Childrens Imagination and Creativity - Essay Example

Player CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT March 22, 2013 Introduction to Child Development Part A Observation During my observations of a three year child and a five year old child I noticed right from the beginning that the three year child would take the lead. These two children were actually brother and sister. This observation took place at a local playground that had playground instructors and there were various activities available for the children to do while they were there. To start with both children went to the sandbox and the five year old went to the swings and the three year old stayed in the sandbox. (The parents were present the whole time the children were at the playground.) After a while the children headed over to the slides. At times the five year old child will stand up and protect the younger sibling when they were confronted by others that seem to threaten them or if they started to cry or yell. I noticed that the older child would want to be left alone at times, and usually that was the times when the three year old really wanted a playmate. This was also a time that other children the age of the five year old came along to play. The three year old and the five year old did show the start of a conflict period, but after a few minutes they saw other areas of interest and the problem resolved itself. The three year old saw a friend and the five year old went back those friends. When each of their friends left and they found each other again they settled and found the arts and crafts table and decided to make some puppets. The five year old and the three year agreed to work together with the older helping the younger and the younger helping the older child. After they completed making the puppets they decided to put on a little puppet show for each other and whatever child was left. There were times when other children would come up and offer suggestions on the making of the puppets and also on what the ‘puppet show’ should be like. These two children worked through each of the stages of play at the various activities available at the playground this day. They did not go in order from Solitary to parallel to associative to cooperative play. These two children started with associative play and parallel play. At one point in the day they each had a period of solitary play to cooperative play. In my learning these two children did follow what I studied about Vygotsky and Erikson and about their ideas of social development when they were able to show trust with each other and to be able to show that they could be work alone or work together. They each were able to ask for help when needed. They were friends along with being siblings. Physical and mental abilities seem to be developing well for each of the children. They were able to let their feelings be known with each other and other children as well that approached them when their parents or any other adult approached them and they were able to ask questions, but there were times when protectiveness of each other was shown. Developmentally they have worked through Piaget’s levels of Sensorimotor, pre-operational and concrete operational thinking. They are also learning about trust, cooperation and making proper interactions between each other and new friends thanks to Erikson and his models of social development. Conversation while making the puppets When the children were at the arts and crafts table making their puppets they were actually having a conversation that went like this: 5 year old- Let’s go make puppets. 3 year old- OK, one more push on the swing. 5 year old- One more swing. 3 year old- Yes. 5 year old- Let’s go over to the art table. 3 year old- I’m going to make a plate puppet. 5 year old- I’m going to make a sock puppet. 3 year old- Go. At the art table they made the puppets. The conversation started again and ended quickly. 5 year old- Look at everything. 3 year old- Pretty. Will you help me? They both gathered the materials they needed for their puppets like the plates, sticks, socks, glitter, scissors and scraps of other materials. The three year old went for the plate and the crayons and drew a plate face, then asked her brother to cut holes for the eyes and mouth. The three old then decorated the face with glitter and clue and then added the stick to hold it. The five year old made a sock puppet and used the glue with ribbons and lace and googly eyes. The five year old was working in a perfectionist manner. The brother and sister talked about putting on a puppet show for the other children when the puppets were dry. While they were waiting for the clue to dry on their puppets they were going to draw some pictures and color some pictures. The five year old even tried to teach the three year old the colors. The younger child knew the primary colors along with black and white, but had trouble with the other colors, for example purple and the other shades. Short conversation before puppet show 3 year old- What are we going to call our puppets? 5 year old- How about. . . (thinking) 3 year old- Sock and Face. 5 year old- That sounds good. They went over to the puppet stage area and entered the stage door and stuck their puppets up on the stage and they just started talking making the puppets move. At times the five year old would make strange noises, but the other children watching the puppets would just laugh. More conversation about the play 5 year old- Welcome to our play. I will introduce Mr. Sock and Mr. Plate. 3 year old- I am Mr. Plate Face. Mr. Sock forgets my name. 5 year old- No, I don’t. 3 year old- Yes, you do. (laughs) 5 year old- What do you want to do today Mr. Plate Face? 3 year old- Let’s play catch. 