Mantenimiento de las velas antes de partir

MOST COMMON SCENARIO

On Thursday I asked the children to bring in lots of materials for construction on Friday.  Half brought in nothing, the others brought in so many cereal boxes that we were falling  over them for the rest of the day.        A Teacher. 

THE ALTERNATIVE

1. Plan to do construction well in advance – ideally as part of exploring a theme across the six strands.

2. A few weeks before the construction is to begin divide the class into construction groups.

3. Ask each group to decide on what they would like to construct and to tell you and the class about it.

4. Ask each group to design (draw) their proposed construction and to decide what materials they will need to make it.

5. Ask each group to write down a detailed list of the materials they will need to collect to build their construction and allocate the task of finding particular materials to individuals in their group.

6. As a class make an inventory of classroom materials that will be needed – scissors, card, staplers, masking tape, glues, coloured papers, paints, brushes. Order materials as necessary.

7. On the day before your construction project is to begin, ask the children to get back into their groups, get out their plans and lists and remind themselves of who has to bring what from home.

8. Have a small supply of found materials for emergencies – in case someone is ill.

Anyone  who  has  ever  given  clay  to  young  children,  be  they  teachers  or  parents,  will  know  how  excited  and  focused  children  become  when  they  start  to  handle  it.  The  apparent  ease  with  which  it  can  be  worked,  changed  and  formed  by  even  very  young  children,  and  their  immediate  physical  involvement  shows  how  important  it  is  as  a  creative  material.  Within  the  curriculum  clay  has  a  particularly  unique  place,  and  the  three  dimensional  properties  which  it  offers  in  the  exploration  of  form,  space,  texture,  weight and structure are of special value. 

(Peter Clough, Clay in the Primary School) 

At infant level the emphasis is placed mainly on the first area i.e. playing with clay and with allied materials such as plasticine or playdough. We should be moving away from

the replica-based, once-off product activities (e.g. making hedgehogs that all look the same by sticking matchsticks into a ball of clay) towards a more open-ended exploration of clay (where the children are encouraged to explore, talk about and describe clay work and where each individual is allowed the time and space to create his/her own unique pieces – pieces that, to us as adults, may not sometimes be representational.) A clay session with children might therefore follow this sequence

 talking about what clay feels like and recording the descriptions in a word bank ( integrate with oral language )

 discussing what actions we can perform with clay ( pull, push, pinch, squeeze, flatten, roll, etc. ) and again recording this vocabulary

 describing what they themselves feel they have created through play  pressing found objects and tools into clay to make patterns and textures

 choosing a theme to work with and having a go at making a variety of things associated with this theme (e.g. animals, food, monsters, etc.)

 working with a new ball of clay when the first one begins to get dry (store these in a basin and cover with a damp cloth in order to refresh for further use )

 choosing to make a favourite thing connected to the theme that we might keep, allow to dry and decorate.

The sequence of work outlined above might indeed be applied as a model to a clay session at any class level – simply change the theme you are using e.g. at middle class level use the theme of fruit, at senior class level choose a theme such as 3-D shapes (integrate with mathematics) or characters from a class novel (integrate with reading work).

KEY MESSAGE

In order to implement the primary curriculum in full we must use natural clays because - only with these clays can we really explore, experiment and engage in process

work

- only with these clays can we make slip thus enabling children to join clay effectively and

- these types of clay can be recycled thus allowing for more regular work with this medium.

The most widely available types of natural clay are terracotta clay and buff clay. Avoid using nylon-reinforced clay (often commonly referred to as newclay).

Displays  themselves  can  be  either  a  short  term  celebratory  experience  or  something  which is kept in the classroom or school to be used and developed. This involves skills  such as labelling, note‐taking, creative or descriptive writing, modelling and the skill of  adding appropriate information books. In this way displays become ongoing experiences  and may be built up and used in the same way as any other major resource. 

(Margaret Jackson, Creative Display and Environment) 

There are a number of basic points that need to be raised in relation to display

 consideration might be given to rotational display – where a particular group’s art is displayed for a period

 we need to consider how to involve children in the display of their own work  displays do not need to be completed in one “sitting” – they can evolve gradually  there are simple rules that can be followed to ensure effective display

If space is at a premium a number of strategies might be tried

 drawing activities are usually not precluded by space – and much of the work in the paint area can be done using coloured drawing media

 some projects might be given as homework

 work in areas such as construction and fabric and fibre might be engaged in by groups rather than by individuals

 some work might be block timetabled and engaged in outside during fine weather

 many techniques can be explored in miniature Can you think of other strategies that might prove effective?

In relation to the issue of money for the purchase of visual arts materials (each school obviously has its own system of collecting these monies) but I would ask school to consider the following points

 consider the central purchase of materials such as printing rollers, fabric scissors, etc. – central purchase always requires one individual to monitor this and to look after materials centrally

 consider how much money is wasted by the purchase of unnecessary expensive materials such as pritt stick, googly eyes, paint trays, non recyclable clay, glitter, florescent papers and paints, etc.

 consider how much money is wasted through not looking after materials correctly e.g. leaving paintbrushes in water overnight

23. Poor Johnny, I can’t give him good for maths or English, I’ll give him excellent