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This is the end product of a DIY light box that I came up with to sketch out a drawing that I had seen online.

Steps
Step 1: Find an image online you want to trace
Step 2:  copy it onto a word document
Step 3: Get a blank piece of paper and put it on top of your ipad screen
Step 4: The light from the computer screen reflected through the paper, therefore i was able to see the image through the screen
Step 5: trace the image

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What is my definition of light?
Light for me is a source that acts as an aid to living things such as humans that helps us to see things and to move around in our location. It is a tool to also help us determine and perceive a threat that is near.

Does it bring any memories?
Unfortunately, light for me brings me negative memories. These memories include me waking up in the middle of the night and see shadows cast on my wall from a nearby lit light. For example, the corridor light is always turned on when we go to sleep. When I wake up in the middle of the night, i see my wardrobe in front of me. Due to their being little light, clothing that I have hung appear to me as ghosts or people standing in my wardrobe. As a result, I would begin to sweat and quickly get out of my bed to turn on my bedroom light.

What can you draw from your memories?
In addition to the above memory, I can conclude that light specifically electrical lights symbolise calmness and safety for me. Natural light such as the sun shining through my window in the morning symbolises time to wake up. Whereas, at night the darkness that I see through my window symbolises when I fall asleep.

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(Exploring Light and Dark with Early Years - Teaching Expertise)

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Question 1: What are some ways you can add different forms of light in an early childhood setting?

Ways I can embed different forms of light in an early childhood setting is by having blinds for the windows. Children can explore the impact blinds will have on natural sunlight- a natural source of light. When the blinds are open, children will be encouraged "to explore what happens when they stand in front of a window when the sun is shining in. Help them to notice the shadows that are created on the wall opposite (Exploring Light and Dark with Early Years)." This will then allow them o discover how they can make shadows using their hands on the wall. "It is equally important that these interesting materials and resources are presented to the children so that they invite exploration and investigation (Exploring Light and Dark with Early Years) ."

Another way is leaving the blinds closed. Here, the children will explore other materials or other sources of light. For example, electrical lights that light up the room when turned on.

Other sources that can be implemented in the classroom to promote light are light boxes. Children can explore different ways in which they can use the boxes. Some will discover that the light box is a way of tracing images onto paper, while other children will see the light box as a source they can use to make shadows or a source for them to be able to see through stones etc...

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Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton discuss the benefits of playing with light and dark with early years children, offering thinking skills activity ideas.

Playing with light and dark creates magical experiences that both adults and children will enjoy. Light and darkness hold fascination and intrigue, as well as an element of risk and challenge and the opportunity for young children to experience what early years consultant Marion Dowling terms 'gratuitous fear'. Experiences involving light and shadow enable children to appreciate the awe and wonder of the world around them and provide a rich environment in which to develop their natural curiosity. Such opportunities allow adults and children to engage in sustained shared thinking and to develop relationships where joys and fears are open for discussion.

Exploring natural light

Winter is a wonderful time of year for exploring the magic of light and dark. On bright sunny days children will enjoy being outside exploring shadows - their own and those created by trees, bushes and buildings. At this time of year these shadows will appear particularly striking as the sun is low in the sky so the shadows will be very elongated.

Draw the children's attention to what the sky looks like on a cloudy day, a misty day and a sunny day. Talk about where the sun is and why we can't see it on a dull day. (This is a good opportunity to remind children about the importance of never looking directly at the sun.)

Bright sunny winter days often end in spectacular sunsets. Draw the children's attention to the dramatic outlines of buildings and trees and talk about the different colors they can see in the sky. Encourage the children to watch how the colors in the sky change over a short period of time as the sun sets. Take a series of pictures of the sunset, print these out and challenge the children to arrange them in the correct order. This can lead to much discussion and critical thinking as individual children explain why they have arranged the photos in a particular sequence.

Look round your setting and make a note of where the sun shines in at different times of day. Use this as an opportunity to explore sunbeams and shadows indoors. Notice how the position of the sunlight changes during the day. You could try tracking this movement on a large sheet of paper fixed to the wall. Does the sun always appear to move in the same direction every day?

