fears by acting out roles and situations that worry them. For example, a child
who anticipates going to the hospital for an operation can pretend to be the doctor. By
assuming this role, the child can switch from feeling out of control to being in charge.
Research shows that children who engage in dramatic play tend to demonstrate more
empathy toward others
because they have tried out being someone else for a while.
Young children learn the foundations of social behavior through dramatic play. By
pretending they are someone else, they learn how other people feel and act. A child
engaged in dramatic play with other children benefits from the back-and-forth interaction.
She has the opportunity to be the boss, the queen, the mom, the child or even the dog. She
internalizes different roles. She can lead, follow and change her mind without
repercussion.

Children come together in a dramatic play experience, they have to agree on a topic
(basically what “show” they will perform), negotiate roles, and cooperate to bring it all
together. And by recreating some of the life experiences they actually face, they learn how
to cope with any fears and worries that may accompany these experiences. Children who
participate in dramatic play experiences are better able to show empathy for others
because they have “tried out” being that someone else for a while. They also develop the
skills they need to cooperate with their peers, learn to control their impulses, and tend to
be less aggressive than children who do not engage in this type of play.
Physical development.
Children develop small muscle skills when they button and snap dress-up clothes and
dress the dolls. They practice hand-eye coordination and visual discrimination skills when
they put away props and materials. This is where physical development takes place.

Dramatic play helps children develop both gross and fine motor skills – fire fighters climb
and parents dress their babies. And when children put their materials away, they practice
eye-hand coordination and visual discrimination.

Cognitive development.
When they pretend, children create pictures in their minds about past experiences and the
situations they imagine. These images are a form of abstract thinking. When children set
the table for a meal for two or use play money to purchase food at their grocery store, they
explore mathematics concepts. They also learn from one another as they share ideas and
solve problems together.

Dramatic play can be defined as a type of play where children accept and assign roles, and
then act them out. It is a time when they break through the walls of reality, pretend to be
someone or something different from themselves, and dramatize situations and actions to
go along with the roles they have chosen to play. And while this type of play may be
viewed as frivolous by some, it remains an integral part of the developmental learning
process by allowing children to develop skills in such areas as abstract thinking, literacy,
math, and social studies, in a timely, natural manner.

When children are involved in make-believe play, they make use of pictures they have
created in their minds to recreate past experiences, which is a form of abstract thinking.
Setting a table for a meal, counting out change as a cashier, dialing a telephone, and
setting the clock promote the use of math skills. By adding such things as magazines, road
signs, food boxes and cans, paper and pencils to the materials included in the area, we help
children develop literacy skills. When children come together in this form of play, they
also learn how to share ideas, and solve problems together.

The Proper Environment

In many classrooms the dramatic play area has traditionally been centred in
“housekeeping”. However, when we actually watch children play, we see them
reinventing scenes that might take place in other areas of life such as gas stations, building
sites, department stores, classrooms, or libraries. This should tell us, that in order to derive
the full benefit from dramatic play as it relates to learning, you, as an early educators
should “set the stage” throughout the classroom.

Setting the Stage

Any dramatic play area should be inviting. Presentation alone should inspire creative and
imaginative play. This should be an area where the children can immediately take on a
role and begin pretending with joy. In establishing these areas, you will want to consider
the following.

1. Each area should incorporate a variety of materials that encourage dramatic play, such
as hats, masks, clothes, shoes, tools, vehicles, etc. You can include both teacher-made and
commercial materials. The types of materials you supply will depend on the “theme” of
the area.
2. Part of your materials list for each area should include items that stimulate literacy
activities, like reading and writing. Paper, pencils, a chalk board, wipe-off board, address
books, and greeting cards are all examples of materials that you might use to promote the
development of literacy skills.
3. Materials should be developmentally appropriate and allow for both creativity and
flexibility in play. This includes materials that can be used by all children (unisex) and
those that may be used in more than one way (a table as a table, or with a blanket over it,
as a dog house).
4. The goal of all areas should be to reinforce grade level appropriate holistic child
development.

Finally, try to change the materials (or props, as they are sometimes called) on a regular
basis. Different materials on occasion will enhance the area, spark new interest in a much
used area, and allow the children to incorporate new experiences in their play. even more.

The Dramatic Play Skill Set

There are basically six skills children work with and develop as they take part in dramatic
play experiences. Which are those skills? You are right. Let me add to the skills which
you mentioned.

Role Playing – This is where children mimic behaviours and verbal expressions of
someone or something they are pretending to be. What we have discussed above is just a
guide. As a practitioner, you need to prepare the place expressions of someone or
something they are pretending to be. At first they will imitate one or two actions, but as
time progresses they will be able to expand their roles by creating several actions relevant
to the role they are playing.

Use of Materials/Props – By incorporating objects into pretend play, children can extend
or elaborate on their play. In the beginning they will mainly rely on realistic materials.
From there they will move on to material substitution, such as using a rope to represent a
fire hose, and progress to holding their hands in a way which will indicate that they are
holding an actual hose.

Pretending/Make-Believe – All dramatic play is make-believe. Children pretend to be the

mother, fireman, driver, etc. by imitating actions they have witnessed others doing. As the
use of dramatic play increases, they begin to use words to enhance and describe their re-
enactments. Some children may even engage in fantasy, where the situations they are
acting out aren’t pulled from real-life experiences.

Attention Span/Length of Time – Early ventures into the field of dramatic play may only
last a few minutes, but as the children grow, develop, and experience more, they will be
able to incorporate additional actions and words, which will lengthen the time they engage
in such activities. This enhances development of attention span.

Social Skills/Interaction – Dramatic play promotes the development of social skills

through interaction with others, peers or adults. As children climb the social skill ladder of
development through play, they will move from pretending at the same time without any
actual interaction, to pretending that involves several children playing different roles and
relating to each other from the perspective of their assigned roles.

Social/Emotional

Children come together in a dramatic play experience, they have to agree on a topic
(basically what “show” they will perform), negotiate roles, and cooperate to bring it all
together. And by recreating some of the life experiences they actually face, they learn how
to cope with any fears and worries that may accompany these experiences. Children who
participate in dramatic play experiences are better able to show empathy for others
because they have “tried out” being that someone else for a while. They also develop the
skills they need to cooperate with their peers, learn to control their impulses, and tend to
be less aggressive than children who do not engage in this type of play.

