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Drawing a creative Act
Drawing
is recommended as an essential to the child's intellectual development.
It must be understood that the skill, or talent, for copying is quite separate from the kind of drawing which expresses the child's own thought and which will help to develop clear thinking.
The proof that cave man was superior to any ape is seen at once when we find his drawings, many of which have never been surpassed by civilised man.
Very young children will recognise familiar objects or animals, drawn in a single, expressive line, long before they recognise photographs, and years before they can draw recognisably themselves. Line, therefore, may be considered a fundamental form of communication. The question of how to foster this art of drawing concerns every childcare professional and parent, and much has been studied on the subject in this century. The following is an attempt to summarise with a minimum of theory, what to expect of the child and what to do for him.
When to begin
About the time a baby walks he should be given a soft black pencil and a piece of paper about 8in x 10in, firmly fixed in front of him while sitting, either on a chair at a table no higher than his waist, or on the floor. The adult makes any meaningless line on the paper, puts the pencil in the baby's hand, and suggests that he `draw'.
This should be repeated every few days. There may be no response the first few times, but, when he does imitate the action and realises that the resulting line is his line, he is on his way. For months there may be little noticeable change in his scribbling, but sensitive observation will show a growing confidence and pleasure in his ability to make his scribbles. The period is one of gaining muscular control, and the child's interest is not yet in meaning, or significance, of line, but only in fact that he has made these marks _ it is a kinaesthetic pleasure allied to a sense of growing mastery over his external world.
At about 18 months the toddler should draw standing at an upright surface _ an easel, or paper fastened to the wall, etc., with a large black wax crayon on large white paper. This is to develop full control by the large muscles of arm and back, later to be communicated to the finer ones in hands and fingers.
Any time after 20 months, and usually between two and three years old, the child's scribble becomes scattered and varied in character. Close attention will reveal that the child ascribes meanings to parts of it _ if he has speech, he may call one line a train, a scribble will be called Mummy, another a car, etc.
VIKTOR LOWENFELD, to whose studies of child art education owes an immeasurable debt, states:That this stage, the naming of his scribbles, and a little later the attaching of stories to them, "is of highest significance for the further development of the child, being an indication that the child's thinking has completely changed."
What has been kinaesthetic thinking (of which possibly the higher apes show evidence) is now imaginative thinking, a human faculty. A mental picture has been attached to the scribble symbol that the child himself has made.This, Lowenfeld points out, is the beginning of adult thinking, much of which is in terms of mental pictures throughout life.Although the child may now name his scribbles, he is far from having established stable symbols which he can repeat or even recognise next time he draws.Dr. Helga Eng's niece, Margaret, from the age of 20 months, named eleven scribble symbols "Mama" and man before she settled on one formula, or "schema" for a human being, at the age of 4 ½. This was used unchanged save for greater flexibility till the age of six.Dr Ruth Griffiths finds eleven "stages" which children pass through before the age of seven.
Though she states that children progress through these stages in regular order, there is no prediction of the length of time a child will remain in any one stage, and a child will "regress" from a higher to a lower stage very often. Only when this regression is very prolonged does it have any significance. The seven-year-old will often revert to scribbling like a toddler "just for fun" and it is good exercise.
Throughout this discussion on drawing emphasis has been placed on the importance of black on white _ or white chalk on a black board. These yield a satisfying line with out the distraction of colour.
When colours are given in crayons, coloured pencils, chalks, etc., futile efforts are made to "paint" and to fill-in forms with them, and the result has neither the value of the line nor the emotional release that real colour, in paint, can give.
MATERIALS
THE TODDLER:
Soft black pencil (EX, EX B, "Mars", Staedtler, is excellent).
White paper, fixed flat on floor or low table 10in x 8in approximately.
18 MONTHS TO FOUR YEARS:
Black Lumber crayons, ½ in. diameter. ("Leviathan"
is good and non-toxic. Look for the guarantee.) Large sheets of white
paper, 20in x 30in (unprinted newspaper or butcher's paper.) Paper should
be fixed upright, preferably on an easel at which the child stands. This
is to establish large muscle control.