5 year old- OK, where’s the ball? 3 year old- Here it is. They begin to throw a little ball between the two puppets and so ended the puppet show. After the little puppet show they both headed over to the swings and made the circuit around the playground one more time. They also went over to where the parents were with the five year old in the lead and they told the parent what they did at the playground. The parent was always in view of the two children and I noticed that several times that the children would look up and look for the parent at certain times during play. The children would find the parent, but would continue to play at whatever they were doing whether at the arts and crafts table, the puppet stage area or when they were playing on the playground equipment. Safety was a concern at this playground and constant supervision was provided by parents and instructors. Part B Academic Literature Studied Play When the two children were playing on the various pieces playground equipment they each showed they can work through all the stages of Play. The stages of Play are Sensorimotor and practice play, pretense/symbolic play, social play, constructive play and games. These stages are named according to Sumaroka and Bernstein. (Santrock, 2010, page 571) The five year old was using symbolic play when they decided to make the puppets and do the show and the three year old tried to make her puppet and make it talk. They both used social play when they were putting on the show and when they were playing with the other children. They used constructive play when they were discussing what their puppets will look like. They used the game stage when they were playing catch with each other and when they made friends and they joined in the other activities. They also used solitary play, parallel play, associative play and cooperative play stages as well. When the children were making the puppets they were doing parallel play along with solitary play when they were working on their own puppet, which turns to associative and cooperative play when putting on the puppet show. Each stage of play can utilize bits of each stage of play. Social Play can be sensorimotor which can be symbolic that can also become constructive. (Santrock, 2010, p.571) Definitions of the Stages of Play Solitary Play- The child plays with toys by himself with no interaction with other children. Parallel Play- This is when children play side by side with little interaction between the children during play sessions. Associative Play- This is when the children play with toys or games with some appropriate interactions between them. The children can be in the same area, but plays different games, for example they could be in the block area and one of the children makes table and chairs out of the blocks like in the Housekeeping Department. Cooperative Play- this is when the children play and interact doing the same activity or game. Children’s Imagination and Creativity This was mainly shown when they were in the arts and crafts table and when they were putting on the puppet show. “What is Art?” and it refers to visual expression or visual statements.” (Jenkins, 1980, p.7) When the children were making their puppets they were improving their imaginations and creative energies. Through working on their puppets these two children were growing creatively, aesthetically, socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. (Jenkins, 1980) They were developing creative thinking which is defined as “the process of recombining known elements and past experiences to produce something that is new to the individual either ideas or products. (Jenkins, 1980) This may also help in how to solve problems in the home, community and maybe even with the nation and then the world. When they were working on the puppets they were actually working together and improving their divergent thinking, which is defined as the thinking that produces many and novel answers or creativity. Interpersonal Communication They are also improving their communication, self-expression and even their interpersonal relationships. When the children are working on art projects they improve language and verbal expression when they discuss what and how they design the puppet and the kind of story they want to tell with the puppets. They can improve their interpersonal communication and relationships when they tell the audience their story. They learn how to externalize their ideas and feelings. The children learn through their experiences. When dealing with emotional issues their puppet making and then putting on their show they were given an outlet to solving problems of tension and frustration and what could affect their relationships with their parents and others, and it will also contribute to a more relaxed and healthy personality for the child or children. They can also strengthen their self concept and confidence in making own judgments, increase their ability and their power. They gain confidence in the decisions that they make, the challenges they went through and how they can solve the problems that may arise. The art work of children and really of all ages make or help us all be more unique and worthy and increase their self esteem. Art is personal and gives different ways at looking at all the other subjects and ideas. The children also increased their self understanding, self discovery and self knowledge. They learn how to work alone and/or in groups and learn how to make and accept suggestions in whatever projects that they are working on at the moment whether an arts and crafts projects, a play or even just being with friends playing games. When the two children in the observation were working on their puppets or just playing with the other children on the playground they were increasing their aesthetic awareness and their sensitivity using these skills to interpret what happens around them. It also helps in their physical development especially in their visual capacity and imagery. This also improves mental capacity and language development. It leads to ways to increase their problem solving and decision making opportunities and to make evaluations of their work, for example when they were making the puppets and sharing their ideas with each other and showing the progress that they were making and when they completed their puppets. They also had an agreed on purpose for the puppet project, the show. When the children were working on the puppets they were learning to appreciate others for their individual items. They even learned to see how they relate to one another and become a balanced individual through movement, thought and feelings. Art will bring together the left and right brain, so the logical, analytical and the rational can integrate with the creative, abstract, and tactile side of thinking and