Let us look further and find out what children do during dramatic play.

Children negotiate with their friends about what roles to play, and learn to work together.
Children who engage in dramatic play are less aggressive than those that do not.

Dramatic play enhances physical development and eye-hand coordination as children try
out different roles. Both fine and gross motor skills are engaged as well as eye-hand
coordination.

Children use their cognitive skills in pretend play. They recreate past experiences, share
ideas, and solve problems together. They practice their language skills to explain and
express what they are doing. When acting out stories and songs, literacy skills are
enhanced.

Parents and caretakers can promote dramatic play by providing props. Children will use
the most basic objects for their dramatic play, but anything you can give them adds to their
fun. The lists are endless, dress-up clothes, puppets, stuffed animals, dolls, carriages and
wagons, kitchen stuff, pots, pans, doll and kid size furniture, diaper bags, purses. Kid- size
shopping carts, shopping bags, play food, dishes, tables and chairs, pretend stoves and
appliances, are available all the time at yard sales and flea markets.

Some favorite figures for dramatic play are miniature Disney figures, animals. Fisher
Price sets, people and animals. Other favorites are soldiers, cowboys, pirates and pirate
ships .Many figures; action or even Barbies, can be picked up at yard sales.

Larger pretend props for dramatic play include castles, farms, forts, puppet theaters,
puppets, and doll houses.

If you are able to purchase outdoor play equipment, there are wonderful play houses, and
play environments that resemble homes, castles, forts and tree houses. The selections are
endless. If you cannot afford investing in an outdoor play environment, recycle. children
love appliance boxes or any cardboard containers or cartons. You can cover the boxes
with contact paper, or let the children paint and decorate them with non toxic paint. You
then will have an art project as well as a play structure.

You can cover a lot of subjects through dramatic play. Let us look at some of the subjects
you can prepare for and use dramatic play to cover them.

 Language Arts and Literacy

Children’s oral language skills are supported on multiple occasions in classrooms, through
conversation, negotiation, and role taking. At times children can animate their various
puppets, this will provide the preschoolers with multiple opportunities to communicate
with others through the spoken word. While creating their classroom zoo, kindergartners
participate in brainstorming, group meetings, reporting their findings to peers and adults,
and a variety of other activities that involve giving voice to their ideas and listening to
peers. The kindergartners also have many opportunities to either put their own ideas into
writing or to have an adult do so for them, contributing to lists, making signs for the cage
and creating invitations to the Zoo Grand Opening. Encourage adults to read stories aloud
to the preschoolers.

 Science

Kindergarten class gains experience in using reliable secondary sources for research. They
can locate information about the characteristics and survival needs of animals, and they
apply that knowledge to the construction of their clay models of animals and their habitat
models. They can then pretend play those characteristics and survival styles. By doing
that, they will be doing science activities suitable for their ages.

 Math

Young children develop Mathematical skills as they sort animals in their zoo. They also
learn how to address several problems related to area and volume as they select the sizes
of the space to put their toys in, also as they pour different liquids in different containers,
which is part of dramatic play.

 Fine Arts

When you give your children a variety of conventional and unconventional art materials to
create their own puppets, they develop fine arts. When you give them opportunity to use a
variety of art materials to create animal habitats related to their pretend play; some also
enacted dramatic roles in the context of the zoo open house.

 Physical Education

Whether creating the puppets, the zoo habitats, or clay animals, preschoolers and
kindergartners alike apply their fine motor skills and coordinate their movements to
accomplish complex tasks. As they move around, they develop their total body structure.
  Social Sciences

Some preschoolers become aware of some roles for artists (specifically puppeteers) in
communities; they experience the puppeteers leading the puppet-making workshop as both
entertainers and teachers. As they role play these artists, they are doing social sciences.

Dramatic Play Area Ideas in Child Care Centers

Let me repeat what I said earlier on, we need to keep on reflecting on what we discuss
because it is important. In most child care centers, you'll find a dramatic play area filled
with costumes, props and other toys. These areas provide more than just a space for
children to play; they provide a host of benefits. Through dramatic play, children develop
their motor skills, investigate real-life situations in a safe environment, develop language
skills and learn how to express their emotions in a healthy way. You need to rotate the
selection of costumes, toys and props to keep the area interesting and to allow for
investigation of different scenarios.

Let me give you examples of dramatic places in your classroom. You have to be creative
and come up with more ideas.

=Grocery Store

Turn your dramatic play area into a grocery store. If you do not have all of these items,
make them yourselves or pretend. Help your children get started by talking about some of
the activities that you do in a store and then step back and watch them continue the
story.Fill shelves with empty food boxes and other empty household good containers, as
well as toy foods. Place shopping carts and bags in the area. Set up a checkout stand,
complete with a cash register and money. Children can pretend they are at the grocery
store purchasing items and can act as grocery store clerks. In a grocery store dramatic play
center, children can emulate adults and investigate what it is like to be in charge of the
shopping, or see what it would be like to work at a grocery store.

=Flower Shop

A flower shop is another option for a dramatic play center. Supply plastic vases and other
unbreakable vessels that children can use to display flowers. Set out watering cans and an
assortment of silk flowers. Provide children with baskets for carrying the flowers to a cash
register, or to a table where they can create bouquets. Offer children aprons and gardening
gloves to wear. In this center, children can learn the names of flowers, improve color
recognition and express their creativity as they arrange bouquets

=Post Office

Children can pretend to be postal workers or pretend they are mailing letters in a post
office dramatic play area. If your children are interested in the mail, give them some junk
mail and a bag to carry the mail so that they can play postman. Another idea is to set up an
office by giving your child a notepad, calculator and junk mail.

Fill the center with papers, envelopes, pencils, pens, stamps and stamp pads. Include large
bags that can be used to carry letters. Set out one or more play mailboxes. Offer children
post office worker costumes to wear, including blue shirts and blue caps. Kids can pretend
that they are sending out letters or processing mail.

=Provide a Dress Up Box

Provide your preschooler with a dress up box that contains many outfits to encourage
dramatic play. Although many parents provide dress up clothes for girls, preschool boys
also enjoy dressing up in fun outfits. Some dress up box additions for boys include old
ties, suit jackets and sports jerseys. In addition to clothes, be sure to include props such as
hats, shoes and jewelry.