FOUR YEARS ONWARDS
(if control is well established):
White foolscap-sized (17in x 13in) paper is placed on a table. The child
should sit in a chair low enough for his feet to be firmly on the ground,
the table being waist-high when he sits. The sitting posture encourages
the concentration possible at this age and the development of the control
of the fine muscles of hand and fingers.
Black Pencils ("Mars", EX or EX B) Black pastels.
FOR THE CHILD OVER FIVE:
All the foregoing are good and, if artists' charcoal that is not
too thin and fragile can be added, it will give a new and flexible line.
Successful Registration of a Quality Management System
On
the 25 September, 2001 One World for Children was successful in receiving
a certificate of registration for developing and implementing Quality
Management Systems. Quality Assurance is a National Standard which identifies
and meets the needs and expectations of its customers to achieve, maintain
and improve overall organisational performance and capabilities. Throughout
the last six months One world staff have developed and implemented many
policies and procedures to ensure the consistency and quality of our services
to you. One aspect of this process was to develop a system to ensure that
documents you receive have a quality identification. An example being
your training plan, the quality identification will appear on the bottom
right hand side of each page. This procedure demonstrates that all participants
(you) receive the most current document. The five tick logo, as below
, indicates that the organization is Quality Endorsed, therefore you will
become familiar with this logo as it will begin to appear on all promotional
material from One World. This process of achieving quality endorsement
demonstrates our commitment to quality improvement in ensuring that all
services to you are professional, consistent and current. Please feel
free to contact our office and speak to Susan or Carol if you would like
any further information about our quality policies and procedures.
In service Day
Those who were able to attend the Geelong In service at One World on Saturday 1st September would agree that it was a perfect opportunity to share ideas and ask questions relating to the importance of creating open ended, aesthetically pleasing experiences. "A World of Imagination" was the focus of the session, with discussions on:
- understanding the importance of providing a safe & challenging
environment
- creating aesthetically pleasing environments
- increased understanding of an open-ended environment
- participating in extending creative experiences
During the in-service we viewed "Weaving Webs ~ an approach to environmental education for young children" ~ Video, which summarised the days discussions. Anybody who has not seen this resourceful video and would like to, can email One World at:training@oneworldforchildren.com.au
Thankyou to everybody who participated in the
in-service. If any trainees have any other suggestions for in-services
that they'd like to participate in, please drop us a line so we can arrange
this.
Practical solutions to practically every problem
Managing
an early childhood centre using sound, developmentally appropriate theory,
is an art that takes even the best caregivers practice and experience
to master. However, good caregivers know that children and parents don't
wait while they learn to implement theory: rest time must be taken, transitions
planned, selected, difficult behaviours must be dealt with, complaints
from parents must be satisfied, and a teaching team must be established.
Practical solutions to practically every problem is a how-to book
on management techniques that will enable even the beginning caregiver
to run an effective, successful program. The quick-reference format makes
this a book that will surely become one of the most consulted resources.
This Australian Edition focuses on the 0-5 age group and presents "problems"
and "solutions" in an Australian context. This book offers practical
resources for beginning caregivers and those without formal training.
It also offers for the experienced caregiver alternative ideas for resolving
many of the recurring dilemmas that occur in our work with young children
and their families.
How does it feel?
Child Care from a Parent's Perspective
By Anne Stonehouse
Published by the Australian Early Childhood Association
There is increasing attention in early childhood to the importance of
understanding children in the context of their family. Staff in child
care centres need to be able to see things from the perspective of parents
to thus deepen their understanding of the family context.
Anne Stonehouse in this book asks `how would you feel if you were a
parent when ..' and so challenges the reader to look at situations
arising in child care from the perspective of a parent.
Parent involvement and participation has been valued as an important aspect
of child care. The author offers us an analysis of these concepts and
asserts the importance of moving to partnerships based on mutual respect,
equality and sensitivity.
This book is an extension of early work by Anne Stonehouse on the interactions
of staff and parents and provides both a theoretical and practical basis
for re-looking at partnerships from another point of view _ the parents!
Over the next few issues of our newsletter we will re-produce chapters
from this book and highlight some examples of how parents feel. However,
we highly recommend you obtain a copy for yourself and read this excellent
publication in its entirety.
