On 20 August 2022, we had our fourth Explorers@Makerspace on Art! Read on to see what we have explored and learnt in our activities and discussions within the Makerspace!
What did we do?
This E@MS session was centred around Art, with the main question:
"How do various art mediums promote creative thinking?"
During the session, we first had a discussion on our answers prior to the session to share about prior experiences, and thoughts regarding art mediums that we enjoyed exploring such as the use of crayons in crayon melting art!
Here are the responses that the participants gave:
The focus was drawn to three different types of creative thinking that the explorers and facilitators would approach with a positive mindset - reframed thinking, problem solving and divergent thinking. A simple game was played to identify different objects and rename them as a varied function through a round robin.
The facilitators then discussed with the participants for ways that we can introduce a new art medium. A few of them suggested art mediums such as paint and paintbrush for the children to explore first. The others added that the introduction of the art medium could be carried out in a sensorial way. The facilitators also shared about how art mediums could be introduced to children and participants based on the experiences that were shared earlier. We emphasised on the use of proper and appropriate art vocabulary to describe the art mediums to the children. Check out these examples:
Kicking off the exploration, the COL facilitators shared the recommended items of art for children and the benefits that art had for the children’s creativity and self-expression. Thereafter, we moved on to two sample activities organised by the COL facilitators.
2-Dimensional Art
The first activity was an exploratory activity based on the use of the participants’ creativity through open-ended materials. We were tasked to create a piece of artwork through varied materials around the E@MS room. The participants were encouraged to have unrestricted exploration in creating art pieces.
Here are some of the learning domains included in this game, based on what we discussed after the game:
Motor Skills Development: Fine motor skills in manipulating objects and writing materials
Numeracy: Identifying shapes
Aesthetic and Creative Expression: Creating new pieces of art pieces from self-expression
Problem-solving: How can I make an art piece that is uniquely me?
3-Dimensional Art
The second activity was working with clay to create a 3-dimensional sculpture or object. The participants created many different pieces of art using Raku clay and incorporating more objects and imprints with natural materials such as dried leaves, flowers and twigs.
What learning domains do you think are included in this activity? Here are some that we have discussed:
Motor Skills Development: Manipulating our fine motor skills and fingers to mould and create a clay art piece
Aesthetics and Creative Expression: Creation of an art piece through self-expression
Sensory development: How does the Raku Clay feel through touch and how does it interact with other objects?
Social-emotional: Developing a sense of achievement and self-concept through creating an 2D/3D art piece independently.
Language development: Exposure to art vocabulary (Receptive language) and expression through art (Expressive language)
What have we learnt?
Here are some key takeaways that we have learnt as we reflected on what we have learnt from our experiences.
How we can incorporate creative thinking into our art expression and lessons: Here are some questions we have pondered about while creating our activities:
What skills/learning goals from the domains am I targeting?
Must everyone be seated at their chairs for art?
Does everyone need to have the same object?
How can we improve our current art practices?
How do we make art differentiated for each individual?
Different types of MSD: MSD includes both gross and fine motor skills, and both can be supported in outdoor and indoor contexts. Moreover, fine motor skills development can be fostered not only through the conventional colouring and writing, but also through other activities such finger painting, gardening, and messy play.
MSD and the body: We realised that having more types of art experiences can engage children with sensory and behaviour needs as they will be more involved in the experiences. Some participants shared about their experience with learning about clay therapy in a previous module.
DIY: With varied objects and recycled materials, participants in every activity can create a piece of artwork through self-expression besides the usual types of artwork such as colouring a template.
In conclusion, we managed to use the Makerspace as a studio for exploration and experimentation as we make different art experiences and learn about the ways that we can express ourselves through them.
How can we improve?
Here are some questions you can think about after reading our key takeaways:
Where are the different environments that we can conduct art experiences?
What other ways can we introduce other art mediums?
How can we improve and adapt the activities suggested to different age groups?
What are some other materials that can be used for self-expression in art?
What are the ways that we can integrate other domains into art experiences?
How can you design your learning environment for an open-ended art experience?
With that, we hope you enjoyed reading our insights into art and creative thinking for our fourth E@MS! Stay tuned for our next E@MS in end-September, where (hint hint) we may be exploring story-making for social-emotional learning! More details coming soon! See you then!
Resources
Here are resources the COL facilitators referred to for this E@MS. Check them out to learn more about art education in the early years!
Pelo, A. (2015). The Language of Art : Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings. (2nd e.d.). Redleaf Press.
[The above resource is the textbook used for ECE308: Art, Imagination and Meaning-Making]
Writers and Photo Credits
COL: Fifi Ong, Angeline Lau Wei Ling
Pubs: Denise Leong Wan Ling, Fedore Chan, Lee Kia Kiat