Encourage the children to explore what happens when they stand in front of a window when the sun is shining in. Help them to notice the shadows that are created on the wall opposite. What happens when they move backwards and forwards between the window and the wall? Do their shadows change in size?

Playing with light

Light can only really be explored properly if the surrounding environment is dark. You can create special places to explore light in your setting by adjusting the light levels where light boxes and overhead projectors are used. For example, a small room could be darkened using blinds or you could use a naturally dark place such as a cupboard space under the stairs or a den under a table made out of blankets and blackout materials.

Light boxes add interest to any setting, creating a place for careful observation or for exploring pattern, shape, form, color, opacity and color mixing. The calming influence of a light box invites sensory exploration and engages children's attention for long periods of time.

By their nature the materials that are used to explore light promote aesthetic awareness and an appreciation of beauty. It is equally important that these interesting materials and resources are presented to the children so that they invite exploration and investigation.

Use divided trays or attractive boxes to display resources for the children to use on an overhead projector or light box. These could include:

- translucent materials such as plastic shapes and sheets, buttons, cocktail stirrers,

- Christmas decorations, small plastic and glass containers and bottles

- opaque materials, including plastic and metal washers, discs, nuts and bolts, lolly sticks, paper clips and coins

- things with holes in them, such as tea strainers, mesh lids and small strainers

- fabrics, scarves, ribbons and lace - these behave in interesting ways when used with an overhead projector providing opportunities for discussion and language development

- natural materials such as cones, leaves and skeleton leaves, twigs, pods, shells and pebbles - the outline, shape and texture of these materials are brought into sharp focus on the light box or overhead projector.

Making the Most of Light and Mirrors, Linda Thornton & Pat Brunton (2009) Featherstone Education
Young Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 3rd Edition, Marion Dowling (2009) SAGE.

Links with EYPS Standards: S8, S10, S11, S12, S15, S16

Links with Ofsted SEF: Section 3, 4b, 4d, 4f

This e-bulletin issue was first published in January 2010
About the author: Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton are early years consultants, trainers and authors and edit Early Years Update www.alcassociates.co.uk

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Exploring Light and Dark with Early Years - Teaching Expertise

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Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton discuss the benefits of playing with light and dark with early years children, offering thinking skills activity ideas. Playing with light and dark creates magical experiences that both adults and children will enjoy.

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Just hearing the word clay reminds me of the mess and fun we had back in my primary school years. I remember the first time I felt it. It was soft, brown and manipulated every action I did. I remember using a type of clay called Terracotta to create small pinch pots. They were fun to make. I remember rolling and rolling a clump of clay in my arms to make a perfect ball. I used a lot of water to smooth out any wrinkly lines or bumps. “Clay responds to children’s movements as they work with it” (Pacini-Ketcahbaw 2016, p.72). After, I would poke my thumb in the middle of the ball and press my other fingers on the outer side in a circular motion, creating a pot. That wasn’t the best part. I remember the tools we got to use to carve and decorate the pinch pots from the outside. The only disappointing part was waiting for it to be fired in the Kiln. I remember how the texture changed after it has been in the kiln. It was no longer soft and versatile, it become hard and rock solid. The colour of it even became darker. Its physical properties became complete opposite, hard, fragile etc…

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As part of my future teaching practice, I will organise a project that involves children interacting and making pottery. The main aim of the project is for children to use their thinking skills to create an object that can replace a non-sustainable utensil found in the classroom. This project will also remind children that "not everything is a human construction, that there is no norm, and that each piece of clay acts differently" (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p.63). As part of this project, children will begin to discover attachments about the clay, by attachments I mean "attachments in clay ecologies are the attachments of children to the repeated task of pressing clay onto tree trunks, the poetry of moulding wet clay" (Pacini-Ketachbaw 2016, p.66). Children will also learn and discover effects of other materials when mixed with clay for example, heat and water. They will record their findings by simply drawing what the perceive.

