Play, art, music, movement, theater
REGION: South
MUNICIPALITY: Esbjerg
PROCEDURE: 2021
DAILY OFFER: The colour shop
Period: May-October 2021
Head: Charlotte Schwartz
Artist: Tina Drejergaard possibly change in the summer vacation due to maternity leave
Art form: music
Kick-off meeting - Held digitally in May
SNUDE:
Playful art in the Farveladen June and August 2021
SNUDE story
In Farveladen we have had play art in two periods of 4 weeks duration. 4 weeks in June, with the participation of Music Educator Tina Drejergaard and 4 weeks in August/September with the participation of Music Educator, Mette Trillingsgaard.
Our SNIP story focused on our two large children's groups in the kindergarten finding cohesion after a merger in June.
Staff were keen to learn more about how to use music in pedagogical work.
The staff wanted to try out a program with the theme "Circus", as circus contains diversity and there is room for everyone.
They agreed with Tina what the 4 times should contain in general, but that they would focus on what the children were interested in and go with their path.
The staff talked to the children about what a Circus is. Not many of the children could relate to circus and did not know what it was. The staff tried to tell and explain what a circus is.
On the 4 occasions, the staff had provided different materials such as balls, strings, things to walk on a tightrope, etc.
The children played with and practiced juggling, tightrope walking, etc.
After each session, Tina and the staff evaluated the day and agreed on what to take away for the next session and what changes were needed to meet the children's needs and provide them with new challenges.
When the 4 weeks were over, the staff's conclusion was that they did not think either the children or the staff had gotten what they wanted out of it. They had hoped that the program had been more musical, with music and songs, but the course had become physical, where the children practiced the motor skills. It is also good to practice the motoric part, but the staff experiences in the daily work with the children that they are challenged motorically, and the staff could therefore have wanted to learn more about music and song as a tool in the pedagogical work with the children in everyday life.
The second course - 4 weeks in August/September
Tina was pregnant and went on maternity leave. Before that, we held a meeting with Tina where we discussed the first 4 weeks and that the expectations that the staff had had, had not quite been met. Therefore, the next 4 weeks should include more music and singing, so that the staff was better "dressed" in relation to involving music and singing more in everyday life with the children.
In Tina's place we got Mette who took over the process and what was agreed with Tina.
In the new program, instruments were played. The children were taught how to treat instruments and they became aware of how to handle instruments in a good way.
Classical music was played and the children were made aware of the notes in the music, whether they went up or down. For this, the children made movements that were light and heavy.
The children also tried their hand at conducting an "orchestra", which they were very enthusiastic about and enjoyed.
The staff evaluated with Mette after each session and again they discussed what went well and what should be changed for next time.
The educators' conclusion was that the 4 weeks with music and singing had been very rich in content. They experienced that several children who in their daily life were not so participative in various activities had been more participative in the musical activities. The children had generally expressed that it had been fun, e.g. conducting when the children played on instruments.
During this session the staff and Mette were in the first learning space where the children are shown what they are going to play.
In "Play Art", the staff are in the third learning space, where the children are inspired and control where the play goes. The staff and Mette were aware that this would not happen in the same way as in the first part of "Play Art".
The good thing about the course was that the staff was introduced to how they could include music in the pedagogical work with the children. That the uncertainty they had about using musical instruments was minimized and they were given tools for how they could involve music.
At our final meeting with Ditte and Mette, the staff expressed that they made use of both the musical instruments and classical music.
One of the educators had included the "conductor" as a suggestion for a birthday game, as she experienced that it was something the children found fun. The other teacher included classical music in everyday life where it could fit in.
We have been very happy with the experiences that "play art" has provided in the last 4 weeks. It has helped to enrich the pedagogical work with the older children.
