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Materials lives in many ways (Bennett,2004). First educational toys developed in 1800s, they made materials important in early childhood education. John Dewey (1897) mentioned child instincts and powers furnish the material and give the starting point for all education. Scholars continue to highlight the importance of materials in early childhood.

Process of painting with a brush and working with clay contribute to children`s social, physical, emotional, and creative development. Materials are described bones of curriculum (Carter, 2007).
We need to encourage children beyond instrumentalism, which reduces things to surface qualities and functions and treat materials as merely what meditates learning and developmental processes. (Rule, savva 2009). Simultaneously we are changing our teaching materials from intra to interpersonal way such as objects, artefacts, spaces, and places.

As Haraway (2008) suggested experimentation helps us to early childhood discourses and increased the capacity to act in the world and produce new forms of living. As a preservice teacher I will encourage children to use materials to create, invent new things. I will encourage the while class focussing on particular children. This helps to create safe and healthy environment. As Clarie Colebrook (2002) mentioned art is not about knowledge, conveying meanings and providing information. Art is not just an ornament or style to used to make data more consumable. Art contains meaning, messages it is sensible force which produces content.As Shuan McNiff (2008) mentioned art is a process of creativity.
We cannot except our outcome when we started with out knowing it might turn up into wonderful creation.
Sometimes artwork is difficult for teacher because without knowing the result, she must try. It is all in process of learning. Through art we can teach children life is unpredictable, but learning process make it more colourful.

While creating early childhood classroom there is right or wrong. It is all process of learning. If we

start with paint section we watch how paint, fingers, brush transforms paper into beautiful creation.

If we see clay rolled into ball transformed into beautiful creation. Art teach us many things how to

Slow down, how treat every object tenderly. As Reggio Emilia explained engaging art into education

helps to open us many opportunities for children.

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Learning and Exploring Through Play. 2021. 7 Activities for the Light Table. [online] Available at: <https://www.learningandexploringthroughplay.com/2014/11/7-activities-for-light-table.html> [Accessed 20 March 2021].

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Kind, S & Kocher, LLM 2016, Encounters with materials in early childhood education, Routledge, viewed 20 March 2021.<https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/detail.action?docID=4649662>
Kaur, J., 2021. Clay Modelling For Kids - Parentcircle. [online] Parentcircle.com. Available at: <https://www.parentcircle.com/article/educational-benefits-of-playing-with-clay/> [Accessed 20 March 2021].

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This unit helped me develop my skills to understand the meaning of art and how it plays a massive role in early childhood and to understand how the materials can used to support children’s learning development. It was r interesting to learn about how junk can used in different forms to create new materials. Therefore, it helped me develop my skills in exploring clay and how it can used and the sort of art you can make out of it. As an educator, it is important to have skills to understand the art and how you can use that part of your practice and curriculum and teaching children how to use the materials.

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Recycling is collecting and processing materials into new materials and other objects.  Recycling benefits the environment and reduces waste. Paper recycling invented in the 1960s in America by the Rittenhouse family of Philadelphia. Gary Anderson is a person who invented recycling he came with the concept of reducing, reuse, recycle. A lot of common product we find at our local supermarkets and households contain recycled items like egg cartons, cereal box, newspaper, Paper towel, laundry detergent bottles, trash bags, comic books.

There are so many common recyclable items metal is part of our everyday used materials we use and paper and cardboard. As an educator, it is important to teach children to care and love for the environment we live in. Therefore, it allows children to develop the skill to respect, emphasis, responsibly and allows children to understand the importance of recycling and caring for the environment.

In every household, we have a three-bin system that allows you to recycle all materials in the correct bins. Yellow bin is the bin you recycle all plastic, cans, juice bottles, paper. Green bins are food and garden organics collection, which is plants, rice, pasta. Red bins are rubbish bin which nappies, garbage, toothbrush.

Therefore, a great way to introduce recycling to children can be recycling and explaining to them what can go into the compost bin and what cannot. Encouraging the children to make recycle bins for their classrooms allows everyone to get involved and be creative in how to design their bins. In the activity I choose to make binoculars, all you need is toilet rolls, or paper towel rolls and any colour of paint of your choice and art craft materials, sticky tape, string, and scissor.

We begin attaching the toilet paper rolls together using glue or sticky tape which hold together. Choose how you want to decorate you can choose to paint it or use textures or any form of colour. Poke holes in between by using pair of scissors cut a small hole, we then measure and cut your string, after that, your binoculars are ready to go it took around five minutes.

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Clay is material that can be used in effortless forms which allow the person to create different objects and materials out of it. Clay was first discovered by prehistoric humans and then people started to use clay in China, Japan around 14,000 decades ago. It made from the ground where the river used to flow. Clay made of minerals, animals, and plant life. Growing up as a child, I remember in my school days, we never had the opportunity to explore clay and now that the school program offers it children learn about clay and understand the importance and also get a feel out of it.

Clay also supports children’s fine motors, improves hand-eye coordination and trial and error. It allows you to be creative, using clay allows you to create the mould into different objects. When I experiment with the clay in creating sea and fish, starfish. For this activity, it involved trials and error, but it was great to experience to have the feel of clay and how relaxed it makes you. The materials I used for this activity involved paint, clay, but you can choose any preference you like for paint, newspaper.

Once you have all your materials you start moulding, form your clay into different shapes and make the body of a fish, take a piece of clay roll it between your palms until your structure into an oval shape. Then you proceed onto making your sea what you need is to use a roller and make the surface flat and slowly create into an oval shape. You then start to create your people using paddle pop sticks and create your sea animals and make your sea water.

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Light is a form of energy created by electromagnetic radiation which can sensed by the human eye. The speed of light can be 300 million metres per second, Humphry Davy is the person who invented the first electric light, using electricity and invented an electric battery. Light has different types which are natural light and sun, once it touches the shallow of an object it then shadows the light through your eyes.

Therefore, a great way to experiment with light is finding a dark space and creating a setting to adjust the light on where it can used. Lightboxes and panel place a role in early childhood education which develops children’s skills it supports their communication skills, social skills, and negotiation and problem-solving.

When children explore with light it allows them to wonder and the children get fascinated by the reflection and shadows that appear. This allows them to be creative and to try different objects and materials and explore them. When I explored with my materials, which was flowers and a bottle. I found it quite interesting being able to see the reflections of the flower which was easy and fun.

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Junk is the source of material in which it can used to explore in many ways of the use. Junk materials play role in children learning it allows them to make their own decisions and creations. It allows supports children to focus and develops their confidence, allows them to discover and explore their options supports their fine motor skills. It also allows you to express how you feel and brings out your creativity.

Junk art discovered in the 1960s by Lawrence Alloway the artwork made from scrap metal and broken-up machine, rags. A lot of people tend to throw out a lot of junk because it no longer has meaning to it and it does not value them anymore. Junk can be reinvented into different source materials by allowing children to be creative and using their imaginations and teaching them the importance of recycling and sustainability.

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Recycle bin
Created by: Nasro

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Exploring clay

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Reflection of light using bottle
Photo by : Nasro

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Photo at: National Art Gallery

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Junk
Photo by: Nasro

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Materials used for binoculars

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Recycle Paper towel binoculars
Created by: Nasro

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Reflection of light using flower.
Photo by: Nasro