=Create Play Centers

A great way to encourage pretend play is to create play centres throughout your
classroom. Use pretend food, cash register and a shopping cart to create a store for your
children

=Dance to Music

Although music may not come to mind when you think of dramatic play activities,
interpreting music is a great way for preschoolers to learn about music and expressing
emotion. Find a large area where your preschoolers can easily move around without
bumping into furniture and classmates, play some classical music. Tell them to listen to
the music and ask them how it makes the m feel. Have them dance to the music to express
the emotion of the music. This activity is even more fun and effective if you join your
preschoolers in the dance. Try playing different types of music and point out the different
ways they dance based on the sounds.

=Put On a Puppet Show

Make puppets with your children out of paper bags or socks. You can also use already-
made puppets. Have your children brainstorm about a story using the puppets. Show them
how to make the puppets talk and how to use different voices for the characters. You may
want to demonstrate a short puppet show using two of the puppets. Once they understand
the concept, hand the puppets to them and enjoy the show that they put on.

=Act Out a Book

Get one of your children's favourite books and read through them together with your
children. Talk about the book and what happens in the book. Tell your children that you
are going to read the book again and that this time they get to act out the book. Encourage
them to be as silly and dramatic as they want. Books that have simple plots and action are
best for this activity. If your children have a book that they have memorized, have them
"read" the book and let you take a turn at acting it out. It will be fun, don’t you think so?

Skills which children learn from dramatic play

Children learn a lot during dramatic play. Let us look at a few of the skills which they
develop. I know that we have talked about what they benefit from dramatic play, but we
need to look further into what these children benefit.

1.Articulation

Some children, especially those who are shy, will not always articulate their words very
well, but actors must. A skill a child can observe while watching a dramatic play is strong
articulation. If an actor doesn't enunciate and express her lines clearly, the audience won't
understand what she is saying, and a child is able to see the importance of this when
watching the actors. This is an additional skill useful to a child in public speaking.

2.Self-Expression

Many children are naturally expressive with their feelings, while others are more reserved.
Children learn about the skill of self-expression while watching a dramatic play because
drama is an art form that can move people emotionally. Many children have artistic
abilities that take inspiration from watching others, and watching a dramatic play may
encourage children to express themselves more fully.

3.Discipline

Discipline is a good skill for children to learn. Actors must rehearse on a regular
basis, be prepared and show up on time to put on a play. Realizing that it takes work
and organization to put a production together can be a good start for a budding
director, producer or actor. However, discipline is a skill that is helpful in anything,
and children can observe an example of discipline by watching a dramatic play, in
turn, they will also learn to have self discipline.

4.Acting

Watching a dramatic play can be the first step in learning how to act. Seeing the actors
perform a role can help a child learn the basics of creating a character. It can also serve as
an example of what it takes to be a good entertainer and how to connect with an audience.
Although acting lessons are the best way to learn the craft, watching live performances
can enhance knowledge.

5.Voice Projection

In live theater, actors must project their voices for the audience to hear them. Many actors
take voice lessons to learn this skill. Listening to an actor project his voice as he recites his
lines gives a child an understanding of the importance of voice projection. This skill will
help a child with any type of public speaking; whether it's a performance or reciting a
school assignment in front of the class, he will be familiar with voice projection.

For children, watching a dramatic play can be an educational experience, especially if it's
their first time. Watching the actors perform and seeing the set decoration, the lighting and
the costumes can broaden children's experience and expose them to an art form that can be
moving and entertaining at the same time

While pretend play is considered natural—something all young children do on their own
—it is less common today than it was in the past. Teachers in all types of settings are
finding that young children do not necessarily engage in dramatic play on an advanced
level. Because the ability to engage and sustain imaginative play is so central to children’s
development—
particularly cognitive and social/emotional development, I want to recommend that you
shpuld take an active role in teaching the skills to make-believe. Your role, as in all
interest areas, is to observe what children do and individualize your response. Based on
what you learn, you can interact with children and support their play. To get the most from
their play, children need specific skills and a range of experiences to give them ideas for
make-believe. It is therefore useful to familiarize yourself with the six skills children use
to pretend at a high level.

Role-play.
Children have to be able to pretend to be someone or something else and mimic typical
behaviours and verbal expressions. At a beginning level of role-play, children simply
imitate one or two actions of familiar or animals: a mommy feeding her baby or a dog
eating out of a dog dish. On an advanced level, children think of many different actions
relevant to their chosen role and expand the types of roles they play.

Use of props.
Children elaborate their role-play by incorporating objects into their make-believe. At a
beginning level, they rely on real or realistic objects. Then they use objects to represent a
prop (e.g., a paper plate for a steering wheel). Children at the advanced level of pretend
ability can substitute words and actions for real objects (e.g., they use hands in
circular motion for a steering wheel).

Make-believe.
In early dramatic play, children imitate actions they have seen others do, such as picking
up a toy phone and talking on it. At a higher level, they are able to use words to describe
and then re-enact real-life actions or events. For example, a child might point to the table
and say, “I’m the doctor. Pretend this is my office. You be the Mommy and bring
your baby for a checkup.” Children may also engage in fantasy—enacting situations that
aren’t drawn from real life such as slaying dragons or battling monsters.

Let me go on to say that dramatic play encourages infants and young children to play
freely while exploring different roles. Many dramatic play activities work well for infants
despite their limited mobility and body control. The dramatic play activities may actually
help infants improve gross and fine motor skills by interacting with age-appropriate props
and toys. Choose props that are safe for the specific age group, avoiding small pieces and
sharp corners.

Children use dramatic play to understand real-life situations and begin to learn problem-
solving skills. Dramatic play occurs after exploratory play, in which the child physically
manipulated objects to learn more about them. During this stage, the child will verbally
interact with other playmates to promote social skills, use props to understand cognitive
thinking and hone fine motor skills.

Let us look at one of the ways in which children can start and perform dramatic play.

