|
|
|
|
Inspiration for Early Childhood Educators
Earlyarts E-Bulletin No. 74
|
|
|
Dear Friend
Welcome to the winter 2020 edition of Earlyarts Ebulletin!
In this quarter's edition we bring some insights into the government's proposed revisions to the EYFS. We offer a critique of early childhood curriculum design and the purpose of early education as well as recommendations for the EYFS consultation itself. We also highlight some of the latest research to explore as well as some superb training opportunities on the horizon.
Don't forget you can keep up with the emerging research from our Director, Ruth Churchill Dower's PhD into the role of dance as an immersive space for rich, wordless communication between young children who don't speak and their parents, educators and other professionals through our Linked In group. Ruth will be embarking on her literature review this term, so expect plenty of insights and new ideas from existing work in this area.
And, of course, another look inside Ruth's new book - to give you some more insight into arts and early years possibilities.
We wish you an enjoyable start to 2020 and hope it brings everything you and your children wished for and more.
|
|
|
Creativity and the Arts in Early Childhood book
|
|
|
 Creativity and the Arts in Early Childhood: Supporting Young Children’s Development and Wellbeing by Ruth Churchill Dower.
'I envisage that we may see a re-emergence of aesthetic valuing in society & a different sort of framework of cooperation, care, stewardship and responsibility that recognises creativity as part of our intrinsic human nature'. (p71)
Set out in two halves, this brand new book takes readers through the main theories and research underpinning early years creativity – where does it come from, could or should it even be measured and what implications does this have for the EYFS curriulum?
Plus a series of ideas on how to think with different art forms in daily practice, practical methods for working with artists, exploring arts materials, and building creative teaching and learning environments.
Aimed at educators, artists, practitioners, students, therapists, social care professionals and families, this book helps ask some key questions about how we spot, advocate for and remove the obstacles to children’s multiple creative languages.
Missed the Pre-Order Sale? Don't worry! Earlyarts readers can still benefit from a 10% discount with Jessica Kingsley Publishers:
|
|
|
‘It is like the bible of all things important in a young child’s creative being. You really can’t be without it!’ - Natasha Holmes, Artistic Director, Tell Tale Hearts
|
|
|
|
'Capturing the inherent creativity of children for empowerment, learning and change is what makes this book such a great read. Churchill Dower makes the case that expression, attunement, social interaction and positive brain and body development are just the beginning of how creativity makes a real difference for both us and our children.’ - Gregory Lane, Senior Manager, Soho Family Centre, London Early Years Foundation
|
|
|
|
‘This thought-provoking book is an essential, much needed read. Ruth balances knowledge of the crucial importance of creativity in early years with practical, motivating methods and questions for reflection to inspire, challenge and improve practice.’ - Kate Shelley, Director of Tales Toolkit
|
|
|
Earlyarts is a small organisation dedicated to sharing the latest research and practice to promote our children’s amazing diversities. Please support us by sharing this link.
Running an early years or arts event, seminar or network meeting? Ask us for flyers, social media and discount codes as a bonus for your delegates and colleagues.
|
|
|
News, Training and Opportunities to grow
|
|
|
 Tune in to a live early years broadcast of The Apple Tree on Thursday 30 January, 11am – 11.45am by The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE).
Created for children aged two to five, this 45 minute orchestral performance will be live-streamed across the country for free and will be a fabulous opportunity to introduce 2 to 5 year olds to the world of orchestral music, from the comfort of your home, early years setting or classroom.
A friendly old apple tree and the source of a tasty, juicy snack! But a month later, the tree is bare. Icicles suddenly appear, followed by leaves, then blossom, and then birds and bees. But will there ever be any more juicy apples to eat?
This will be a lively and interactive event with lots of opportunities for singing, signing and joining in along with hundreds of other children, teachers and families watching across the country. The performance is a co-production by Orchestras Live, NYMAZ and Durham and Darlington Music Education Hub. Have a fantastic musical morning and watch it with your setting here.
Have Your Say in the EYFS consultation - the government are seeking views on changes to the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage by 31 January.
The consultation includes proposed changes to the educational programmes, the early learning goals and the EYFS profile assessment. It also seeks views on one change to the safeguarding and welfare section of the framework to promote good oral health. The consultation is available here. You can find the Foundation Years webinar discussing the main issues concerned here, closing date is 31 January.
 EYFS Reform - Implications for Arts and Culture - Earlyarts Blog by Ruth Churchill Dower exploring problems in curriculum designs, the worrying messages behind the proposed EYFS and the specific concerns for arts and cultural development.
