Integrating Creative Activities in an Ideal Curriculum for the Very Young - Literature review Example

Integrating Creative Activities In An Ideal Curriculum For The Very Young Introduction Creativity is one quality that is essential to survival in a fast-paced world. One needs to nurture and develop it from childhood and sustain it all throughout his lifetime. Children are naturally creative, as they do not have as much inhibitions in their creative expression. Research suggests that the child reaches a peak of creative functioning during the early childhood years, usually around four to four and a half years of age. (Torrance, 1965). It is followed by a sharp drop when the child begins elementary school, perhaps due to school demands of conformity, accountability and academics. Smith and Carlsson (1985) found out that creativity reemerges as cognitive skills develop to meet those school demands and peaks at age ten or eleven, and then begins to decline again at the onset of puberty. With this in mind, it is important to stress creative development in the preschool years, and the most effective avenues for this is the various art forms – visual arts, dance, music, drama, prose and poetry. This paper investigates the importance of integrating creative activities in the curriculum of very young children. It will discuss what a developmentally-appropriate curriculum is and why it favors an integrated curriculum. It will explore how a curriculum for preschoolers must be planned /designed to help children develop their optimum potentials and by integrating creative activities, they are expected to gain the full benefits of their schooling. Children’s creative activities will be selected and analyzed as to its value in a child’s development. Then, the benefits gained from the learning experiences will likewise be discussed. Intended Curriculum An effective early childhood curriculum should be rooted in principles of child development and learning. It incorporates appropriate activities that promote all areas of child development. It is, therefore, a holistic program that addresses the development needs, not of a fragmented child, but of a whole child. Its emphasis is not solely on academic activities, which would consequently overlook other areas of development that are likewise significant. Moreover, a child-centered program becomes meaningful when it draws from the children’s needs and learning styles, life experiences, interests, and ideas. In an intended curriculum, it is important to consider how young children learn and process information. Experts agree that children learn best through exploration, hands-on experiences, and purposeful play. Young children develop concepts deductively through first hand experiences (Lawton, 1987). They learn skills and acquire deeper understanding of concepts when these are embedded in personally and socially relevant activities. Young children build knowledge as they interact with the world around them by combining new data with previous knowledge and perceptions, to clarify or modify current understandings which they later utilize in absorbing new ideas (Hunt, 1961). They construct, adjust, and expand their concepts over time as they organize a variety of experiences and make connections among them (Kostelnik & Howe, 1991). Integrated Curriculum In line with studies on appropriate practices and what is known about children’s natural process of knowledge acquisition, many preschool teachers currently employ curriculum integration. The principle of curriculum integration pertains to a form of instruction that provides learning experiences which combine content areas across multiple disciplines collectively. The initiative to integrate curriculum began when John Dewey proposed that curriculum be linked to real-life experiences and organized around activities that interest and engage children actively. Dewey asserted that children’s interests naturally progress into appropriate learning activities and extend to various areas of study. As implied by the guidelines for appropriate curriculum, the concept of integration can also be attributed to the integrated nature of development; that is, development in the different domains does not occur in isolation; rather they influence one another (Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1992). An integrated curriculum allows the young child to perceive the world around him more clearly. Furthermore, it provides opportunities for in-depth exploration of a topic and learning that has a thorough coverage; more choices and therefore more motivation to learn and greater satisfaction with the results; more active learning; an opportunity for the teacher to learn along with the children and model lifelong learning; and a more efficient use of student and teacher time (Brewer, 2001). Creative Activities There are several positive effects of integrating creative activities in the curriculum. Firstly, creativity enhances each child’s skills and abilities. It boosts the self-esteem of a child especially when he or she does not succeed in academic areas. Creativity develops the child’s flexibility of thinking and broadens his or her imagination through