Imagination Takes Over!!

Children have vibrant, colorful and beautiful minds, even when it doesn't seem to be that way. They're always thinking of new ways to create something fun and it all starts with their imagination. A child's mindset tends to be looking for ways to make whatever it is they're doing fun, that's what they think their lives are all about. When they're given some materials they can create some wonderful works of art.

In class during the teaching units one of the groups presented the same information. They talked about art materials and how it adds to any child's imagination is many ways. Each student was given an array of different materials and was asked to create something from our imaginations. I had trouble at the beginning because it didn't seem possible to create anything with the materials that were given to us. All of a sudden I began to think as if I were a child. That was when i created Gerald the Giraffe.

Prepare For Takeoff!!

In this activity, the group leaders gave us index cards, scissors, glue, crayons, markers and a toilet paper roll. A strange combination of materials, I know. We were given 5 minutes to create anything that came to our minds. I took the index cards, cut them in half and glued them to the toilet paper roll. With the remaining pieces of the index cards, I cut them into smaller pieces to make the turbine engines on the wings of the plane, used the marker to draw on some doors and windows on each side.

This activity was key in many different aspects, it helped show and explain the creative, emotional, perceptual and emotional development that each child goes through. In this activity we had to interact with each other due to the sharing of materials such as the markers and scissors. The other aspect I mentioned which sticks out to me is the perceptual development. The resources were limited so the items we made we full of imagination, so to speak.

The picture above is the finished product of my airplane. As you can tell, it is preparing for takeoff!!

An Important Teaching Quality!!

To me, a VERY IMPORTANT teaching quality to have has to be patience, if you cannot display this in your profession it will be tough to maintain in the teaching profession in my opinion. I worked with children of the elementary stage and it can be very frustrating at times if you let it get to you. They have a tendency to know how to get under your skin and I noticed this amongst my peers whom I worked with.

Another time that I had to display patience was just over Thanksgiving Break when my younger brother and I were drawing pictures for the art show. I knew that motivating him would be key so I figured that I would draw alongside him. We were both creating our own accounts of playing basketball but I noticed that he would wait to see what I had drawn before he would draw anything. It was getting to me but I realized that he was just trying to create what seemed to be the perfect picture.

The above picture is a creation of a tower by the stacking or different rocks upon each other. I figured this picture was the best representation of displaying patience by trying to stack them on top of one another.

Are Their Emotions That Important??

As a matter of fact, they are essential to children in their developmental stages. Their emotions are evident in almost all of artwork they produce and can be represented in the smallest of details. It can be the title that represents their feelings, as simple as a facial expression, the colors they use and many more things. Even the way they portray their environment can indicate a child's feelings.

The importance of emotions in the growth of a child has many implications on the child. The key aspect is the emotional growth of the child because it leads to the development of many other stages; environmental, mental and representational. The feelings are usually apparent to the adult because the child tends to exaggerate in the areas of their emotions.

Do They Really Form Gangs??

Of course not they don't form gangs, it's just the name associated with their characteristics. The Gang Age takes place in children from the ages of 9 to 12 years. In this stage children tend to move away from X-Ray drawings because to them it us unnatural. An aspect that noticeably carries over to this stage is their representation of Space. It is evident that they are aware of this in their works of art. Also you will see a lot of overlapping in their works, which is another method of Space Representation.

I think the most important transition a child makes in this stage is their movement from Ego-Centrism toward a greater perspective. The emphasis is taken off of a single entity and placed upon something that is much larger or even a group of people. Color and Design also play an important role throughout the stage, just like it does in any other. The children experiment with different colors and begin mixing and shading. It is also important not to rush color development because it can lead to difficulties once the child gets older. And last but not least, they present an abstract view and show relation of background and foreground.

Now This Is My Favorite Stage!!

The stage where schema's begin to come in effect is called the Schematic Stage. This is also the stage of a child's artistic development where so many different techniques develop are used. The quality of art has significantly increased and about all of the children's work is noticeable/distinguishable. Also during the ages of 7 to 9 years, they incorporate the use of schema's, like I mentioned before, which are basic shapes or forms they base their work upon. Once we become aware of a child's use of schema's, we also become aware of his/her thinking process. It becomes an indication of how children comprehend and interpret space and objects.

Facial symbols are used to differentiate between feelings. It is noticeable at this stage whether or not the child who has created the work was feeling happy, sad or angry simply by looking at the facial makeup. In the earlier stages, the children would use colors associated with being a certain mood to show so. The way space is shown in a child's environment is by using methods we call folding over and baseline. It helps show the child's awareness of their environment and their surroundings.

Piaget's Pre-Schematic Stage..

In the Pre-Schematic Stage many aspects of Education are key, such as Art Motivation, Space, Reflection of their growth, use of and meaning of color, subject matter and materials, like in all stages. Children between the ages of 4 to 7 fall into this category. This doesn't mean that all children in this age range are here, some children tend to fall behind artistically but may excel in other educational areas. Symmetry and shadow make their first appearance in this stage of artistic development for many children.

Another important thing to note is that the children begin to develop a logic of their own. Imagination also plays a large role because it serves as a significant means of self-expression and we've learned this from philosopher Jean Piaget. Ego-Centrism is apparent in this stage as well. Children display this in their art by placing themselves in the middle of whatever is going on in their art. They also begin to get color specific, such as making grass green and the sky, blue.

The Scribbling Stage is What??

