Drawing with felt tip pens...oh how I love it!

About a week ago I was spending some time in our preschool room. We are fortunate enough to have our very own, dedicated art space – Umiliko (which means “To create”) We had out some fine black markers as well as a few coloured pencils. With these, one of our passionate educators had put a pineapple as a provocation. I looked at some of the observational drawings that the children had been doing and was delighted! The detail in these drawings was just amazing.

I stayed in the art room with one of our young creators (4.8years) and watched as she finished her observational drawing of the pineapple. Once it was completed she selected a new piece of paper and began drawing.

The detail that went into this drawing was incredible. We have so many art mediums available for the children, but I must admit that these pens are my absolute favourite. In the last week I have watched children combine felt tip pens with coloured pencils, watercolour paints and also oil pastels. The amount of detail they allow (and I think encourage) children to use is just amazing.

A quick flick through the beautiful book It’s Not A Bird Yet: The Drama of Drawing – by Ursula Kolbe shows some wonderfully detailed drawings using felt tip pens. Ursula also says “Each medium has its’ own voice” – what true words! Looking at the drawing by this creative little being I got those chills up my spine that you get when something just fills you with delight (or is that just me??)

I would love to hear about your use of fine tip pens and other art mediums

Rainy Days...

What’s worse than watching the clock tick by ever so slowly on a Friday afternoon? Having 15 pre-schoolers stuck inside going crazy while it ticks by! This is what happened to me last Friday afternoon and I struggled to come up with ideas. We ended up playing hide and seek, sleeping dogs (or as the kids call it – dead dogs!) kangaroo skippyroo and freeze. We managed to survive the afternoon and actually have a pretty good time, but it got me thinking about things to do on rainy days…

·         Put the clear tunnel off the verandah and let the kids lie in it and watch the rain (our kids love this, but its best for light rain!)

·         Grab gumboots and an umbrella and go for a rainwalk around the yard

·         Make cubbies using odds and ends

·         Bring some of the large foam shapes and gym mats inside and create an obstacle course indoors

I did some browsing of some of my favourite blogs and found this great article on let the children play - http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2011/08/chalking-in-rain.html

Can’t wait to try this one…

Would love to hear some different rainy day ideas – how do you “embrace” the wet weather, rather than letting it ruin the program?

The Hunter Alliance for Childhood - A must!

I have just returned from day 2 of the Hunter Alliance for Childhood  Expo for Childhood and have to share! Yesterday I listened to an Additive Alert presentation which I believe is going to change how I live my life and how I view the lunchboxes that come into our centre each day. The startling facts about additives in our food (or as presenter Natalie Stackhouse referred to it – edible food like substance!) blew my mind. As an advocate for children I feel I can’t watch the kids in my care put those things into their body without trying to share the information with our families. Because of this, we are planning an Additive Alert presentation for families at our service,

Prior to the presentation I visited each of the stalls, all offering natural services to make parenting easier. There were books that would make a great addition to our parent library, gorgeous wooden toys and delicious organic food.

Today I headed back with my partner and little one in tow. We watched an amazing film – Consuming Kids, which shed light on marketing and the commercialisation of children. It helped to confirm why I don’t have Wiggles/Dora/Ben10 etc in my household! If you ever get the chance to see the film – DO IT, you won’t regret it.

Anyway, the point of this post isn’t just to promote all of the wonderful things at the expo (that’s just a bonus!) it is to make everyone aware of the Hunter Alliance for Childhood. I think as educators of young children we are also advocates. We have a responsibility for their well-being and for ensuring that the children in our care get to be exactly that – children!! For as little as $5, you can join HAC and support this amazing organisation that advocates for children's rights to 'Real Food, Real Play, Real Life.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the expo if you went!

The great “program” dilemma!

So I don’t know if this is going to be an “inspirational” post as such, but it is something that has me thinking at the moment. Tonight at our staff meeting we will be discussing our program. Currently we do a daily journal in both of our rooms – a narrative of the play and learning that has taken place throughout the day, accompanied by delightful photographs. Our wonderful educators put a lot of time and thought into the journal, yet sadly for the most part – it is unread. This can be frustrating and I often find myself questioning...

·         Who do we produce the journal for?

·         If it isn’t read by families is it any less meaningful?

·         Is there a way to encourage families to read it? (And yes we realise that families are busy!)

