ANIMATION, AESTHETIC PROCESSES, PLAY, COMMUNITY

REGION: Central Jutland
MUNICIPALITY: Viborg
PROCEDURE: 2021
DAILY OFFER: Fredly Forest Nursery

Snow story: Forest kindergarten Fredly (2021)

Our LegeKunst project has in practice consisted of building a giant zoetrope together with the children and then experimenting with making films for the zoetrope. We have worked with many expressions and materials in connection with the film productions.

We have been inspired by the artists to work more with the process than the product. For example, we have seen and tried how we can follow the children's tracks in a creative process where the children experimented with painting and mixing colors. We have also been inspired to weave activities together with a fun story to create a common thread for the children in the activities. In this case, it has been the brothers Hans Henrik and Hans Henrik, who once lived in the forest kindergarten Fredly, where they dug for gold.

As a staff group, we have become better equipped to work with animation, e.g. stop motion films and mechanical animation in the form of images for the zoetrope. We have practiced following the children's tracks and our practicing of skills within the subject means that we find it easier to let go of control and follow the children's tracks in a creative process.

We have become more aware of the quality of our time structure not being more fixed than it is. For example, if we are immersed and engaged in something and the children are in flow, it doesn't matter if we don't eat at the usual time. Our routines can easily be shifted in favor of a process where the children are in flow.

Most of the time, we have had the entire group of children participate together on a voluntary basis. This has worked well and has meant that we as adults have been better able to handle other care tasks without being too pressured. The last few times, we have divided the children into age groups to better challenge the children at their level and take into account the individual child's nearest development zone. It has worked well to have this alternation, both have qualities. Working together in a large group has given something to the community of children. Working more at the same level has meant that several of the older children have been able to have more influence on the process, use their imagination in the group and thereby take greater ownership of their film. We have been able to meet the youngest children where they are in their development and allow for a more sensory immersion in the materials. The children's work in small groups around a common task generated some good energy, and the children had the opportunity to experience new sides of the other children, they were inspired by each other and practiced inclusiveness.

For the last four PlayArt sessions, we continued working in the individual groups and targeted the activities to the children's level. The oldest worked with stop motion movies and the youngest worked on making new movies for the zoetrope.

With this project, we have become interested in using storytelling in connection with transitions in the kindergarten's daily life. In this way, we will in the future try to use a playful approach that can capture the children's interest and attention and spark their imagination. In this way, we can create and "set a mood" that can make a transition/change easier for the children.

We remain curious about the flexibility of learning environments and how to become better at adapting and adjusting learning environments. We are also curious about how we in our pedagogical work create a framework that supports children in becoming inclusive towards their fellow human beings and the world around them.

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