Freeing young children to express their creativity in stimulating and original ways can be challenging for many early years settings. One approach that we have found effective at Alfreton Nursery School is to provide 'treasure chests' of open-ended resources. Now a feature of our continuous provision, these containers offer our children the freedom to explore, create, imagine and innovate, through the stimulation of senses, so encouraging them to become confident, independent and motivated, with a positive attitude to learning.
Inspiration for creating the ateliers came from a module that I studied at the University of Derby, entitled 'The Creative Child'. Part of the course covered the Reggio Emilia approach to early learning. We have modelled our containers on the 'ateliers' (art studios) that are a key feature of Reggio pre-schools.
Our ateliers have evolved thanks in large part to the support of our head teacher Angela Stanton, and of parents, who supply a lot of the resources.
INDOORS AND OUT
(Photographs 1,2,3,10,11,12)
Our large garden area is subdivided into zones for:
- physical
- sensory
- gardening
- forest school.
Outdoors we have a huge wooden chest filled with a wide range of core items, including large cardboard tubes, UPVC guttering and fixings, plastic chains, pegs, fabrics, boxes, reels and cones. It provides the scope for big art, and could be described as collage without the glue!
Most importantly, it enables the children to develop creations that are truly their own. We have stuck pictures along the lid to illustrate and inspire both adults and children to become involved.
More recently, we introduced an indoor atelier comprising a series of large wicker baskets. These are filled with materials including shells, feathers, stones, sticks, pine cones, leaves, dried flowers, seeds and other natural materials found in the garden.
The aim of this indoor version is to provide children with opportunities to design and create using natural materials on a smaller and more intricate scale. Located in a quieter part of the nursery, this space offers children the scope to work alone or in small groups.
EXTENSIONS
We replace the core resources as and when appropriate, and supplement them with other materials that fit with our medium-term planning.
The Big Frame (6,7,8)
On one occasion the children created a 'Big Picture' through weaving, wrapping and tying, to support our commitment to Sustainable Schools.
One parent who is a joiner built a huge wooden frame, to which we attached plastic, orange mesh. We then provided a selection of lace, ribbons and recyclable polythene bags, which the children tore in to strips and threaded in to the mesh to create their big picture.
The children were free to revisit this activity over a three-week period to extend and recreate independently, using extra resources that were made available to them.
Forest school (4,5)
As part of our planning cycle, during their second and third term with us children have the opportunity to engage in forest school activities in our wild garden. During the fourth term we run a ten-week forest school programme, which takes place at our off-site woodland. In addition, children can engage in extensions.
For example, the children created a huge sculpture within the large transportable wooden frame, using the natural materials that they collected. On another occasion they observed the fruit trees, which they chose to recreate, using mud as their chosen medium.
FRAMING
The ateliers allow children to give expression to their individual schemas, such as transporting natural materials, or actually sitting and arranging within a large frame and transforming by adding materials to their creations.
Framing enables children to stand back, observe, reflect and amend as the process develops. Whether the children are creating their own frames or sharing the big frame, they are able to share the visual element of their creations and so celebrate their own achievements.
PARENTS
(Photograph 9)
From the outset, I drew on the support of parents in sourcing core materials, though some supplies now come from a couple of local factories.
The ateliers provide a way for parents to become engaged in their children's learning, and many have taken the learning on board. School staff have explained the purpose of the ateliers and this is also explained on the local authority interactive virtual learning platform, a secure website that parents can access.
Parents can see their children's creations on a regular basis. They were able to watch them develop at first hand when they attended the school's 21st anniversary celebrations.
BENEFITS
As well as providing an outlet for children's creativity, the ateliers have enabled every child to develop an increased level of autonomy in their creative play.
When accessing the resources, the children have demonstrated complex thinking skills and a desire to create and explore the materials in a purposeful way. Creating on a huge scale and with a wide variety of large materials has also fostered their personal, social and emotional development significantly.
In the case of one little boy, his body language became very relaxed and confident as he explored the materials, while his expression revealed a sense of pride in what he was creating. He focused for an extensive period of time, which gradually increased his confidence and self-esteem and, in turn, his willingness to communicate and articulate the creative process with one of his peers. It was a tremendous achievement for this particular child.
Additionally, the ateliers:
- give the children ownership of their ideas
- raise children's belief in themselves as competent learners
- are extremely effective in engaging boys' interest and imagination
- absorb the attention of boys, who are regularly observed engrossed in an activity for long periods of time
- provide gross motor sensory experiences by handling large pieces of safe materials (very appealing to boys!)
- provide meaningful links with ICT, as the children regularly photograph their creations, print off the pictures and talk about their experiences
- open up debates with children about recycling, as they are actively involved in the recycling process
- can be viewed on the school's learning platform, which promotes further discussion at home
- enable parents to engage in their children's learning and improve home-school links as we provide opportunities for parents to view, share and celebrate their children's creativity.
SUCCESS
The success of the ateliers stems in large part from the ethos of the school. We have been inspired and influenced by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, with its focus on child-initiated learning and the need for early years educators, families and local community members to work closely together and be actively involved in securing positive learning outcomes for young children.
We reflect regularly on our children's learning, our practice and our role as early years educators. We believe that the role of the adult is paramount in supporting, nurturing, scaffolding and facilitating the learning that is taking place.
We strive to enable every child to feel confident, valued and securely attached so that they can become self-regulating, responsive and creative thinkers. This we achieve through fostering children's sense of identity, listening to their ideas, thoughts, feelings and decisions and respecting them as individuals - all of which is conducive to instilling confidence and self-esteem.
We always ensure that children are given the time and space to explore, and we intervene sensitively and appropriately. Sometimes, standing back from the investigations and observing may be appropriate to the needs and feelings of some children. In other instances, we intervene to provide physical, emotional or intellectual support.
Staff use open-ended questions to challenge the children's thinking and extend their learning, while taking care not to distract the children or change their play. The learning processes always take priority over the final product.
We also take an inclusive and flexible approach. The atelier will support and facilitate the needs of the individual, pairs or group collaborations where access for wheelchairs and sensory learning are essential.
Now embedded within our planning and practice, our ateliers offer all our children access to activities that excite and motivate them, so fostering positive learning dispositions.
Jane Blant is a nursery nurse at Alfreton Nursery School. She has an NNEB and is in the second year of a BA Hons course in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Derby
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Miller, L, Cable and C, Goodliff, G (2010) Supporting Children's Learning in the Early Years. Routledge
- Moyles, J (2010) The Excellence of Play. Heinemann
- Thornton, L and Brunton, P (2007) Bringing the Reggio Approach to Your Early Years Practice. Routledge
- Early Childhood Research and Practice, volume 3, number 1
- Reflections and Impressions from Reggio Emilia: 'It's Not about Art!' by Nancy B Hertzog, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n1/hertzog.html