Chapter 1. An Introduction
We are all assisted in our relationships, whether personal or professional, by seeing situations from the perspective of others. What this book aims to do with the complex relationships that exist between caregivers and parents of the children they care for is to help staff get a clearer idea of how day care feels to a parent. Some of the material that follows will hopefully give you some new insights; some of it will no doubt be a reminder of what you really already know but have lost sight of in your busy complex role.
Increasingly in children's services there is recognition of the importance of understanding the child in the context of family and culture, and taking into account the preferences, values, needs and wishes of parents. Parents are the most important people in a child's life. People who work in early childhood programs cannot replace parents, even in the 2 500 hours annually that a child might spend in care. Furthermore, parents don't want to be replaced. We need to have a clear view of our early childhood programs as supplementing and complementing the lessons children learn in other parts of their lives. We need to understand that no matter what the age of the child is currently or upon entry into care, no matter how long the daily separations, parents are not on the periphery, but at the heart of what matters to their child. Caldwell (1984) said it well:
Professional child care is not a substitute or a competitor for parental care. To some extent, professional child care represents a version of the extended family which has adapted to the social realities of the modern world. (p.4)
Looking at the child in context means acknowledging cultural background, and accepting the culture bound nature of what we know about child development and what we believe about best practice with children.
In addition, we have a responsibility to let parents know about their critical role, because they may not be fully aware of it. Caregivers can nurture a robust, healthy relationship between parent and child. We know from research done in the last ten or fifteen years about the importance of this for a child's later development. Caregivers can play a major role in shaping for parents a positive picture of their child, a focus on his or her individuality and unique strengths. Relationships between parents and caregivers, perhaps more so than the activities and experiences offered to children, are likely to be a major determinant of the long term impact on children of participation in early childhood programs.
An additional reward is that the more parents understand and respect the work you do as a caregiver, the more likely it is that they will be effective advocates for early childhood programs and for the profession.
Along with increasing recognition of the importance of parent-staff partnerships, there is also increasing recognition that establishing and maintaining partnerships is a very hard thing to do, much harder than simply looking at children, to use Rita Warren's (1977) words, as though they `spring into being each morning when they come to us and dematerialise at their departure' (p.8). When the child is viewed in the context of her or his family situation, it is harder to decide what is best. An example: a parent requests her almost three year old be kept awake in the afternoon so that he will go to sleep earlier in the evening. This is a child who acts tired and sleepy after lunch. A `de-contextualised child approach', looking only at the situation from the perspective of the child's developmental needs, makes it easy to refuse the request as not being in the best interests of the child. Taking a `child in the context of family' approach requires you to take into account the fact that this mum, the only parent at home, is studying for a qualification to enable her to gain employment, and as it is nearing the end of semester, she has a number of assignments due and examinations to prepare for. A judgement about what is best for the child in the long run is not so easy when taking into account this information.
If caregivers are being honest, they will say that the hardest thing
about working with children is working with the childrens' parents. It
is hard mainly because it is complex, but it is also hard for at least
four other reasons:
· lack of appreciation for the importance of the work,
· lack of attention or superficial treatment in pre-service courses
and in-service education,
· inadequate acknowledgement of demands on staffing, and therefore
budgets,
· staff resistance to and discomfort with relinquishing a view of
themselves as `experts'.
Look out for Chapter 2. What is a partnership?
How can we help create one? in our next training newsletter.
Support Groups
You may recall that in our last newsletter we reported on the Survey Evaluation Responses. One of the main issues that participants wanted One World to address, was to organise study groups between regions. Many participants felt that because they don't meet together in formal classes that study groups would be an opportunity to network and discuss common issues.
To date we have received very little feedback in pursuing this matter.
If the interest is not out there then that is fine, but if you would like
to participate in such groups, we really need your response in doing this.
Therefore we once again are asking for any participant who would like
to participate in this support group program, to notify us as soon as
possible. It is a program that we will be looking to commence in the new
year.
Remember that they will be informal, casual groups to assist in completing
written tasks , or discussing common issues.
Perhaps we can also ask which employers would be happy enough to host
these groups at your centres? If you are interested, please approach your
employers and let One World know. Any questions may be directed to Carol
at One World on 52685 493 or email carol@oneworldforchildren.com.au
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Play is…"an experimental mode of confirming or denying the connections we make with our world; it can occur at many levels and at each level something is understood and worked through that could not be understood and worked through in any other way." |
Welcome
With a high demand of quality Children's Services training, One World
has had the need to recruit three new industry based, experienced trainers.