Stage 1

 During this stage, a child will begin by creating a pretense. An example of this is a
child picking up a play spoon and manipulating it. Children at this point will only
play with realistic-looking items and will not substitute them. They will act like
people they have seen and come into contact with like a parent or a teacher. It is in
this step that the child begins to understand the concept of "playing" another
character, but he needs the realistic items to solidify that play.

Stage 2

 Stage 2 begins the make-believe play. The child's imagination will now let her
continue the role playing, without the need for realistic objects. An example of this
stage is a child with a play spoon holding it properly and pretending to eat with it.
The props used are now simulating the real-world object. Also, the child begins to
use her imagination to create situations or a storyline without the need to use real-
life events. This step helps children work through feelings of fear or distress and
begin to problem solve.

Stage 3

 Stage 3 introduces the social-dramatic play by including others. This helps to

develop basic social and emotional skills that the child will continue to work on. In
this stage, an example would be the child picks up the spoon and begins to feed
another child or a toy. It requires planning in that one child will be the mommy and
one the baby, or other complex story types. The stage fosters verbal
communication between players and is the basis for the ability to compromise and
empathize.

Stage 4

 Stage 4 is also role playing; however, the child is playing fictional characters that
are popular or relevant to him. The child may change from role to role, within the
 same show or book, and begin to understand that each one acts differently in
different situations. In this stage, children will begin to replace objects for the
realistic-looking toys. An example of play at this point is using a pretend pot in the
play kitchen to mix pretend food and then pretending to eat.

Stage 5

 Stage 5 also includes role playing, but the playmates become more critical. In this
stage the child will not only play real people she has had contact with, but she will
create fictitious characters, often changing voice or traits to "create" that person.
This play will encompass the entirety of the act. The child will gather all the
necessary instruments (a cup, bowl, spoon, pot) and bring them to the play kitchen
pretending to make the food and bring it to the "dinner table" to serve it.

5.2: Planning and preparing the environment.

What is an enabling environment in the early years? Well, let me tell you that it is a
physical indoor and outdoor environment which provides:
1. Space
2. High quality resources
3. Displays
4. Accessibility
5. Stability

You should design all these in order to promote young children’s physical, mental and
emotional health and wellbeing.
It is also an emotional environment providing warmth and acknowledgement of each child
as unique. A truly enabling environment ought to support children’s learning across the
six areas of learning of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and ensure that each child is “a
competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured”
(EYFS
(2007), Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The learning environment is an important and powerful teaching tool. Much of the early
childhood teacher’s work is done before the children ever arrive. If the environment is set
up with the knowledge of how children learn and develop it can positively support
teaching and learning. A teacher experiencing difficulty with student behaviour should
carefully evaluate the daily schedule, classroom arrangement, materials within each
learning centre, and the curriculum.

Young children now spend most of their waking hours indoors. How many
children of today will experience wonderful outdoor adventures such as those
fondly recalled by their parents?
The indoor environment receives the most attention from educators, children and other
adults. Often it is the first exposure that visitors have when they come to the learning
environment. The indoor environment communicates the values and beliefs that underpin
the living and learning that take place in that space.
How Children Understand the Environment
Young children strive to make sense of the world in which they live. They try to organize
the visual images and concrete objects in their environment into meaningful systems.
Children want to determine how the space works and what activities can happen in this
place. Today's young children are spending a large number of hours in a "new"
environment—child care. Some children who begin attending child care in infancy may
spend as much as 12,000 hours in this setting. This massive number of hours in one
environment demands that the space be carefully designed to create the "best" place
possible for young children

The Caring Teacher Is a Critical Component

Specific design techniques, when combined with a caring teacher, can help the
environment become a wonderful place for nurturing the development of young children.
Children who live in this classroom will have many opportunities for expanding their
knowledge by actively participating in a world that is appropriate for their level of
development. It will include spaces for active play as well as spaces for privacy.
Opportunities are provided for a child to work quietly and areas are available where small
groups can collaborate on a project
.

Why is the environment so important? Well, let me say that the environment plays a
key role in supporting and developing a child’s learning and development. An enabling
environment will:
a) Provide a child with stimulation and challenge.
b) Pick up on a child’s interests and enable them to explore and experiment.
c)Be flexible to allow for quiet, reflective and focused learning, maybe in a comfortable
book corner, as well as more boisterous and physical play.
d) Support children’s learning across all six aspects of learning, allowing them to practise
their skills and develop new ones.
e) Help children to learn about rules and how to communicate with others.
f) Encourage children’s creativity and imagination and permit them to take risks and make
mistakes.
g) Promote equality and support children to develop a greater understanding of others’
needs, cultures, religions and backgrounds.
h) Provide safety and emotional support.
i) Encourage independence and help children to develop a positive attitude towards
learning

Welcoming spaces encourage children’s natural responses of curiosity, exploration and

communication. Carefully designed environments feature structures, objects and props
that engage children in authentic choices, problem solving, investigating and discovering.
The creation of an inviting learning environment supports children’s social, emotional,
physical, intellectual and spiritual growth and development. Inviting surroundings enhance
children’s
positive disposition toward learning and sense of belonging.

Creating the environment

An Environment that Matches Young Children

The first step in creating an appropriate environment for infants, toddlers, and preschool
children is to examine how young children learn and develop. Each stage of development
has unique characteristics that influence how a child will experience his or her
environment.

Warm, well-run classrooms begin with the room's physical layout — the arrangement of
desks and working space, the attractiveness and appeal of bulletin boards, the storage of
materials and supplies. Let us look at how an enabling environment should be like. We
will talk about Every Child Matters outcomes , which is one of the suggestions on how an
enabling environment should look like.

Every child matters

Providing an enabling environment links to the five Every Child
Matters outcomes:
 Stay Safe:
An enabling environment provides children with a safe and secure place to play and learn,
with support from caring adults who will continually risk assess and evaluate the
environment, it also helps children to learn about dangers, and how to protect themselves.
 Be Healthy:
An enabling environment provides children with support to develop good personal
hygiene practices, such as hand washing, and a clean place to play, reducing the spread of
infections.
 Enjoy and Achieve:
An enabling environment provides a wide range of activities and resources that are
stimulating and encourage participation, support learning and development, offer
challenge, and the opportunity to succeed.
 Make a positive contribution:
An enabling environment encourages children and parents to make contributions, where
their voices are listened to and acted upon, where they are consulted about changes and
developments in their setting.
 Achieve Economic:
Well Being: an enabling environment that offers challenge; where children learn and
develop, gaining skills to support them in later learning and eventually in employment and
adult life, enabling them to achieve economic wellbeing.

