Promoting Creativity in Young Children

One thing I have found interesting in the course of getting my Early Childhood Education degree is that so many educators say they value creativity...and then you walk into their classroom and the walls are papered in crafts where each child's creation is supposed to look like the teacher's. I loved taking the Creative Experiences class because it gave me the ability to not feel like a lazy bum of a mother when I get on Pinterest and see all the crafts my kids aren't doing.

Here are some pointers on promoting creativity from the textbook from my Creative Experiences class, Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning:
Understand what it means to be a creative teacher and be able to recognize what constitutes a creative activity. Isenberg and Jalongo (2014) define creativity as "the interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context" (p. 8). Rather than the teachers (and moms) performing or creating an activity, activate the child's potential.
Offer support for possibility thinking- help children engage with everyday problems at a deeper level and pose "what if" questions. Engage in problem finding as well as problem solving.
Value the process more than the product. Children need to explore materials and practice before they can arrive at satisfying outcomes. Instead of pressuring children to make a specific product, it is more beneficial to give them time to simply explore what happens when they use different materials.
Encourage rather than praise. Praising is passing judgment on the quality of the work, but encouragement acknowledges the child's efforts. Saying things like "good job" are pretty meaningless, talking about how the child went through the process of making their creation is more beneficial. Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning suggests several phrases you can use:
How did you get the idea for this?
I like the way you used ____ because...
I wonder what would happen if...
I notice that you...
This interests me because..

One of my professors told us to ask, "Who is being creative, the adult or the child?" If the adult is imagining the activity and gathering materials while the child is simply assembling it, it's not a creative activity. One of the best things you can do is offer children paint and/or craft materials and see what they come up with. Better yet, explore with them and have fun!

Reference

Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2014). Creative thinking and arts-based learning: Preschool through fourth grade. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Stages of Art and Block Play

I knew that children go through stages of developmental art, but I didn't know that there were stages of block play. I thought it was interesting and wanted to share both the art and the block stages with you.

Stages of Art:

Ages 0-2

Children grip crayons and markers with their fist and draw with whole-arm movements. They scribble enthusiastically. Children manipulate different media and enjoy the effect they have. They go through a long period of experimenting. Their marks are random and unplanned, and they are not too concerned with what is on the paper.

2-4

Children hold crayons and markers in the tripod grasp (between first two fingers and thumb). They show improved control of crayons and  can control the marks they make. They can use vertical, horizontal, and circular strokes. Their scribbling is purposeful. They begin to make patterns, to repeat patterns, and create designs.

4-7

Children demonstrate fair control of pencils and markers. Children who have had many experiences with artistic exploration begin to control, combine, and arrange shapes, designs, and colors in pleasing designs. They often plan their designs, alternating colors, filling up spaces, etc. What shows up on paper makes them think of something and they often name it. With experience, they plan what to draw, often a self-portrait. Another benchmark is "x-ray" art, which shows both the inside and outside of an object (such as an outline of a truck that also shows what is inside). Don't assume a child has made a representation of something because sometimes they are just observing what the art materials are doing. Say something like, "Tell me about your picture." 

5+ 

Children are interested in art that looks real. They plan and organize more complete and detailed representations. They now include many details. Their drawings are recognizable without too much explanation. The objects, however, may not be sized correctly. They enjoy drawing the important people and things in their lives. Children usually make those objects most important to them the largest ones, regardless of the spatial awareness.

Can you spot the two people in this picture? :)

Stages of Block Play

Stage 1: Carrying Blocks

Children are interested in learning about blocks- how heavy they are, what they feel like, and how many can be carried at once. They begin to learn the properties of blocks and gain an understanding of what they can and cannot do with blocks.

Stage 2: Piling Blocks and Making Roads

Children make towers and discover what different arrangements look like as they place blocks on the floor. Children also begin to use their imagination and apply important cognitive skills. To young builders, flat rows of blocks on the floor typically suggest a road.

Stage 3: Connecting Blocks to Create Structures

Bridges: To make a bridge, children set up two blocks, leave a space between them, and connect the two blocks with another block on top. When children make bridge, they practice balance, explore spatial relationships, and improve their eye-hand coordination. 

Enclosures: Children put blocks together to enclose a space. At first, simply making an enclosure is a satisfying experience. Later, the enclosure may be used for dramatic play with zoo or farm animals.

Designs: Children are fascinated with symmetry, balance, and patterns, and they use blocks to form decorative patterns and symmetrical layouts.