We would like to welcome and introduce to all employers and participants:
Val Dunipace, Karla Saunders and Sue Bagg. All three trainers are slowly
making their way around visiting all the centres and being introduced
to all employers and participants. (Individual
staff profiles can be viewed here)
Val, Karla and Sue are eager to participate and contribute to your
individual training plans with the experience of offering practical strategies
and suggestions where possible.
Liz who joined our team early in the year would also like to thank employers
and participants for making her feel welcome. Liz regrettably ceased working
at One World due to her busy "mum" schedule.
Please be patient as Val, Karla and Sue are introduced to you all. We're
sure that their experience and professionalism will enable them to form
positive relationships with you all.
New Insights Into Brain Development
Implications for early childhood services
In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the early years of life. This has been due to new research on brain development and accumulating evidence of the childhood origins of societal problems in areas such as drug abuse, crime and mental health.
Increasing evidence that early education programs work
Long term follow up studies of early education programs indicate young children at high risk of poor outcomes who participated in early education programs performed better than their peers on a wide range of educational and life adjustment outcomes, and the benefits become more pronounced over time.
Positive early childhood experiences are likely to prevent or diminish other problems
There is now increasing research evidence that the keys to preventing
problems such as poor literacy and mental illness, or at least diminishing
their severity, lie in appropriate interventions early in life. For literacy,
reading to a young child as young as six months of age created a milieu
that makes it more likely that the child will grow up valuing reading
and less likely to have reading problems when they begin school.
A warm, nurturing and consistent environment where the child is valued
and loved makes it less likely that they will grow up to have subsequent
mental heath problems. Conversely, the child who experiences abuse or
neglect, or grows up in a family with high levels of aggression or other
environmental stresses, is far more likely to have difficulty with social
relationships, poor self esteem, aggressive behaviour, and have a high
risk of mental health problems.
Brain Development research
The greatest impetus for the renewed focus on the early years of life
comes from new research demonstrating that a child needs a stimulating,
consistent and care-taking environment for optimal brain development.
Environmental factors are crucial in actually shaping the anatomical structure
of the developing brain. The genes provide the substrate of the brain,
but it is the environment that shapes the way is finally evolves.
We now understand that children learn within the context of relationships,
and the attachment to the caregiver is of crucial importance. This has
implications, for example, in childcare settings, where consistency of
caregiver is very important in creating the sort of environment where
the child learns best. Because the brain reflects what it experiences,
creating rich, nurturing and stimulating environments facilitate good
outcomes.
Conversely, the developing brain is very vulnerable to trauma. If experiences
are of fear and stress, then these are reflected in the way the infant's
brain develops and increases the risk of sub-optimal outcomes.
Implication for early childhood services
These new insights into brain development, together with the research
mentioned previously, have important implications for early childhood
services. They re-emphasise the importance of creating an appropriate
environment in the early years of life, especially in the first three
years. Early childhood services, including childcare, need to place more
emphasis on supporting and educating parents in the always challenging
role of raising young infants. Parent education programs, family support,
and the provision of accessible, affordable, and high quality services
are essential.
Research has also shown us that there are a number of risk factors, some
child-related and many related to the family and community that may negatively
affect the outcome. The more risk factors that are present, the more at
risk the child is of a poor outcome. Unfortunately, many of these risk
factors seem to cluster together. Stressed families who live in poor neighbourhoods
where services are fragmented or non-existent, and where children are
more likely to have nutritional problems, inconsistent health care, and
parents who smoke, provide an environment where the child may not receive
the quality care so essential for good outcomes.
Cautions and caveats
We must be careful that in using the results of this brain development
research to advocate for improved services for young children and families,
we do not get too far ahead of the research evidence.
First, we should make it very clear that this is not about implying that
where children have a sub-optimal outcome it is the fault of the parents.
These research findings are not about making parents feel guilty. There
is a myriad of factors that affect child development and influence outcomes,
and it is quite wrong to lay the blame on parents or families when things
do not turn out as expected.
Second, the research does not mean that it is all over by the age of three.