Creating the environment for learning

An early childhood environment is many things: It's a safe place where children are
protected from the elements and are easily supervised, and it's where the important
activities of the day take place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and
going to the bathroom. Beyond the basics, however, an environment for young children
implements and supports a program's philosophy and curriculum. An early childhood
environment is many things: It's a safe place where children are protected from the
elements and are easily supervised, and it's where the important activities of the day take
place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and going to the bathroom.
Beyond the basics, however, an environment for young children implements and supports
a program's philosophy and curriculum.
How Does Your Environment Support Your Philosophy and Curriculum?
Since most early childhood philosophies stress the importance of play, hands-on-learning,
and whole child development, a good early childhood environment supports these
activities. You need to ask yourself the following questions: Are there well-supplied
dramatic play areas? Is there a large block area? What about sand and water activities,
manipulatives, art areas, and reading corners? Is the space arranged in such a way that
children can make noise while playing without disturbing children in other activities? Can
children make a mess in the art area without destroying the books in the reading area?

Activity

Answer all the questions in the above paragraph.

How will these benefit you and your chilsren?

Meeting Children's Needs

The young of every species have basic needs that must be met for them to develop and
mature. Children are no exception. For children, these essential needs include warm,
caring, and responsive adults; a sense of importance and significance; a way to relate to
the world around them; opportunities to move and play; and people to help structure and
support their learning. In the past, these needs were met at home and in the community,
but now these needs are being met in our classrooms. Therefore, to care for these needs,
an early childhood environments should be:

 Rich in Experience.
Children need to explore, experiment, and learn basic knowledge through direct
experience. Indeed, childhood is a time when we learn firsthand about the physical world
the feel of water, the constant pull of gravity, the stink of rotten fruit, and the abrasive feel
of concrete on a bare knee.
 Rich in Play.
Play provides a way for children to integrate all their new experiences into their rapidly
developing minds, bodies, emotions, and social skills. Brain research supports this idea,
stressing that children learn best through an integrated approach combining physical,
emotional, cognitive, and social growth.
 Rich in Teaching.
The role of the teacher is critical in a child’s life. Children depend on teachers to be their
confidant, colleague, model, instructor, and nurturer of educational experiences.
 Rich with People.
Clearly children need lots of exposure to other people in their early childhood years. One
of the greater weaknesses of our society is that our children have less exposure to the
diverse group of people living in the local village—baker, farmer, gardener, carpenter,
piano tuner, bricklayer, painter, etc. Modern life styles and the thought of child abuse
contributes to this,
 Significant to Children.
Young children need to feel important. In past eras children were responsible to water the
garden, do farm chores, and care for younger children. Children need to feel that what they
do is meaningful to someone besides themselves.
 Places Children Can Call Their Own.
A basic human need is the need to belong. Children need to feel they belong, too. They
need to be close to people they know, have familiar and comfortable objects, and be in a
setting that has a personal history for them.

How You Can Create Effective Learning Environments

The components of a learning environment are many and can be overwhelming. What
should an environment for young children look like? How do you create an environment
that supports learning and meets children s basic needs? Below is a brief description of the
most important components needed to make an effective learning environment for young
children.

Environments for Young Children Stimulate Learning

Environments for young children should provide multiple sources of stimulation to
encourage the development of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social skills. As you
plan your environment be sure to include the following:

Places for developmentally appropriate physical activities.

Environments should provide children with opportunities for a lot of developmentally

appropriate physical activities. Young children are physical beings. They learn most
effectively through total physical involvement and require a high level of physical activity,
variety, and stimulus change.

Opportunities for concrete, hands-on activities.

Young children need hands-on activities—playing in water, building mud pies, making
things out of wood, putting a doll to bed, etc. They also need lots of ways to practice and
integrate new experiences into existing mental structures—dramatic play, drawing, taking
photographs, using language, and making things with blocks.

Change and variety.

Children seek out a constant change of stimuli—scenery, textures, colours, social groups,
activities, environments, sounds, and smells. As our children spend more time in our
programs, the more variation and stimulation they need.

Colour and decorations.

Colour and decorations should be used to support the various functional areas in the
classroom and centre, provide needed stimulus change and variety, and develop different
areas and moods in the room. Vibrant colours such as red, magenta, and yellow work well
in the gross motor area; soothing blues and green are good colour choices for hands-on
learning centres and whites and very light colours are good for areas that need lots of
concentration and light. Soft pastels and other gentle hues, on the other hand, work well in
reading areas and other low intensity activities. Decorations should follow the same
pattern, with an additional emphasis on changing them often, and providing order around
topics, projects, and themes.

Materials and Equipment Contribute to the Overall Environment and Program

Philosophy
The success of an early childhood environment is not dependent upon aesthetics and
design alone. The materials and equipment given to the children is just as important to
learning as the physical space of the classroom. The following materials and equipment
can be added to any early childhood environment.

Soft, responsive environments.

Children who spend most of their day in one environment need surfaces that respond to
them, not hard surfaces that they must conform to. Sand, water, grass, rugs and pillows,
and the lap of a caregiver respond to a child’s basic physical needs. I hope you will make
sure that you have this in your classroom.

Flexible materials and equipment.

Children can use sand, water, or play dough in a variety of ways, depending on their
maturity, ability, past experience with the materials, interest, and involvement. A jigsaw
puzzle, on the other hand, has only one correct solution. Your programs should include
lots of materials that have an abundance and variety of uses to give children a sense of
creativity and control.

Simple, complex and super complex units.

Learning materials can be simple, complex, or super complex. Simple materials are those
with essentially one function, complex those with two, and super complex, those with
more than two. For example, a pile of sand, is a simple unit. If one adds a plastic shovel to
the sand it becomes a complex unit. Adding a bucket of water or collection of toy animals
to the sand and shovel creates a super-complex unit. The more complex the materials, the
more play and learning they provide.

