Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Aesthetic & Physical Development Chapter 9
• Demonstrate musical concepts through stories,
e.g., using high and low character voices
in the The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
• Encourage singing and dancing as part of
other routines and activities, such as during
dramatic play or on the playground.
• Encourage children to notice rhythms in
their environments, such as birds, rain or
construction crews outside.
• Provide children with the vocabulary of music,
e.g., high and low for pitch; loud and
soft for dynamics; and fast and gradual for
tempo.
• Use children’s literature, such as Down By
the Bay or A Hunting We Will Go, that can be
sung or played.
• Sing songs of many cultures, especially those
represented by the children in the group.
• Help children to discover ways to make
sounds on instruments. Make your own instruments
using materials like boxes, sticks,
rubber bands, sandpaper and beans. Use
instruments and “sound-makers” to create
rain, thunder, birds and other sounds to accompany
stories.
• Create a music center that includes tapes, a
tape recorder, songs on charts, and stories
with accompanying music. Add props to use
when enjoying a song, such as felt cutouts
to represent the characters in songs like The
Wheels on the Bus.
• Avoid attempting performances that require
long rehearsals, because these can create
stress for parents.
VISUAL ARTS
Young children draw, narrate and create stories, actions
and ideas with images. Children are spontaneous
image-makers, using any available medium to create
marks that have meaning for them. From these visual
experiences come the abilities to read, use mathematical
symbols, read musical notation, and reconstruct and assimilate
experiences. In addition to symbolic representation,
children use artwork to explore visual order and
organize shapes, forms, colors and textures. Children’s
interactions with paper, writing utensils, clay and other
art media are all encompassing. Their thinking cannot
be separated from what they are feeling. In this way, the
visual arts contribute to children’s emotional well-being,
giving form to their thoughts. Through such experiences
children come to understand themselves in relationship
to the world.
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I used to draw like Raphael, but it has
taken me a whole lifetime to learn to
draw like a child.
(Picasso, date unknown)
Children spontaneously begin to work in both
two- and three-dimensional representation, including
drawing, painting, collage, working with clay, and construction
with paper or other media. Their efforts at
representing what they think and know allow children
to:
Best Practices
• work with purpose and maintain a focus;
• respect themselves and their achievements;
• communicate feelings and ideas with others;
• appreciate the contributions of different cultural
groups;
• create change in their environments using a
wide range of media; and
• make aesthetic discoveries and render evaluative
judgments.
Early childhood educators are encouraged to consider
use of the following best practices in the visual arts:
• Analyze and describe illustrations in books.
Encourage children to try to create in the
style of familiar illustrators such as Eric Carle.
• Encourage children to examine elements of
art such as line, color and contrast.
• Become scientists, even in the art area. Explore
the mixture of colors, paper, collage
and clay.
• Avoid the “arts and crafts” approach to providing
children with art experiences. Ask
yourself, Is this art or is it an assembly task?
• Provide opportunities for students to self-select
art media and projects.
• Avoid ready-made models or ways of doing
things. Allow the children to feel satisfaction
in their own ideas and efforts.
• Provide a variety of model-making materials,
such as clay, blocks or wood scraps.
• Provide time and support for children to explore
and gain skill with tools.
• Make sure children have an opportunity to
display and talk about their works of art.