DRAMA, THEATER, STORYTELLING, PLAY, EDUCATION, CULTURE, COMMUNITY
REGION: North
MUNICIPALITY: Thisted
PROCEDURE: 2022
DAILY OFFER: Nors Børnehus
Snow story: Nors Børnehus (2022)
Research questions
In what ways can PlayArt support the staff to take a playful approach to the activities and be active in line with the children.
How have you experienced the co-creation between artist/cultural educator/cultural school teacher, educators and children and possibly researcher?
Educator; "It has been good and cozy. The artist is a nice person."
The educators experience that when they are in the project, they would like to use it (art) more in everyday life, yet they do not get to do it between the courses where the artist comes.
The groups have varied greatly in terms of what has captured the children's interest.
A group that hadn't been able to relax to music before requested it one day and they were able to. The educator in charge of the group will use music more than she has done in the past.
An educator could observe the children in a different way than she can on a daily basis, especially in the part where the artist took the lead. There are some things that start to make sense to her in terms of the children's behavior.
Another educator articulates that she would like to push her own boundaries; "... to stand up and be something other than you are. Crawling around and saying muh, I'm not good at that - it's transgressive, but a space has been created now."
The artist found that she had to find calm in chaos. She experienced that it was two very different groups of children with very different energy. What has touched the artist the most is when there have been shared experiences, these have been great moments. The artist finds that it has been exciting to be a sparring partner for the educators. She feels that they have moved a lot in terms of throwing themselves into it.
And it has been touching to see how the children have become a unit that can create together.
How have children's perspectives been expressed/included?
The children have had a lot of influence, especially in the later part of the process. The educators have tried to recreate the learning spaces that the artist introduced in the first part of the project.
The educators experienced that it was ok for the children to check in and out of the play.
Do the children play different games and with different people than they usually do?
The girl group has become more cohesive, a community has been created for them.
The pedagogical leader experiences a big difference and articulates that the children have developed their play skills.
How do pedagogical staff act differently than they did before PlayArt?
The educators feel that it has been good to jump in and be silly.
Educator; "What makes sense is how little it takes. That you can create a context out of simple things."
One educator will let go of their own reins a bit more - jump in and goof off, another educator will more often bring the group of girls together to build on their relationship.
What has it been like to work with action learning?
The educators experience that it has been good to work with a more "light" version of action learning compared to the model used in the institution.
It has been good that there have been small spaces for reflection along the way.
What are educators still/now curious about?
Educator: We want structure all the time, but sometimes it's ok to let go more. There has been more room for that during the process.
LegeKunst has pushed the boundaries - educators want to use the exuberant side of themselves more.
Educator; "... yes it's there, it's just been hidden away."
The educators are in doubt about whether there is time in everyday life to think about art and culture in the framework of the institution.
Pedagogical Leader: "You can be spontaneous within the existing framework. Can't you play along the way?"
The institution will work on this going forward.
How will you use art, culture and aesthetic processes in the future?
More drama has been introduced into everyday life, including dressing up. It makes sense because the children are so engaged in it.
In the institution, it has been talked about that they would like to have hats for hat theater. But the staff have not been good at using it until now, when one room has taken hold again.
When reading aloud, educators try to be more immersive in the story.
An educator articulates that space has been created for the individual to be seen.