Strategies for Small Spaces

Programs with little space must change their areas often and find creative ways to use
community areas such as parks and recreation facilities for gross motor activities. With a
little creativity, small spaces can work out very well. When using community facilities, be
sure that playgrounds and other equipment are safe and developmentally appropriate for
the children in your care.

Private Places
Because so many child care facilities have limited space, it can be challenging to respond
to the uniqueness of each child within a collective environment. Young children have
unique personalities and needs that require us to respond to them as individuals, not as
members of a group. The environment must be responsive to this need. Ease of cleaning,
maintenance, supervision, cost, and adult aesthetics should not detract from providing
spaces children feel are designed for them. Children need to have private areas, secluded
corners, lofts, and odd-shaped enclosures. Individual cubbies for each child's clothes and
belongings, photographs of home and family, and at least a couple of secluded areas where
two or three children can gather allow children opportunities to maintain their
individuality and break away from the group to avoid over stimulation.

Early Childhood Environments Should Be Functional for Both Children and

Teachers
Unlike traditional classrooms, early childhood environments need to support both basic
functions and learning activities. Look around your classroom from a child's perspective.
Are toilets, sinks, windows, faucets, drinking fountains, mirrors, towel racks, chairs and
tables, tooth brush containers, and bulletin boards at the child's level and child-sized? Are
classrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and eating areas close together so that children can
develop self-help skills and important autonomous behaviours?

Like children, teachers also need to have spaces that are functional. Teachers need to be
able to arrange and rearrange their classrooms for various class activities and supervision
purposes. Classrooms that include permanent, built-in features such as roof space,
playhouses, tables, benches, alcoves, and cubbies can be problematic. These types of fixed
features make it difficult for teachers to create areas for gross motor activities. They can
also cause injury in active children, or prevent inclusion of physical activities altogether.
Classrooms built as a basic shell work best.

Accommodating Children With Special Needs

Even environments carefully designed and equipped for young children do not meet the
needs of children with disabilities. Adaptations must be made carefully for any child with
special needs, be they physical challenges, learning disabilities, or emotional issues. There
are some companies which produces child-size equipment for children with physical
disabilities that integrate well with traditional equipment. Brail and large lettering can be
used for children with visual impairments, and sign language can be incorporated into the
curriculum for those children with hearing impairments. Reducing distractions, glare, and
over stimulation helps accommodate children with ADD and ADHD. I know that it will
not be easy for to provide these equipment and materials, but as a practitioner, you need
to advice relevant officers in connection with this adaptation.

Including Diversity
The environment should reflect the importance of children by including examples of their
work in progress, finished products, and by displaying images of children. Every child in
the program must see examples of themselves and their family throughout the centre, not
just in the classroom. Visual images are an important part of developing a feeling of
belonging in all children, so it is important to display pictures of single parent families,
grandparent families, and homes of every race and ethnicity, including interracial,
multiethnic, and adoptive families. The entire centre should also reflect diversity
throughout the world race, ethnicity, languages, art, gender roles, religious ceremonies,
shelter, work, traditions, and customs. The goal is for children to be exposed to the rich
diversity of the entire world. This is done through artwork, photos, posters, and signs on
the wall; books; dolls; parent boards, newsletters, announcements, and magazines; and
curricula materials such as puzzles, people sets, activity books, music, art materials,
artifacts in the dramatic play area, and fabrics.
Obstacles to Consider When Planning Your Learning Environment
When setting up an effective preschool classroom, a variety of factors must be carefully
considered and balanced. Below are some of the critical environmental issues that must be
carefully addressed as you plan the environment.

Storage.

Storage areas are a little like entrance and exits—they receive lots of traffic and are noisy
and congested. For these reasons, storage areas can sometimes foster disruptive behaviour
and noise. Provide easy access to materials, allowing children to get what they need
quietly and easily. The closer materials are to where they will be used, the better. Storage
must also be designed so that materials for independent child use are separate from those
teachers control.

Activity Area Access.

Activity areas need to be located next to supplies and be easy to clean up. The classic
example is the art area. While providing easy access to paint, easels, paper, and brushes,
the art area needs to be close to a water source and on a surface that can withstand a mess.
Similarly, the reading area must be close to book shelves, magazine racks, and
comfortable places to sit.

Noise.

Managing noise is important in a classroom. Placing carpet on the floor absorbs noise as
does absorbent tile on the ceiling. The reading centre should be next to a quiet area like the
art area. Blocks are loud, and should be located next to other loud areas such as the
woodworking bench. Noisy activities can also be placed in transition areas or moved
outside in good weather.

Dividers.

Dividers are any physical objects that serve to delineate areas within a classroom, create
interest areas, control traffic, and distribute children throughout the classroom. Almost
anything can be used as a divider, so long as it is safe shelves, couches, fabric hung from a
line, streamers attached to the ceiling, folding screens, puppet stages, etc. Safety is
obviously a critical issue. Some dividers are easy to push over. The larger and heavier they
are at the bottom, the safer. A divider can also be secured by fastening it to the floor or a
wall. Several equipment companies have introduced dividers that attach directly to storage
units and furniture. Ideally, dividers should be multi-functional for use as storage units,
play furniture, and display boards. Keep in mind that solid dividers or walls of more than
50 to 60 cm high disrupt the circulation of air in the classroom and limit supervision of
children. Less solid dividers, like fabric, avoid this problem.

Evaluating the Environment

The early childhood environment needs to be carefully evaluated and assessed on an
annual basis. There are a variety of instruments available, including evaluations from
NAEYC and Head Start, the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale by Clifford and
Harms (1998), and a variety of other checklists. In conducting the evaluation consider
these things:

 Carefully select the person who will conduct the evaluation. The person should be
objective and familiar with the program and children.
 Evaluate the entire centre, including the playground, hallways, and bathrooms. It
makes little sense for a program to have a nice, cosy, intimate classroom, with
learning centres and children's work displayed everywhere, and long, cold
institutional corridors and large bathrooms with adult-size urinals.
 Make sure all the important objectives of the program are addressed. Most
instruments list each objective and items that support those objectives.
 Be particularly attentive to ways the environment supports new program
objectives. If the program just added a technology objective, are there enough
computers and a well-equipped computer learning centres?
 Ensure consistency. If the program stresses developmentally appropriate practice
and play, then the computer component cannot be designed to support teacher
directed instruction and drill/skill activities.