Art in the Educational Stages begins at the age of 2 years with the group that the philosophers like to call the "Scribblers." Throughout this stage children go through two different stages; the first being the Distorted Scribble which then leads to the latter stage, Controlled Scribbling. During the first part of the stage the children follow no pattern, make no attempt at portraying their environment, and the art usually consists of long sweeps of motion. The Controlled stage displays patterns and the child begins to lift the crayons from the paper to distinguish from each item created.

This is the first stage that the child exhibits the ability to draw human beings. Something that is important to keep in mind at this stage is that some materials are better for the child than others. Materials such as finger paint, crayons and markers are good. Water color isn't as good because it tends to run down the paper and distorts the painting. When a child's work of art is altered in this stage, the child usually has a problem with it.

The scribbles you see above are examples of a Distorted Scribble. It is evident that the child is not lifting their utensil in between to create anything in particular.

Are All Children Self-Centered??

The Term Ego-Centrist first becomes relevant in the Pre-Schematic stage for children which takes place between the ages of 4-7 years. At this point, children begin to draw themselves more and more in their artwork, but draw only what they can see of themselves. It's as if they're looking down to their feet and drawing what seems important to their body although they are well aware of all the body parts they have. Piaget also discovered that some children believe that the thinking process begins with the mouth because that is where the eating and talking and much more take place.

They add to the head; eyes, ears, a nose and mouth because those additions make the head the center of sensory activity. The next addition are the legs and arms to the being to make them a functional individual. Something else to add, while in this stage children tend to respond to questions and other things from a personal standpoint, like if asked a question about what happened at a sleepover or a friends house, they'll reply with what happened to them without any particular order.

A study was conducted by Piaget that consisted of 700 children. His results concluded with an average of children reaching the age of 11 before they move away from showing just their point of view in pictures. He went on to say that it's not that the children are being selfish in this stage, but they cannot fully "put him/herself in someone else's shoes" so to speak and thinks that everyone else sees what it is they see.

Why Is It Called the "Gang Age"??

"By the time children reach the age of 9 they are entering the stage of Drawing Realism, which lasts from 9 to 12 years" - Viktor Lowenfeld. The "Gang Age" is a very important stage for children because it is around this age when they begin to form their little groups of friends, often referred to as "gangs." At this point in a youngsters life they are more aware of themselves and tend to show this in their drawings. They also become more self-conscious of their role/place in society and add great detail in their artwork.

Toward the end of the stage they grow to be aware of proportion and depth and begin to display this in their art as well. Plus, unlike in previous stages of development, they are no longer eager to show adults their works and this is a result of their self-consciousness. During this stage it shows that the children have an increasing development of social independence. The gangs typically consist of same genders as a result of boys and girls ignoring each other through out the stint of this stage.

My Interpretation of the Education Programs Goals

Goal 1:
Knowing the term of Inquiry and how it plays a role in each classroom and the importance it holds with each student. A way we can make sure this is taking place is by holding discussions that involve each student.
Goal 2:
We demonstrate a broad understanding of the subject matter in the environment around us and how we relate it to everyday life. Becoming more well-rounded as students is as way we could display this.
Goal 3:
A way to demonstrate authentic learning would be evaluating your students processes of Higher-Level Learning/ Thinking. Asking them to give their account from an exercise/ reading will help prove this goal.
Goal 4:
Displaying the ability to make lesson plans that incorporate the involvement of each student exhibits understandings of the foundations of education. Preparing for the class an activity that calls for each student to participate reveals Goal 4's basis.
Goal 5:
Involving each students' cultural backgrounds in learning experiences throughout planning is very important to both the teacher and student. incorporating Black History Month into class during February helps lay out this goal.
Goal 6:
Expressing the use of technology and its application to everything in all aspects of life explains the general theme of Goal 6. Learning to use a new application or further extending your knowledge in the area of another shows this.
Goal 7:
This would be the continuance of learning throughout life, not being afraid to "step out of the box" so to speak. Taking a course in a subject area one has trouble with is a good way to show this.

Fun with Balls & Ramps!!

I must say, I enjoyed working with the people of my group during the Balls and Ramps project during class. Each of them were fun, smart and many more things above that. There were so many aspects we had to prepare for while creating our ramp. There were so many different balls we had to choose from and a wide array of materials to use in the process of making the best ramp possible.

After some time of debating upon what to make the ramp of, we each decided that our best bet would be to use some of all the materials provided, so we used some of the PVC pipes, wooden blocks and old crayon and marker boxes to create what we thought was the perfect ramp. Each of our group members, including myself, brought a different knowledge to the task, one knew how high the initial ramp had to be, another person was aware of which ball would travel the best for the combination of tasks, and another knew how high the last ramp had to be in order for the ball to make it through the series of ramps and travel the projected length. We eventually ended up being the best group as we were closest to getting our ball to travel the required length of 6 ft. Our ball traveled a total of 6 ft and 3 inches. To the right is a picture of me and I'm making the measurement for another group.

What Is My Philosophy??

I can't honestly give you my philosophy of teaching. There are so many different aspects and techniques one must learn for the individual to become a great teacher and if I do decide to pursue the career, I want to be nothing less that great. I want to be the teacher who is Caring, Loving and Trustworthy which qualities some teachers do not hold. I also want to get to know each of my students on a personal level. I want to be the one person they can talk to about anything when they have a problem. With all that said, I will not be the teacher they walk all over. I have witnessed some teachers who are "too nice" and don't gain the respect of their students. That won't happen with me. The students will know who the authoritative figure is in the class room, but I at the same time I don't want them to be afraid to come to me. I can remember having a teacher just like the one I described above, Mrs. Tomlin who was my 4th grade teacher and favorite teacher of all.

Reflection

This is just me!!