I have seen some beautiful programs/journals in services – they look great, read well, yet I still wonder if they are being read and enjoyed? Does a visually appealing journal equal more readership? We currently print our journals in black and white as it is more cost effective, however perhaps if they were in colour they would be more appreciated. For our service it has always been more important that the content be meaningful than that the journal look “pretty”, but maybe we need to strike a balance between the two.

This is how a typical journal of ours looks:

I also wonder if the busy lives of families contribute to the lack of readership. Maybe we need to think outside the box (or off the page!) and look at different types of technology to share this information with families without compromising the privacy of the children. Perhaps families would be more inclined to read the journal if it was available in different ways, such as via email or on a blog.

I did a quick google search and found a child care service that blogs...

http://www.coomeraclubhouse.com.au/blog/

With the Early Years Learning Framework in place, the importance of meaningful documentation of children’s learning has been highlighted. The framework really values play and explains the benefits of play in a simplistic, family friendly way. The challenge now, for us as educators, is to find ways to share that with families.

I am really excited to hear some innovative ideas at our staff meeting tonight and would love to hear how other centre’s document children’s learning. Do you have a daily journal? Do you have a weekly one? How do you entice families to read and appreciate this documentation?

The quest for an independent school...

Back in 2008, Tash (Owner of Inspired EC) and I spoke at the Connecting Children with Nature Conference in Perth. Although one of the highlights was undoubtedly hearing the amazing Claire Warden share her passion, it was Bold Park Community School that had a profound impact on me and it’s one I find difficult to explain – so bear with me!

Perhaps I should start by saying that mainstream schools really disturb me. I do not cope with the concept that all children need to learn the same thing at the same time in the same way – education is not one size fits all! To really explain my issue with mainstream education I would need a 24 hour block of time, so let me summarise the key problems I have:

·         Homework – seriously, is 6hours of structured learning not enough? Is it really necessary to spend more time at home, eating into precious family time?

·         Stencils – walking into a classroom and seeing 25 pictures that all look the same makes me want to throw myself on the floor like a tantruming toddler! Surely children are capable of drawing for themselves and even if the result isn’t a perfectly formed duck – does it really matter? Isn’t the process far more important?

·         The lack of wonder/curiosity – the answers just seem to be there and there is always a right answer. How nice would it be for children to hypothesise and then investigate and maybe not even find a definite answer?!

·         The environment – a sterile room with tables, chairs and not much else! Where is the home-like feel that we value so strongly in early childhood? Surely school age children deserve that too. And don’t even get me started on the outdoor environment…concrete and plastic L

·         A lone teacher – I think there is so much to be said for team teaching. If there is a personality clash between a child and their teacher (and let’s face it, it happens) it’s just too bad. Having two teachers means there are two different adult personalities in the room, two different perspectives and lots more creative ideas bouncing around!

Okay, I could go on but I think I’ve made my point and it is clear why I remain in Early Childhood! Getting back to the amazing Bold Park Community School… Everything I just wrote about above was not an issue at Bold Park. The classrooms were light filled, home-like environments that clearly said “you are valued.” Rather than rows of tables and chairs, the rooms were set up in interest areas/stations. There were science areas where children could find facts, share their ideas and test theories. There were art spaces filled with quality, open ended materials that just seemed to invite children to come and express themselves. It was clear that play was valued. I couldn’t find a stencil no matter how hard I looked, instead the walls featured beautifully presented documentation of the children’s learning. I walked away from that school wishing that I didn’t live on the other side of the country!

There are many other independent schools throughout Australia….just none here in Newcastle, which breaks my heart. In my constant web trawling I have found a few that take an approach more in line with early childhood education:

·         Kinma – Sydney NSW

·         Candlebark School – Victoria (Run by Author John Marsden)

·         Fitzroy Community School – Victoria

·         Collingwood College – Victoria

I look through these sites and others and daydream about sending my child to an amazing place like this. I spend my days at work wishing that we could keep our kids in that rich and inspiring environment forever.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that this type of education is what every parent wants for their child. I’m simply saying that there needs to be options! In the Newcastle area the options are mainstream public education, private education (which tends to be taught in a similar way to the public system) and the Newcastle Waldorf School and I just don’t believe it is enough – our children deserve more.

So…what to do? We need a bunch of passionate people to come together and get an independent school off the ground in Newcastle – people who are not afraid to say “I want something better for children.” If they can do it in Perth, Sydney and Victoria, surely we can do it here. Who is with me??