 Balance what we know to be good for children with the new fixation on
academics. Many public schools and Head Start programs are emphasizing teacher
directed instruction in academics at the expense of meeting all the children's needs.
 Make sure environments designed to support diversity address all forms of
diversity. It is as important for an all minority program to show racial, ethnic, and
national diversity as a white program; gender, language, religion, ability, and
occupational diversity should all be evident.

Once the evaluation is completed, the results should be tabulated, analyzed, and
communicated to the program's decision-makers. The information gained from an
evaluation is extremely valuable and can be used to design new programs and offerings as
well as construct the budget for the coming school year.

Conclusion
A good early childhood environment meets the child's basic needs and supports and
encourages children to engage in activities that implement the program's curriculum.
Further, the environment is designed to enable staff to facilitate the optimum learning for
their children. Finally, the environment makes parents and guardians feel welcome,
involved, and empowered.

Let me emphasize the following points.

In creating a positive early childhood environment, the following practices should be
observed:
• The classroom should be organized to foster exploration with learning materials.
• Learning materials should be concrete and relevant to a child’s own life experiences
(openended but purposeful).
• The classroom environment should be set up for choices.
• Learning experiences should be planned so teacher-initiated or child-initiated
opportunities exist in small group contexts for acquiring new skills.
• Schedules should reflect active and quiet learning activities; large group, small group
and individual learning time; teacher-directed and child-initiated activities; and indoor and
outdoor activities.

Creating and implementing a learning environment means careful planning for the start of
the school year. The learning environment must be envisioned in both a physical space
and a cognitive space. The physical space of the classroom is managed as the teacher
prepares the classroom for the students. Is the space warm and inviting? Does the room
arrangement match the teacher's philosophy of learning? Do the students have access to
necessary materials? Are the distracting features of a room eliminated? Attending to these
and similar questions aids a teacher in managing the physical space of the classroom.

Teachers must also consider the cognitive space necessary for a learning environment.
This cognitive space is based upon the expectations teachers set for students in the
classroom and the process of creating a motivational climate. Effective teachers create and
implement classroom management practices that cultivate an engaging classroom
environment for their students. Two specific areas of cognitive space that teachers include
in their plans are setting expectations (i.e., rules and procedures) and creating a
motivational climate.

Arranging Space

The physical layout reflects your teaching style. If you want your children to collaborate
in small groups, for example, organize them around tables or clusters of desks. For
frequent whole-group discussions, try a circle or U-shaped desk configuration. If you plan
on an individualized, self-paced curriculum, you might set up learning stations.

The physical layout should also reflect you. Don't hesitate to give the room your personal
touch with plants, art, rugs, posters, and maybe some cozy pillows for the reading corner.

Creating a caring, child-centred environment takes lots of thought and planning. Basic
bulletin boards are not enough. You need to believe in a very colourful classroom with
posters, functional bulletin boards, and other 'interesting' items to enhance the
environment, such as a small refrigerator, TV, and a stereo system with a CD player."

In Reggio Emilia, a northern Italian town whose early childhood programs are
internationally acclaimed, classrooms feature displays of children's work, collections of
"found" objects, ample space for supplies (all aesthetically arranged), and clearly
designated spaces for large- and small-group activities. Reggio Emilia educators stress the
need for a classroom environment that informs and engages the child. They consider the
physical environment to be "another teacher." And in the sense that it can motivate
children, enhance learning, and reduce behaviour problems, environment really is an extra
teacher. That is why you need to make sure that the environment where you handle your
children is suitable for them, and that it will teach them even if you are forced to rush to
the rest room. However, remember that the environment should always be safe. (Go back
to module 105 and remind yourself how you should keep the environment safe.)

Author and educator Mike Hopkins points out that personal teaching style and specific
educational needs should largely determine how you design your classroom space.
Hopkins urges teachers to forget about the way things have always been done and to visit
museums, libraries, other schools, and colleagues' classrooms to identify different ways of
organizing learning space. This is very important, you need to take care of it.

Many teachers prefer to create different areas within the classroom. For example, a
classroom might feature a quiet reading corner, a music area where students can play soft
music while completing work, a discussion/conversation center, a large table for
cooperative projects, spaces for wet or messy projects, multimedia spaces, learning centers
or stations, and individual work areas.

Easily accessible materials and supplies can eliminate delays, disruptions, and confusion
as students prepare for activities. In poorly arranged classrooms, students spend a lot of
time waiting — waiting in line, waiting for help, waiting to begin. To eliminate some
waiting, store frequently used items such as scissors and paste in several different areas.

No matter how you arrange desks, don't be afraid to make changes.

Set your room up, and at the end of each unit or each month, evaluate and make changes.
Move the students' desks on a regular basis so all children learn to cooperate with all
children.

Don't be afraid to make seat and desk changes if the arrangement doesn't work. You are in
charge, remember!!

Environmental Preferences

Other important environmental features include temperature, lighting, and noise level.
These factors affect students in different ways and are directly related to individual
learning styles. Studies suggest that when teachers adjust the environment to students'
preferences, the students perform better academically and are better behaved.

How can you address environmental preferences in the classroom? Here are some tips
from research and practice:

Create both well-lit and dimly-lit areas in the classroom by using bookcases, screens,
plants, and other furniture. Some children learn best in bright light, but others do
significantly better in low light. Bright light actually makes some students restless and
hyperactive. Try allowing students to sit where they feel most comfortable, or try placing
fidgety children in low-light areas and listless children in brighter areas.
Provide opportunities for children to move around while visiting learning centers and
other special classroom areas. Most of us have the mistaken impression that children learn
best when sitting still, but research now proves that many children need extensive mobility
while learning. These children learn significantly more if they move from one area to
another as they acquire new information.
Establish informal furniture arrangements where students can sit on soft chairs or
pillows, or lounge on the carpet. Another myth is that children learn best when sitting up
straight in hard chairs. About 75 percent of the total body weight is supported on only four
square inches of bone when humans sit up straight in a hard chair, so it is easy to
understand how the resulting stress on the buttock tissues causes fatigue, discomfort, and
the need for frequent changes in posture. Research supports the common-sense notion that
many students pay better attention and achieve higher grades in more comfortable settings.
Establish listening stations with headsets for children who need sound, and quiet study
areas for those who work best in silence. Many children disprove another commonly held
conception: that silence helps children concentrate better. If you get in an Early Childhood
classroom and find them sitting quietly on chairs, know that there is definitely something
wrong in that classroom.