creativity. (Jenkins, 1980) We become a whole person psychologically and physically. In this context when they were making the puppets they were learning both large and small muscle coordination. They learn motor control, hand-eye and mind coordination. They can also become less accident prone and more capable in other fields and endeavors. The children learned about having a sense of responsibility through learning proper work habits. This brings about a balance in all learning. They learn to understand what is going on around them and to see JOY in what is around them as well. These two children learned about encouragement, cooperation, and empowerment through making their puppets and putting on their puppet show and even playing with the other children on the playground. They learned about motivation with the experience and imagination that they can express themselves and let their stories out and to be able to define their problems and to consider the possible solutions through answering the questions: 1. Who? 2. What? 3. When? 4. Where? They have become aware of what is around them. They also learned how to praise each other and make that praise with appropriate comments and to build on their strengths and to recognize what they are along with their weaknesses and to improve on those skills. They also learned about making evaluations of themselves and others. The two children learned about what they already know and how to use that knowledge and their expectations on working together. They were given ideas and materials and they were stimulated to do something using all their senses and they knew that there was a certain amount of time that they had to complete certain activities. We are all curious and will continue to learn. Physical Development of the children Here is a list of items that play and art and social interactions can improve children’s lives: 1. Brain development- They learn to use both sides of the brain. 2. Hand-eye coordination- when they were making the puppets using scissors and other materials. 3. Body coordination and control- when they were playing games with the other children or just playing on the playground equipment. 4. They learn to use all their senses in play. Sight- looking around the playground for friends and/or parents and also looking for what they would like to do. Hearing- being able to hear what is going on around them and then learning how to block certain noises out when working on various projects. Touch- when working with various materials or picking out various equipment. Smelling- when on the playground they may learn about outside smells that are good and bad. Taste- this is rare unless there snacks available or parents bring food. Physical development varies with ages of children mentally and physically. Similarities and Differences of a Three year and Five year old children 1. Height and weight differences 2. Similarity in body shapes 3. How body parts are used 4. Brain development is the same as infants and change when growing and use changes different in boys and girls 5. Muscle development and hormonal changes when growing up 6. Reflexes and the use of Fine and Gross Motor Skills- Three year olds do simple movements and five year olds become more adventurous. 7. Perceptual changes are present for these and all age groups 8. Thinking skills- we learn from a sensorimotor to formal concrete learning. Schemes and form there we all learn to assimulate and accommodate in our learning and development. 9. Speed in processing information- encoding skills (Santrock, 2010) Conclusion In doing this paper I have learned that there are similarities and differences in young children physically and mentally. When I observed this brother and sister who are five and three years old, I learned that they liked just about the same things and that even brothers and sisters can get along and play together. Their bodies may change and as they grow up they will still be siblings. They learn to let each other know how they feel with what is going on with themselves. They may not feel like sharing, but they figure out that it is best to share what is on their minds. They can share interests and they can ask for help when they need it even at these young ages. These two children were able to work and play together and still be cooperative with each other to complete games and projects and then be able to move apart and make their own friends. Physical development is the same at the beginning of their lives, but change as we grow physically and psychologically. I learned that that Art, Drama and Movement can affect learning and how we see what is going on around us. I learned about being aware, to be cooperative and to be interactive with others that are around us in the home, the school and the community. These two children showed me through my observation that thinking even over the littlest thing can affect what we have to do in our lives. References Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the Fun of It a guide for teaching young children; Chapter One What is Art? Prentice Hall Press p.7. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. 91980) Art for the fun of It a guide for teaching young children, Chapter Two Philosophy of Art Education; Prentice hall Press pp. 10-11. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the Fun of It a guide for teaching young children; Chapter Three Value of art to the child, Prentice Hall Press pp. 12-25. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the Fun of It a guide for teaching young children, Chapter Four Methods in teaching Art, Prentice Hall Press p.29. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the fun of it a guide for teaching young children, Chapter Five Motivation and Guidance, Prentice Hall Press p.36. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the Fun of It a guide for teaching young children, Chapter Seven Evaluation, Prentice Hall Press pp.51-57. Jenkins, Peggy Davison. (1980) Art for the Fun of it a guide for teaching young children, Chapter Eight The Creative Climate, Prentice Hall Press pp. 60-71 Santrock, John W. (2010) A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development Chapter 15 Peers and the Sociocultural World; Fifth edition, McGraw Hill pp. 570-571. Read More