Dear Anna, Christina, Kim and Marissa,
Use the comment area on this post to have a discussion that helps each other understand how children ages 2-6 seem to develop new understandings about line and shape (Anna and Christina), designing (Kim), and symbolizing (Marissa) using paint. You don't need to post in one huge comment; start by telling each other what seemed to be the most important points in your section, begin to ask each other questions about what the main points in each others' sections seem to be, and see if you can find places where the information seems to overlap.
These questions may be useful as you think about how to help each other understand what kinds of things are going on for 2-6 year olds according to Smith when they are exploring with paint:
What kinds of things are children learning about?
What kinds of things are children learning to do?
What can teachers do to support these learnings?
What kinds of new understandings seem to be happening?
How do they show up?
What problems or ideas do children seem to be working with?
How do children seem to be responding to materials and surfaces?
Children ages 2-6, according to Chapter 3 in the Smith book, begin to make more deliberate lines which evolve into more deliberate shapes, because they now have more visual-motor, or hand-eye coordination. A great deal of experimentation is done during this process as the child explores the different qualities of lines (thick, curvy, the length and overlapping), shapes (variations of circles, for instance) and colors. This exploration will eventually lead the child to pick out particular characteristics of line and shape that they enjoy, that will later be repeated over and over again in works to come. If they like a particular execution of a painting, they will repeat it, but also repeat it in different variations. Children will paint line and shape (and color) just to be marveled by the contrast between each other.
ReplyDeleteI'm interpreting this stage as when children begin to understand what they like in painting (characteristics in paintings, color). Even if they're still really young, they're developing a kind of preference. So it's basically a combination of getting their motor skills down (further), and understanding what they like.
I like the way you put that "children will paint line and shape (and color) just to be marveled by the contrast between each other." That idea of wonder and marvelment (I know, it's not a word, but it seems to work) is so apparant and important for the 2-6 crowd. but you're right - kids DO have preferences, and they're also learning about what their bodies and materials (together) can do -- as well as what possibilities might exist. As they start to get older, they start to make discriminations that have to do with really organizing space, and dealing with the surface of the paper as a "boundary"... the shapes within the boundary then start to act and interact in different ways as the child gains more experience with materials and tools, but more importantly the world in general.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I find really interesting is the ways that children repeat - movements, lines, shapes, etc - and how that helps them understand their ability to make an effect on the world. And, it doesn't stop at a young age... When I think about my own drawings, I often use repetitive movements or marks... and I wonder: how might that be related to the kinds of repetition I carried out when I was a very young person?