Providing a warm nurturing and stimulating environment is important for
all children of all ages. A focus on the early years of life should not
be at the expense of children of preschool or school age.
Maureen's Story
Achieving my Diploma is exciting and rewarding. During my career I have worked for seven years as an aide in Primary School, 13 years as Pre-School assistant and two years in child care without any formal training for these positions. As soon as a staff member mentioned there was "on the job" training course information being circulated, I was immediately interested. In fact I rang One World at lunchtime that day to obtain more information. From that phone call I began my Diploma pathway.
I was always eager to gain more knowledge of children's development and chose to enrol in the Certificate III course. At 48 years of age I was apprehensive about the challenge of returning to study, as it was more than 30 years since I finished school. I felt concerned if my busy life style of being a wife, mother of two teenagers, involved in two community groups and working fulltime in the Nursery Room, plus study could all fit into a 24 hour day. Being delighted with all the course provided for me in terms of knowledge and developmentally appropriate practice I was achieving a high standard in my assignments and face to face assessments, One World trainers suggested I had the ability to be a Room Team Leader, I decided to give it my best. Knowing I wanted to achieve a certificate and to be the team leader was a very exciting dream.
In November 2000, I had just achieved Certificate III. I met Carol to discuss the Diploma in Community Services (Children's Services) course. I had the option of an upfront assessment or traineeship, and at the time I decided on an upfront assessment. I began to prepare my portfolio but had this yearning to gain more knowledge. I chose to enrol in the Diploma traineeship. I was extremely excited about my study journey to my new role. I began the course in February 2001 and gained my Diploma on 25th August, 2001. I had been offered a Team Leader position to be taken up when I became qualified hence the short time of the traineeship, with many hours of study after work and few hours sleep. I began my new role as Team Leader in the Nursery at Growing Giggles immediately. I absolutely love all aspects of my new role providing a new dimension to my child care career.
I would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who is interested in this pathway `to do it'. I sincerely thank Carol for her encouragement, support and friendship. My congratulations and thanks to the whole One World Team for the professional, caring service offered to me during my course and for their ongoing support.
Diploma in Community Services
(Children's Services)
(Priority Education Training Program)
One
World for Children is seeking expressions of interest for any one who
is currently employed as a child care worker (but is not eligible for
a traineeship, casual staff may also apply) who would like to study to
become a qualified Child Care Worker over the next three years.
If we are successful in securing this funding (PETP), training would commence
in 2002 and continue until 2004.
All training by One World is completed on the job, trainers visit you
every 4-6 weeks and all books are included in the cost.
The cost of this training is $500.00 per year or $40.00 if you hold the
relevant Health Care Care/Pension Card.
Should you require more information about this training program please
contact Susan Peters at One World on 5272 2714 or email Susan at susan@oneworldforchildren.com.au
Take advantage and save yourself time
Why not send your assessments to us via e-mail?
It will save you time and your assessments will get to us promptly and
safely.
All trainers have direct email addresses, so you can send all assessments
to individual trainers.
Individual addresses are:
Any administration queries may be made directly to Snez at:
snez@oneworldforchildren.com.au
New Competition (for the internet:)Now until the end of the year we will be encouraging participants to email assessments to trainers. For each assessment that gets emailed, the participants name will go into the draw to win a selection of mystery resources that will sure to be useful in your childcare training. |
Useful
Links to Search
www.fire.wa.gov.au/freddy/default.htm
Click on the image to be sent to the training Hub
Competition Winners
Congratulations to Belinda Smeal, and Carly Wright who were the lucky winners of the "sign in book" internet competition. A copy of the publication "Playing for Keeps" will be sent out to each of them. We do encourage you all to visit our website and submit your feedback about what you would like to see.
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Childcare Services
One World For Children Pty Ltd
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Finalists for the Australian Training Awards 2009: Australian Small Training Provider of the Year
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Winners of the Victorian Training Awards 2009: Small Training Provider of the Year
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Winners of the 2008 Victorian Community Services Health Industry Training Board's Innovation in Training and Assessment Award: Innovative Service Delivery
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Finalist in the Victorian Training Awards 2006 for Training Initiative of the Year: Online Advanced Diploma of Children's Services
One
World For Children Pty Ltd