Stage 4: Making Elaborate Constructions

Experienced builders are able to put blocks together with dexterity and skill. Children learn to adapt to changes in their building area by curving structures and by building them above, around, or over obstacles. Children need a variety of block sizes and shapes so they can make their constructions more elaborate. Children use them as a setting for dramatic play, often labeling them and even asking for signs so everyone will know what they built.

The best way to respond to children's structures is to describe the structures and the blocks they used instead of meaningless statements like, "Good job." The same goes for art: describe the colors used and the different lines and shapes instead of meaningless statements.

If you have the space and money for it, a set of standard unit blocks (about $60-$100) and an easel (about $20-$60) would give your children a great opportunity to explore with art and blocks. If you have less space or money, mini unit blocks (about $20) and access to paper and crayons will give children plenty of experience.

References

Cunningham, D., & Mitchell, A. (1992). Explorations with young children: A curriculum guide from Bank Street College of Education. Gryphon House.

Marotz, L. R., & Allen, K. E. (2013). Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through adolescence. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

The creative curriculum for preschool.

Choosing a Preschool

"If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, 

for the children are the makers of men."

-Maria Montessori

I don't know about you, but trying to decide on a preschool almost made me need a Xanax.

Here was the Micaela method of choosing a preschool:

1. Google preschools in my area.

2. Open up tabs for all the schools.

3. Try to learn about the schools.

4. Try to figure out how much tuition was for each school.

5. Get depressed about how much private school costs.

6. Give up.

7. Repeat a month later.

8. After five rounds of this, I walked into the closest preschool and enrolled.

My husband kept asking me what was taking so long. There are so many things to consider, that's what! There are so many things you have to think about when looking at preschools, and I eventually just got overwhelmed and enrolled in the first one I toured, even though it's not as high quality as I would like.

What you have to consider when choosing a preschool boils down to four main things: location, cost, the quality of the school, and the type of school. 

Let me explain the last two points. Unless you live in NYC (in which case, you most certainly will need a prescription for Xanax), there are probably five main types of child care centers in your area: traditional, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Head Start, and family child care. 

• Traditional: The classrooms are usually divided by peer grouping (children are the same age). Rooms usually have the same learning centers: blocks, math and science, library, art, dramatic play, and music and movement. These schools usually follow the same general schedule: choice time, circle time, small groups, playground, lunch, nap, choice time, playground. Children learn from the materials in the room and from lessons teachers give during circle time and small groups.
• Montessori: These classrooms use family groupings, so three-year-old children to six-year-old children are in the same room. Rooms are loaded with didactic materials and life skills experiences (they even wash their own dishes). The children decide what they learn, when they learn. The schedule is generally choice time, playground, lunch, choice time. Teachers walk around the room observing children. If they see a child struggling with a task and don't think the child can do it himself, they will help the child with statements and open-ended questions that prod the child to successful completion.
• I know this is boring, but stay with me.
• Reggio Emilia: This promotes beauty, community, self-expression, and exploration. Learning is based on long-term projects. Teachers closely follow what children say and do in order to figure out what they want to learn about and then provide materials to get the children there. The classrooms provide basic didactic materials and change in order to put in centers based on the children's projects. 
• Head Start: This is a wonderful federal program for low-income families. Head Start tries to address not just the educational needs of its children, but adds health, nutrition, and parent education and involvement. 
• Family child care: Someone prepares a part of their home to be like a small traditional or Montessori classroom. Usually it's one person handling a few children. Schedules and learning are all up to that provider. These are best for infants and toddlers because they do best in home-like environments. These also tend to be a little cheaper because you don't have to pay for administrative costs, building costs, etc. You are basically paying for the provider's time, and the equipment and materials.

Quality mainly boils down to the education of the caregivers, the quality of the classrooms and playground, and the ratio of teachers to students. 

• Ideally, you would want your child's teacher to have a bachelor's or master's degree, but most teachers usually aren't that qualified. You also want a teacher who has several years of experience. Sadly, many teachers are fresh out of high school with little or no experience. 
• Classrooms should be clean and full of equipment and materials in good repair. Bonus points if the furniture is all solid wood. Playgrounds are great if they are less like one big hunk of plastic and more like an outdoor classroom with different activities for children.
• The fewer children each teacher has to care for, the more attention each child gets.

So what kind of school do I recommend? If there was a Montessori school close to my house and it wasn't expensive, that is definitely where my children would be going. Montessori and Reggio are incredible. The first time I walked into a Montessori room, (this is going to sound cheesy, but) I felt like my soul was at rest. It was beautiful, it was peaceful. And the Reggio school here is so beautiful it left me speechless. If you ever have the opportunity to tour a Reggio school, do it.

I hope this post gave you helpful information without making you feel even more overwhelmed!