Help students become aware of their own temperature preferences and encourage
them to dress accordingly. Temperature preferences vary dramatically, and most children
can't concentrate when they are either too cool or too warm.

In conclusion, let me remind you of the following important points.

Children benefit from rich and stimulating play choices outdoors as well as indoors.
Finding the balance between the indoor activities and outdoor explorations is part of
a purposeful planning process. While climate and weather conditions can affect
access to outdoor experiences, it is also possible to bring the natural world into the
indoor space. Mixing natural with commercial or recycled resources enhances both
settings with a variety of materials and appealing smells, colours, sounds and textures.

Most of the features of indoor environments are also appropriate in the outdoor
environment. Parallel components in indoor and outdoor areas include the space design
and the available materials and presentation. Components can be replicated inside and
outside, depending on the time of year and weather conditions.

Creating environments for learning is more than simple room arrangement. Learning
environments include both indoor and outdoor spaces and resources. Responsive
environments encompass the values of cooperative play, large muscle activities, high
drama, messy play, the sounds of childhood, working through conflict and the importance
of family engagement (Curtis, 2001). In addition, the environment supports the routines,
materials and interactions that occur within the space “offering children rich childhood
experiences where children can build their passions and attention over time, and use open-
ended materials” (Curtis, 2001, p. 42). When educators recognize the combined power of
both indoor and outdoor play spaces, they realize that one area can be an extension of the
other.

Now, before planning the environment, let us look at what you need to look at before you
start to prepare your classroom environment

If you want to create a beautiful environment for you and your children, take this simple
survey of your classroom. Get down on the children's level and discover what they see.
Take photographs to "really see" the space.

1. When a child enters the classroom, do they see an attractive space?

2. Will the child find this place to be warm and homelike?
3. Are the children's materials grouped together based on how they are used?
 4. What are the sounds of the classroom?
5. Can each child recognize who lives and works in this space?
6. Is children's work displayed in an attractive manner that can be appreciated by
children, parents, and teachers?
7. Are a variety of areas available: quiet, active, messy, and large or small group?
8. Is there a place to pause and reflect?
9. Is there a beautiful area or display that can be enjoyed?
10. Is there a teacher who wants to create a wonderful space for children?

Space design and environment

The sky's the limit when it comes to designing classroom space. The space design and
arrangement considers the large items of an environment. Often these features are fixed as
part of the structure of the space, and educators should keep these components in mind
when creating early learning environments for children. Examples include placement of
windows, doorway, sink, playground equipment and an outside access door.

Indoor and outdoor features of space design and material and equipment
arrangement include:

• welcoming spaces for children, families and educators

• transition spaces for moving indoors and outdoors
• inclusion of children’s perspectives in design
• areas for display of children’s projects and creations
• adaptive design features to accommodate persons with a mobility or
physical disability
• spaces for small, active groups
• places that encourage interaction and relationship building
• private, quiet spaces for talking, thinking and planning
• multilevel areas
• wet and dry areas
• pathways
• natural materials such as tree stumps and branches, plants and water
enhance and define spaces
• habitats for insects, birds or other animals

Inviting young children to participate in designing the indoor and outdoor environment is
becoming more common (Clark, 2007). Questions such as:
“Where do you like to play? What is important in your space?” elicit children’s
perspectives about the areas or components that are most meaningful to them. By
recording their responses, the educator engages children in thinking about their
learning spaces and also encourages early literacy connections with print
SUMMARY

In this unit we covered a lot on dramatic play and preparing the environment. We started
by defining dramatic play, where we said that it is when the child is involved in make-
believe or imaginative situations. We then looked at how dramatic play promotes
development. We said that it improves young children/s skills, which are, Length of time,
Interaction, Verbal communication, Social/emotional development, Physical development
and Cognitive development.

We went on to discuss The Proper Environment, which we said are Setting the Stage. We
then said that there are basically six skills children work with and develop as they take
part in dramatic play experiences and the skills are: Role Playing, Use of Materials/Props
Pretending/Make-Believe Attention Span/Length of Time, Social Skills, Interaction and
Social/Emotional

Our discussion then led us to looking at the suitable environment for handling young
children. We talked about why the environment is important and what you should do in
order to create a suitable environment for your children. We went on to look at the every
Child Matters Agenda. In our discussion we looked at how your environment supports
your Philosophy and Curriculum. We said that the environment should: Meet Children's
Needs, be Rich in Experience, Rich in Play, Rich in Teaching, Rich with People,
Significant to Children and be places which children can call their own. Our discussion led
us to talking about materials and equipment which contribute to the overall environment
and Program Philosophy. We also talked about the environment for children with
disabilities.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE:

1. Make a booklet of Songs for promoting correcting attitudes and values.

2. Explain 5 events which can make young children to be quiet in the classroom.

3. Write a dramatic play scene and give it to your children to play.

4. Make a picture of a good classroom environment and explain each area.

References

Ashiabi, Godwin S. (2007). Play in the preschool classroom: Its socio emotional
significance and the teacher’s role in play. Early Childhood Education Journal,

Barnett, W. Steven; Jung, Kwanghee; Yarosz, Donald J.; Thomas, Jessica; Hornbeck,
Amy; Stechuk, Robert; Burns, Susan. (2008). Educational effects of the Tools of the Mind
Curriculum: A randomized trial. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(3), 299-313.
Bhroin, Máire Ní. (2007). “A slice of life”: The interrelationships among art, play, and the
“real” life of the young child. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 8(16), 1-
24.

Bodrova, Elena. (2008). Make-believe play versus academic skills: A Vygotskian

approach to today's dilemma of early childhood education. European Early Childhood
Education Research Journal, 16(3), 357-369.

Francis Wardle: (2007) Tomorrow's Children : Meeting the needs of multiracial and
multiethnic children at home, in early childhood programs, and at school.
UK: Centre for the Study of Biracial Children

www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/index.htm (Retrieved on 19th august 2013)