Earlyarts is particularly concerned over the suggested changes to ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ with 'Creating with Materials' replacing 'Exploring and using Media and Materials' and ‘Performing’ replacing 'Being Imaginative'. The shift in terminology communicates that the arts are solely about creating performative, goal-oriented products which belies a misunderstanding of how young children use their creative and aesthetic modalities to process their thinking, ideas and knowledge. Read Ruth's blog and use it to inform your own responses by 31st Jan. Also worth a read prior to your own submission is the Early Years Coalition report, Mapping The Landscape.
 Making the Connection - Exploring Best Practice in Music for Young Audiences - Thu 27 February at Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
A one-day event showcasing inspirational individuals and European ensembles delivering high quality and accessible music experiences for children, families and schools. Making the Connection is an invitation to musicians, music sector and venue professionals to explore new thinking about exciting and immersive performance experiences. Including presentations and performances from Caecilia Thunnissen of Oorkaan (Netherlands); Jesper Gottlieb, Live Music in Schools (Denmark); Chi-Chi Nwanoku of Chineke! (UK); Nicola Burke (UK)/Scott Rogers (USA); Darren Henley, CEO, Arts Council England (UK).
The 5 Big Questions survey now open until 21st February.
Championed by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge, the survey seeks to start a national conversation on how much people think the mental health of parents and carers impacts on children under the age of five and whose responsibility it is to give children the best chance of health and happiness. It also asks respondents to comment on how much influence they think nature and nurture are and which period of a child’s life has the most impact on their health and happiness in adulthood.
Photo courtesy of Heads Together, a campaign co-ordinated by the Royal Foundation of the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess and Duke of Sussex.
 VISIONI DI FUTURO, VISIONI DI TEATRO... - International festival of theatre and culture for early childhood -February 28th - March 8th, Testoni Ragazzi Theatre, Bologna, Italy.
This year's festival includes 21 shows for children 0-6 years old, 18 workshops for teachers and educators, several conference seminars and an illustration exhibition by companies from all over the world. It is an event to watch, experience, discuss, play and think about the relationship between art and early education, with lectures and meetings in collaboration with national and international partners, educators, teachers, artists and cultural workers from all over the world. The festival also feeds in to the European project, Mapping - a Map on the aesthetics of performing arts for early years - an artistic research project focused on creating a sensory-based relationship with very young children, from 0 to 6 years, through performing arts, exploring the idea of “children-spectators” of today, and not only of tomorrow. Download the programme and book your Visioni 2020 festival tickets here.
 Postqualitative methodological approaches in research with Children and Young People, 6th March 2020 at Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham.
This workshop led by Dr Abigail Hackett, Dr Pauliina Rautio, will explore postqualitative methodological approaches. These are approaches that help educators, practitioners and researchers challenge conventional qualitative research such as evidence based approaches that assume a number of givens about who children are or should become. Instead, postqualitative research explore issues of difference, becoming and more-than-human agencies, challenging what counts as method, data, analysis and dissemination. More info and booking here.
|
|
|
Latest Research and Publications
|
|
|
 What might we learn about young children's language and literacy practices by starting with the everyday in communities? by Dr Abigail Hackett, Manchester Metropolitan University (2019).
This blog post offers a deep and intimate insight into the meaning making of young children from a different, posthuman perspective - one that takes into account how everyday environments, materials, cultures, animals and people make such a mark on children's being, that it exposes how instructional our 'child rearing' has become and reshapes how we could view their multiple languages and literacies.
 The significance of children’s play and empowerment: An observational tool Natalie Canning: Open University for TACTYC
'A common practice in England is to observe children in planned activities and look for indicators that suggest learning and development. The empowerment framework moves away from this so that indicators of empowerment are contextualised and provide a rich description of experiences to inform learning and development. In settings, the empowerment framework was trialled as a way of observing children’s play.' (p2)
This paper offers a useful and flexible approach to observing empowerment in play, highlighting the influence of educators’ perspectives in the decisions on what to observe and their subjectivity in the interpretation of children’s play. A really insightful perspective on how to observe play from a more holistic perspective than simply for curriculum goals.
 Ethnography and Education Dancing with children in the field: on the relevance of embodied knowledge and its methodological consequences by Dr Livia Jimenez (2018)
Why do we shy away from dance in our settings? This paper sets out some strong reasons for the cultural and social importance of dancing with our little ones, stressing that 'There is no need to become a dance teacher to productively participate...Dances are learnt through practice with our children and require but a little effort.'. The author highlights the bonds created across different cultures and languages through dance, and the validation that dance gives to children's social contexts and embodied knowledge. Set in Madrid and Andalusia, this is a superb story of bridging diversity and education through dance.