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I am the potter and you are my clay

I fold you and mould you

To the shape I want to portray

Tall, wide, small

It doesn’t matter

In the end a pot or a platter

Once I am happy with the shape

Ill let you out in the sun to dry

or in the kiln for you to bake

There you go

Just made for you

I am the potter and you are my clay

Pottery is what I will pursue

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"We also found some of the objects...turned trees into a music tree." (Beautiful Stuff- A preschool project 2014)

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"Beautiful Stuff" Project & future teaching practices

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"Beautiful Stuff" Project & future teaching practices

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Ways that I will embed sustainable practices in my classroom setting is by allowing the students to bring with them unwanted (loose) materials found in their home to the class so that they can use in their exploration. They will have the opportunity to use the material in a new way, for example, lids at home are only seen as a cover whereas if the child is given the opportunity and time to feel, touch become curious with the object, they will soon learn ways in which the object moves, what its capable of and not capable. The lids may then be used as eyes or buttons etc…

The idea of children collecting their own items from home can be linked to the “Beautiful Stuff” project that had taken place in an early childhood setting. As a result, children began to “view objects in new and interesting ways and made them value materials that previously might have been discarded (Beautiful Stuff- A preschool project 2014).” Implementing this strategy was a hugs success due to the high interaction of parents between the centre.

“Beautiful Stuff” Project:

1.      Send letters out to parents

2.      Hand out paper bags to students to begin their collection from home

3.      Put children in groups

4.      Show & tell, give the children time to talk about their findings and what interested them the most

5.      Compare and contrast between peers

6.      Arrange a colour whell out of the selected items or create a sculpture or project to display in the classroom

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Colour Wheel (Beautiful Stuff- A Preschool Project 2014)

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Artist Zoe Bradley (Clark 2016)

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(Taylor 2011)

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This mind map includes benefits of an adventure playground and developmental areas that increase as a result of outside play

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Ø  Social Media- following and asking local communities for any used scrap such as lids, boxes etc..

Ø  Tradies- asking people you know in the plumbing industry for left over pieces of unwanted pipes

Ø  Retail- Cardboard boxes

Ø  Home- Old clothing, pillow cases, coke bottles, Lids etc..

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Some of the amazing artworks done by the children

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My past experiences with loose materials eg Mini Maddern

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My past experiences with loose materials eg Mini Maddern

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My interaction with loose materials goes way back to a past unit that I have studied. It involved attending Mini Maddern, an open area for children to explore, create become curious with loose bits of materials and junk. “All children are born with a curiosity about themselves, other people, and the world around them, and in this sense are born learners” (Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2014, p.47). Examples of materials that were provided were pipes, crates, water, cardboard boxes, lids, etc… The aim of the placement was to be able to perceive how children are capable on their own without the involvement of parents or guardians. As a result, I was able to realise and change my thought on a child from who is “need of intervention to a child who is competent, rich, and full of potential (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2014, p. 26).”

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Voice Recording of a poem about Adventure Playgrounds

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Voice Recording of a poem about Adventure Playgrounds

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The interactions that I have encountered with paper throughout this week has allowed me to realise its many functions and its multiple meanings that it holds. At first, I had perceived paper as a blank piece of sheet that carried only one “appropriate model of practice” (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p.10), such as being filled with continuous lines of words that will no longer be needed after the first use. I begin slowly to create meaning to paper beyond its “scientific, rational, or functional viewpoint and through predictable properties of colour, shape, density, mass, friction, and gravity” (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p12).   As you may not know, paper has a life of its own, it is “filled with histories and stories, and also as an event that would allow us to ask questions and provoke inquiries” (Pacini-ketchabaw 2016, p.14).

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https://youtu.be/d0CT-CxymYo (just in case link)

The animation shown is an example of a future resource that I will adapt in my classroom that will prompt students to become more environmentally friendly by using materials such as “useless, used-up, ordinary paper waiting to be removed and recycled” (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p.30) to produce or create art works/ projects.  I will also have bins labelled as recycle, so that students can reuse any materials thrown in their.

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Forgive me, forgive me, oh paper, oh paper

Not once did you deceive me, yet I still used the stapler

I scrunched you, I cut you, I through you away

Yet you were still so strong and held onto my name

Forgive me, forgive me, oh paper, oh paper

I folded you twice not once in a day

I folded you, I folded you, until you were a plane

I opened the window,

and flew you away,

Forgive me, forgive me, oh paper, oh paper

Here I lay, under this very tree,

Your very own creator,

Begging on my knee,

Hoping that one day,

You’ll forgive me,