self-expression. Expression of creativity is non-threatening and non-evaluative. It acknowledges the fact that each child’s work is different from one another (Woods, 2003). Secondly, it promotes positive attitudes towards learning. Children are more involved if the approach is interesting and presented in a creative manner than by merely presenting the topic. They are not passive and non-responsive students. Instead, they are active learners and participants of the learning process. Thirdly, children learn concepts and ideas from creative activities. They experience pure enjoyment in such activities because these are retained in their memory. In addition, it provides numerous interactions with other children and promotes socialization among peers. Most importantly, learning through creative activities will develop a well-rounded child. Other children who may not succeed in academic subjects may find it successful in creative arts. Enacted Curriculum Curriculum integration helps students recognize connections between curriculum areas. These connections are essential to the brain in order to learn effectively. Integration changes the emphasis from the instruction of discrete academic subjects to activities that promote learning through real-life tasks. It blends academic disciplines into integrated topic studies which support creative thinking and problem solving, as opposed to rote memorization and teacher-directed instruction of isolated skills and bits of information. Content areas in an integrated curriculum largely stem from the children themselves – their interests, questions, and passion. This gives children the opportunity to become active partners in curriculum planning and the learning process; in effect, this departs from the traditional notion of a student’s role of passively listening to a teacher. The emphasis of the educational process then shifts from teaching to learning. An integrated curriculum consists of a number of strategies that can be applied to deepen meaningfulness and support conceptual development (Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1992). Today, many educators use curriculum webs as a response to children’s pursuits and interests. Webbing is one model of curriculum integration and is a valuable resource for interconnecting school activities. Designing curriculum webs can provide an overview of an entire unit of study. Webs are common tools used by teachers to create a tentative plan and generate ideas for classroom activities and projects from an observed interest or theme. A thematic organization is a model in which skills, facts, materials, activities and subject-matter knowledge are integrated around a unifying theme (Brewer, 2001). Themes provide coherence and allow young children to understand meaningful relationships across subject and skill areas. Using themes as an instructional tool organizes learning around basic concepts and ideas, and creates a general framework which serves as a basis for relating content and processing information from a range of disciplines. Katz (1999) cited the following factors to consider in selecting themes: relevance, the opportunity for application of skills, the availability of resources, teacher interest, and the time of year. Moreover, theme teaching is most effective when the following strategies are considered during planning and implementing of the selected themes (Dearden, 1984; Katz, 1999). It is evident that themes are generally derived from objects and realities found in a child’s immediate world. In the course of planning themes, the teacher’s role in determining appropriate themes is to carefully observe and make a written record of the children’s interests, discussions and play. Teachers can also promote their students’ interests by providing a variety of materials, including blocks, puzzles, pictures, and books that would invite the students to participate in activities and projects. To more clearly illustrate the enacted curriculum, a concrete example is provided. The selected story may be Alladin and an integrated curriculum may be developed from it. It may be extended to other art forms to maximize its richness in concepts, skill-building potentials and possible activities as illustrated in this Curriculum Web: In coming up with integrated creative activities, a theme can sprout from the children’s favorite storybooks. Listening to stories are worthwhile activities for children. It is an essential part of literacy development, as children gain comprehension, language and reading skills. It opens the imaginations to broader horizons and takes children to journeys around the world without physically leaving their seats. Reading, comprehension and critical-thinking skills are developed through constant exposure to storybooks. They get to arrange a logical sequence of events, learn cause and effect, note details or absurdities in some stories. The class can even come up with their own version of story-endings. A challenge for teachers is to use their own creativity to “find “magic” ways to empower children to face their own fears and deal courageously with them. Stories provide one such technique. Creating and reading stories with children which show