 Taking Children’s Questions Seriously: the need for creative thought by Associate Professor of Education at Södertörn University, Liselott Mariett Olsson (2013).
This wonderful article explores the 'importance of and conditions needed for being able to really listen to children and take their questions seriously'. Beginning with an analysis of what creative thought really means as a fundamental life force for young children, Olsson examines how existing conventional pedagogies serve to place obstacles to children's creative thinking, resulting in many of their most profound questions being neglected and unheard.
 The Red Shoes Project - theatre for the very young as artistic research by Dr Lise Hovik, artistic director of Teater Fot and associate professor in drama and theatre at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education, Trondheim.
Hovik uses dance and materials to explore the participation of young children in professional theatre performances, as fully immersed, playful actants in the performance, creating a different perspective for both dancers and audience. Hovik's research paper provided the foundation to explore the issues of democracy in theatre for young children through the ASSITEJ network, exploring how the interchange between adults and young children's bodily expressions can be validated authentically in performance, adding to the aesthetic integrity of the piece as a whole.
 Theorising young children's interests: making connections and in-the-moment happenings by Dr Liz Chesworth (2018) (free access for limited period).
In the context of EYFS reforms, this paper is highly relevant in challenging the global, instrumentalist drivers for early education and the accepted norms which are based in reductive, binary concepts of how children learn. Dr Chesworth examines the importance of noticing the diverse interests evident in children's play (given the right experiential conditions), identifies three different ways to conceptualise the notion of ‘interest’, and challenges what counts as valid in young children's learning, knowledge and ways of knowing.
 Answering the world: young children’s running and rolling as more-than-human multimodal meaning making by Dr Abigail Hackett and Dr Pauliina Rautio (2019).
Challenging conventional ideas of multimodalism as an intentional pre-design of how children express meaning through gestures, and movement on the journey towards making meaning through reading and writing, these authors explore the possibilities of more-than-human elements of multimodal expression. This alternative perspective uses Ingold's 'dance of animacy' theory to explore the relationships between human and non-human forces which magnetise each other into meaning making, such as animals, materials and environments, where children are in constant correspondence with the world around them. Thereby removing the need for children's gestures to mean or 'represent' something but instead experiencing opportunities to correspond and create a reciprocity of expression with the world.
|
|
|
Practical and Inspiring Resources
|
|
|
 Mamma Danser [mum´s dancing] (2011) by Lisa Hovik - a film made through the PhD research into young children's participatory presence in professional dance in The Red Shoes project (see above). A beautiful exploration of working mothers and their relationships with their young children. Lisa and her colleagues made a series of film documentaries exploring the research leading up to this film such as here and here, the latter using split screen technology.
 Bach in the Street by Swedish theatre company Vargkatten (Wolf Cat) is a super short musical dance performance between two friends who meet on the street - one a violinist and one a dancer. A beautiful nonverbal relationship emerges as each responds to the other's communications through instrument and body as they explore cultural identity, escape, life and death.
A great resource to show your children followed up by playing various pieces of wordless music (youtube and spotify have a massive classical resource) and watching how your children respond. Make space for those music and dance relationships to grow right in your setting!
 Sound Communities is an exciting new online resource by I CAN, The Communication Trust and Creative Futures. The resource aims to highlight some of the commonalities between music practice and speech, language and communication practice. It contains practical tips, strategies and real-life examples based on an action research project and CPD course run by Creative Futures.
Children are born with all sorts of musical capabilities; music naturally weaves through all areas of children’s learning and is part of their all-round development. In addition to this, music-making can be an accessible and inclusive activity for all children, including those with speech, language and communication needs.
 Creativity and critical thinking PedPod by Early Education. This new series of Pedagogic Podcasts (PedPods) features conversations with early years leaders, teachers and trainers and are available to download for free.
The first PedPod is with Anni McTavish on Creativity and critical thinking, Anni explores the concept of creativity, what this means in practice and how we can nurture and support this with those we work with.
Earlyarts does not receive commission for any of these resources, we just like to share things of interest, beauty and quality with our network. Send us your resources and research to review or share on any of our social media channels below.
|
|
Did you Enjoy our Newsletter?
If you know someone who could benefit from this, please feel free to forward it to them!
Please update your profile
If you have already opted in, you will continue to receive Earlyarts E-Bulletins (unless you unsubscribe), but we would still like you to confirm your communication preferences. Please take a minute to update your profile. In line with GDPR requirements, we have also updated our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy, which you can read here.
Not on the E-Bulletin Mailing List Yet?
Sign up here to get future updates delivered straight to your inbox!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
