1. Introduction to TMA.
The objective for this assignment is to show the advantages of ‘play’ and ‘creativity’ in the learning environment and the benefits it has for children, as well as to understand why giving children the opportunity to play and be creative, enhances their learning, and how it plays a vital role in their development. In addition, I will look at how creativity is encouraged on The Open University DVD, audio visual sequence number 6 ‘Pop Stars’, and how a game played by children during their golden time, demonstrates learning through play.
Play is valuable in school, as it enables children to freely express themselves. This may occur during social interactions with their peers or as an individual. Play provides a valuable opportunity for a child to use their imagination as a tool for learning, by extracting and processing new information in regard to the world around them. This is supported by Lev Vygotsky a psychologist, who believed that “play led children’s development, as it could enable them to step outside their actual lives to explore, through imagination, a wider set of meanings and understanding”.(Study topic 13, page 165).
As well as play, ensuring creative practice is carried out effectively in school is also beneficial to the children. “Creative learning happens when adult creativity comes together with opportunity for children to be creative”. (Study topic 14, page 190). Teachers can plan activities where by creative practice is included,
3. Critically analyse how creativity and creative learning can support young children’s emotional, social, intellectual, communication and physical development.
Creative development is important to a child’s learning because it helps them to use their mind and imagination and express their own ideas, and through playing with their friends it also helps them to understand that all family’s and cultures can be different. It helps them to make connections in their thinking and the way in which they problem solve, by doing things over and over again they reinforce their thinking and learning, they develop self-esteem, confidence, imagination & learning to work together in groups. It puts down the foundations for more
Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology.
Creative learning is about how children are actively involved in their own learning and their ability to make choices and decisions. This can be achieved by providing a creative environment, allowing exploration through play and praising the child’s creative efforts. Creative learning is about helping children develop imaginative thinking through exploration of materials, objects and problem solving skills like ICT. It is also about giving children opportunities to make connections between different areas and to relate to them. Some creative learning activities may be goal orientated like the
Understand the concepts of creativity and creative learning and how these affect all aspects of young children’s learning and development.
You as parents (including children) can see how we have activities targeting their creativity with a lot of open end material and natural nature’s material through intentional teaching; children are given open end material to come up with their own imagination and develop new ideas. Our activities are spread over the whole day, giving children time to think and enjoy the activity. They are encouraged
Play is inevitable when it comes to children. Given the right environment and objects (of any sort), children will find a way to play. Jarvis, et al state that educators must offer inspiring, playful environments which include hands-on activities and interesting resources. This will empower children to educate themselves (2009). Along the same line, Wood and Attfield consider that an environment inclusive of varied resources will provide room for growth in their learning and will support the child’s “creativity, inventiveness and originally” (2005, p.231).
Understand the concepts of creativity and creative learning and how these affect all aspects of young children’s learning and development.
Every child is different and they are gifted in one way or another. Every child learns differently because each child has different experiences. The creative arts are a powerful learning tool. They engage children’s senses in open-ended play and support the development of cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills. They activate the spatial domain, stimulate the senses and improve well-being. They are a creative playground for the growing mind. Young children need to use the power of the arts to express their ideas and knowledge and to respond to their experiences.
Creativity in Children is one of the purest forms of self expression. There is nothing children want more than to openly express themselves free of judgement. Creativity, early on, is an important tool used by children to express personal feelings, thoughts, and experiences. The unfortunate problem seen in America however is the apparent trend, as described by psychologist, of an ever declining collective of creativity within our schools. This indeed is a problem since children use their creativity to make since of the world they live in. It is necessary to provide information to caretakers and providers on the proper techniques and etiquette of fostering creativity in children during the early stages of childhood development. Be that
This essay introduces the definition of play, its importance in early years. It also makes us understand the different contributions made by theorists in enhancing our understanding the value of play. It also examines the implications of play on children and early childhood services. We also discuss the origin and role of child-initiated play in a child?s early years.
In this artifact, Creative Curriculum It refers to a curriculum in which program fosters learning through hand-on, exploration, active thinking, and experimenting to better understand the world, and how things work. The teachers use their own knowledge and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curriculum that promotes comprehensive developmental and learning outcomes for every young child. Children are given the opportunity to be creative and active explorers. The creative curriculum also focuses on four areas of development: Social, emotional, physical, and cognitive. It also assesses children based on their age and stage of development. The creative Curriculum also encourages play. It is believed that children learn though play. For example, in the block area they learn about sizes, shapes and other mathematical problems.
Explain the role of play in literacy learning and examine its position in relation to society, the National Curriculum, and cultural issues. In what ways should early playful learning encounters be built upon in the context of schooling?
Children also engage in concepts of making and creating, which are an essential part of creative arts education (Garvis, 2012). So the process of young children’s meaning and making in creative arts education is a combination of thought, body and emotion (Garvis, 2012). There are many ways children can express themselves when they undertake creative arts activities. An example could be if the children were to create inviting and integrated creations which may include signs, words, graphic devices, writing and other forms which represent many different things (Garvis, 2012). The importance of creative arts has been recognised in the Australian Curriculum mainly for preschool and kindergarten and has been recognised as a fundamental area of learning (Garvis, 2012). Early year’s education and care prior to starting primary school is a fundamental part of a child’s education which is why it is
Play is the foundation stone of children’s healthy and productive lives (Oliver & Klugman, 2002) and is also a significant means of child’s learning and development (Zigler, Singer & Bishop-