children dealing with threats to their well-being positively and successfully can release their coping skills,” (Honig, 2000, p.47) The second activity mainly involves creative drama, as children get to explore the story with their own creative expressions through acting them out. “Creative drama usually refers to spontaneous productions in which children create or recreate stories, moods or incidents without learning lines or practicing their roles.” (Brewer, 2001, p 405). Encouraging drama in early childhood classrooms may be done in pretend play, interpreting a character’s actions or emotions through gestures, facial expressions or movements. McGregor, Tate and Robinson (1987) explain how drama is implemented with young children: “There is an agreement to suspend the normal social roles wit each other in identifying with the new imagined roles. There is an agreement to make a different use of the environment. In this case, a desk becomes a dining table laden with food, a chalk box becomes a cigar box, and so on. This different use of the environment includes a shift in the conventions of time. Events may be telescoped to give them greater or less significance. The usual conventions of space and time may be suspended during acting out.” (p. 12) Imaginations of children are set free in creative drama. Aladdin may be played by a girl and a giant box may be used as the flying carpet. For children all these imaginings come naturally and are considered play to them. The third and final activity is playing out the selected story in pantomime form. This involves creative drama because of the dramatic renditions of the children, but now, it adds the dimension of music and movement. – another enjoyable activity for young children. Setting the moods to music that fits it makes children become sensitive to feelings that the music conveys to them. In creative movement, children can freely express their own personalities in their own style. They do not have to have an example to follow or an adult to imitate. “Children learn to represent using their bodies in space. Toddlers love to try to hop like a bunny; preschoolers might like to try to move like a turtle, a dragonfly or an elephant; grade school children are sophisticated enough to form a group to act out the parts of an old rumbling washing machine about to fall apart.” (Honig, 2000, pp. 19-20) Creative movement occurs in any situation where children feel and want to move their bodies. It can be done to any kind of music, rhythm or even silence. When they feel a beat, their bodies naturally respond, like when heads naturally bob or toes naturally tap to catchy tunes and rhythms. This way, movement becomes an expression of being. The culminating activity for this curriculum may be a mini-performance. “Mini-performances draw upon several related sources of research and practice: story reenactment, Readers Theatre, sociodramatic play, reader-response theory, and multiple intelligences theory. These various theoretical and practical approaches to learning all contribute perspectives on how children explore, experiment, experience, and come to know.” (Monrado, Koenig & Wilson, 1999, p.116). Of course it also builds up children’s self-esteem, which is essential in their growth and development. Experienced Curriculum Examples of experiences derived from this integrated curriculum are the following: for visual arts, the children can do a mural of a backdrop for the playlet of Aladdin. It may be a painting of a castle with the sky to fly in as background. The children’s creative input when used as the backdrop gives them a feeling of pride that their work is worthy to be displayed. For Music and Movement, their activities may likewise be incorporated in the presentation like the sounds and movements of animals in the story and the songs they sing. Of course, the Drama part is the main art form for this curriculum, as children re-enact the story by giving their own interpretations of the character, emotions, dialogue and storyline. Drama in early childhood programs help in achieving goals such as critical-thinking and problem solving skills; working cooperatively with others; understanding the perspectives of others, communicating effectively and integrating ideas from many sources into a meaningful whole. (Brewer, 2001) “Drama can make a powerful contribution to the development of self-advocacy and in raising self-esteem, as children develop their potential to influence situations and respond with growing awareness and sensitivity to other people’s feelings.” (Peter, 2003, p. 26) On top of that, children derive fun and enjoyment from creative drama as they try out roles as far as their imaginations can take them. Recently, it has also been a goal of drama to help preschoolers develop an awareness of different viewpoints aside from their own. Elizabeth Stilwell, the Jack and Diane Baillet Meakum Director of the Early Childhood Center says, "Through drama, children can explore the issue of diversity by listening to selected books, discussing the thoughts and feelings a book evokes, and dramatically portraying the characters to experience different perspectives." (Lang, 2003) Mary Mayesky (1990), an educator