Stepping Stones to Creativity , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Judith Harris

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

216 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

This guide contains four books-worth of creative activities for the early years in one bumper-value guide.Perfect to dip into, this gem of a guide features:- Hundreds of easy-to-follow activities that cover 40 of the most popular early years topics- Each topic contains ideas for singing, dance, movement, storytelling, art and design, and drama- An easy-reference key showing which of the Creative Development Early Learning Goals are being exploredAn essential for anyone wanting new and creative ideas for use in topic work with the early years. This book is a compendium of all the activities from the following four Stepping Stones to Creativity titles: Dance and Movement; Design, Art and Modelling; Stories, Songs and Rhymes and Drama and Role Play.

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	17 avril 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781909101005
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0950€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Title page
Stepping Stones to Creativity
by Judith Harries, Mel Astill and Elizabeth Palfrey

Copyright page
Originally published by Practical Pre-School Books, A Division of MA Education Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 0PB
Tel: 020 7738 5454
www.practicalpreschoolbooks.com
© MA Education Ltd 2009
2013 digital version by Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Illustrations by Cathy Hughes. Front cover images clockwise from top left © iStockphoto/Jean Schweitzer, iStockphoto/Soubrette, Dreamstime.com/Karen Struthers. Back cover image from left to right © iStockphoto/Jaimie Duplass, iStockphoto/Jan Tyler, Dreamstime.com/Glenda Powers, iStockphoto/Gary Sludden
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

What is creativity?
Stepping Stones to Creativity is a series of books that aim to provide early years practitioners with a treasure trove of practical activities and resources to help develop the budding creativity of children in their care. Each book focuses on a different area of creativity, which is explored through forty of the most popular early years topics. In each topic you will find activities that support the five Early Learning Goals of Creative Development, so that you can ensure you are meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Many of these activities can be adapted for even younger children or extended to benefit Key Stage One children.
Creativity in the Classroom
Creativity is an elusive term. Although great enjoyment can be taken from working with imaginative children in the Early Years who are naturally eager to explore, in practice there are some key issues which face the practitioner:
What is ‘creativity’?
In a nutshell, it is the ability to use knowledge and skills, plus a healthy dollop of imagination, to tackle and solve any problem. It is about taking risks and being involved in the learning process. Creative thinking does not just apply to obviously ‘creative’ tasks such as art or music, but can be used in investigations in science and across the foundation stage curriculum. To develop creativity children need time, space, and multiple opportunities to experiment with materials and ideas. They also need to be encouraged to make connections between ideas as they play.
How can we as practitioners make this happen for the children in our care?
Young children are curious by nature. They learn by exploring and experimenting and ‘having a go’. As practitioners we need to provide a stimulating environment together with lots of opportunities and of course unlimited time! Although it can be a challenge in multi-purpose buildings, a creative environment can be created by leaving art materials and musical instruments out for children to play and experiment with.
Does there always need to be an ‘end product’ to creativity?
Practitioners and parents often both fall into the trap of only valuing an ‘end product’ as proof of creativity. How many of us have heard an anxious parent berating their young child with the words, ‘have you made me a painting this morning Tom?’ Children sometimes learn to rush to the painting easel and apply a few hurried strokes of paint to appease their carer, even though they may have been involved all morning playing imaginatively and creatively in the role-play area. We need to appreciate creative play and processes as just as important as any finished artwork!
What is the value of creative group work?
In many settings, children often work together to produce joint artwork and models, as well as singing, drama, dance and music performances. This can be seemingly problematic, as at times the individual creative process may have to be subordinated to the purpose and will of the group. However, group creative work can provide an ideal opportunity to develop children’s social and co-operative skills. More often than not it requires more imagination and creativity to work as a group!
What can practitioners do to develop children’s creativity?
You may now be feeling how do I encourage children in my care to develop their creativity? The following are useful hints for nurturing young children’s creativity: Provide sufficient time and opportunities for children to explore, experiment and practice their skills. Allow children time to work at their own speed. Try to avoid them being pressured by other children eager to try another activity. Some children require more encouragement to ‘have a go’ on their own. They may need you to suggest ideas, stimulate their imagination, and encourage them. Children will discover a lot through their own explorations, but unless there is an adult on hand to talk about their discoveries, learning opportunities can be missed. Children need to feel secure. They need to know that help is available if and when they need it. The tricky job is judging when to intervene if a child is struggling. Sometimes the process of problem-solving is part of the learning process, but do be prepared to model and teach new skills that children may require in order to progress. Experience will help you maintain the balance between being intrusive, and avoiding the frustration children feel when their own efforts are thwarted. Supply good quality resources - both materials and people! Challenge children by inviting artists or performers to show children their own particular area of creativity. In particular make use of talented parents who are willing to help. Encourage children to talk to each other about their work. Ask them to share how they overcame problems when constructing a model robot, or why they decided to make a loud sound at the end of the music. Try to be creative yourself! How long is it since you found time to develop your own creative gifts? Challenge yourself to learn a new skill this year.

Creativity and the EYFS
Creative development is one of the six areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage - the curriculum for all children under the age of five. The Statutory Framework, published in 2007, breaks down Creative Development into the four following aspects.
The Four Aspects of Creative Development:
Being Creative - Responding to Experiences, Expressing and Communicating Ideas

Corresponding E.L.G.: Respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch or feel.
Corresponding E.L.G.: Express and communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings by using a widening range of materials, suitable tools, imaginative and role-play, movement, designing and making, and a variety of songs and musical instruments.
Exploring Media and Materials

Corresponding E.L.G.: Explore colour, texture, shape, form and space in two and three dimensions.
Creating Music and Dance

Corresponding E.L.G.: Recognise and explore how sounds can be changed, sing simple songs from memory, recognise repeated sounds and sound patterns and match movements to music.
Developing Imagination and Imaginative Play

Corresponding E.L.G.: Use their imagination in art and design, music, dance, imaginative and role-play and stories.

Using this book
All forty topics in this book include suggestions for activities that explore four different areas of creativity: drama and role-play; stories, songs and rhymes; design, art and modelling; and dance and movement.
The following sections detail how to make the most of each area, and detail the importance of each set of skills to the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Drama and Role-Play
Interestingly, the actual word ‘drama’ is not included in the Early Learning Goals for Creative Development but it clearly underlies a great deal of the goals’ intentions.
A child is surely ‘being creative’ when, through drama and role-play, they are able to show a personal response to a dramatic, if pretend, situation. Drama games and skills enable children to ‘express and communicate’ their own ideas in a fun, imaginative and creative way. In an increasingly technological world children are spoonfed acceptable responses through exposure to passive entertainment in the form of television programmes and computer games. The world of drama and role-play can provide a vital medium for the development of imagination and imaginative play.
All practitioners desire to extend children’s creativity by supporting their natural curiosity through play and exploration. Role-play areas should be inspirational, open-ended environments that enable children’s creative learning, encouraging them to feel safe and secure as they extend their experiences of life. These environments offer many opportunities to develop cross-curricular learning, in particular language development, awareness of a variety of cultures, and knowledge and understanding of the world around us.
Using the drama activities in this book
Drama games
These games are great as starting points for a drama session, or to introduce a new topic to your children in a creative way. Many of them are fun ‘warm-up’ games that help the children to relax and feel comfortable with each other so that they are confident and able to express themselves in a non-threatening environment. These may be thinking word games, informal circle games, or energetic physical activities, which require more space and warm up bodies as well as minds.
Mime
The skills of mime require a great deal of concentration and these focused activities will develop children’s ability to use their imagination and