who emphasizes creative activities in programs for young children, enumerates some objectives creative movement activities reach: Relaxation and freedom in the use of the body. Experience in expressing space, time and weight. Increased awareness of the world. Experience in creatively expressing feelings and ideas. Improvement of coordination and rhythmic interpretation. During pantomime activities, children are not supposed to speak out their thoughts or feelings, instead, they must concentrate in expressing these through their movements, gestures or facial expressions. Some of the techniques used in creative drama such as mime, movement exercises or invented dialogue give every child an opportunity to be actively engaged in drama without necessarily having to act or speak (Stewig, 2000). For example, if they want to convey that they are angry or upset, they do not say it, instead, they make a sour expression on their face, stomp their foot or maybe cross their arms across their chest. The rest of the art forms may be done at other times either in small groups or individually. It not only reinforces the concepts learned from the story of Aladdin but gives due attention to other skills (fine-motor, aesthetic skills, etc.) that help develop the children’s creativity. An innovative teacher can maximize the story further to teach concepts and skills in other subject areas. For instance, the sub-concept of friction of rubbing the magic lamp of Aladdin may be explained in Science. Learning the story sequence itself is a skill in Reading. This curriculum on Aladdin touches on several topics that may yield activities that may hone children’s many skills. It is just up to the ingenuity of the teacher on how to discover and use them all in the early childhood curriculum. Conclusion Designing an ideal curriculum for very young children entails the consideration of their developmental level in order to meet their needs. A teacher needs to understand that young children may not learn the same way as older children, and need an integrated and more concrete and experiential curriculum to develop the skills and to learn the concepts they are supposed to learn. An ideal curriculum goes beyond what is expected - in this case, the development of creativity in young children through the integration of activities in the creative arts. The intended curriculum envisions creative children freely expressing themselves and opening their minds to endless possibilities in learning. It carefully plans activities that will ensure the development and enhancement of skills in all areas –physical, cognitive, socio-emotional and creative. The enacted curriculum involves the creative efforts of dedicated teachers in designing an integrated curriculum highlighting interesting and fun activities that have goals of tapping and developing children’s innate potentials. The experienced curriculum puts the ideal curriculum’s integrity to the test, as it reflects how children will respond to it and if it yields relevant and meaningful experiences for children to further deepen their learning. Encouraging children’s participation in the creative arts should begin in childhood, as this is the crucial time when creativity emerges. The research finding that elementary schools have something to do with the sudden drop in a child’s creativity is disappointing, and this concern should be addressed by school authorities. Creative activities are not given much importance in most school curricula because academic excellence in the “more important” subjects takes precedence. Educators should be aware that children need creativity in applying Science, Reading, Math, etc. skills as well if they are to grow up to be sensitive, self-expressive, confident and innovative citizens of the world. References Brewer, Jo Ann. 2001. Introduction to early childhood education preschool through primary grades, 4th ed. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Honig, A.S. (2000) “Promoting Creativity in Young Children.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Advisors for Scholastic, Inc. (New York, NY: May 19, 2000). Kostelnik, M. ed., Howe, D., et al. (1991) Teaching young children using themes. New Jersey: Good Year Books. Lang, S.S., (2003) “Teaching diversity through drama and imagination”., Human Ecology, 15307069, Aug2003, Vol. 31, Issue 1 Mayesky, M., (1990) Creative Activities for Young Children. Delmar Publishers, Inc., McGregor, L., Tate, M. & Robinson, K., (1987) Learning Through Drama. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1987. Morado, C, Koenig, R, & Wilson, A. (1999) “Miniperformances, many stars! Playing with stories.” Reading Teacher, Oct. 99, Vol. 53 Issue 2, p116, Peter, M. (2003) Drama, narrative and early learning, British Journal of Special Education, Vol 30, No. 1: 21-27 Smith, G., & Carlsson, I. (1985). Creativity in middle and late school years. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 8, 329–343. Stewig, J. W. (2000). Extending the pleasure of story with drama. Book Links, 9(5), 38- 40. Torrance, E.P. (1965) Rewarding creative behavior. N.J.: Prentice Hall. Woods, J. (2003). The Creative School. New York: Routledge-Falmer. Read More