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First material discussed in class was paper. It is such an important material in early childhood and there is always a lots of controversy's surrounding paper, like paper is used versus how it should be in early childhood settings and there is seemingly constant discussion of how we are letting children wastepaper, whereas what we as educators are limiting children's ability and imagination to explore further and find their own creativity. In the context of my own practice, I need to intentionally give children more YES opportunities and allow them to engage in inquiry.
What we may view as wasteful paper use may be part of a child’s vision. What looks like a ‘ruined’ artwork to an educator, can actually be an enriching learning opportunity. Learning and art "rely on failures, mistakes and disjuncture's" (Kind, cited in Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p. 16).
Why should educators dictate a child’s creative process?

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The portraits I drew of my classmates were significantly different from the drawings they produced. If grown adults produce such vastly different art works as a result of following the exact same instructions, why should we expect children's art to look a particular way?

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To me paper represents a platform to express feelings, projections, creativity or a way of finding yourself. Paper can be anything - representing, making, art medium , creativity board. By allowing to express freely and unlearn it can open new possibilities. Using ordinary materials to experiment "opens up worlds and creates new venues for thinking and doing" (Stengers, cited in Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016, p. 14).

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Light is not something I have considered in depth in relation to teaching and learning. As I learn more about light- I realize how significant it really is in everyday life and how it impacts everything we experience visually. Through collective discussion and material exploration, we discussed how light can hold memories and stories. When i undertook my own experience with my daughter, material inquiry as light, i noticed and found different perspectives of her and mine. It seemed we all experience materials/ light differently i saw more orange color drawing me towards light in the sky, however my daughter perceived it all different. This inquiry brings into question the influence of individual experience with the world and its material inhabitants on learning and development.
“What if materials shape us as much as we shape them? How might we experience materials differently if we acknowledge them as joint participants in our interactions with them?”  (Kind 2014, p 867).I think this inquiry into light highlights the importance of tailoring experiences to be accessible and targeted to each individuals needs, wants and capabilities. This also includes building close relationships with children and their families in order to understand their perspective, experiences, and how the world and the material influences them and vice versa.
As a reflection on my teaching practice, i would ask.

How can i be inclusive in my practice and mindful?

How can i cater to some children that do not want to participate?

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The use of loose part has become so significant in early childhood as it fosters creativity, imagination, problem solving, sensory development in children allowing them to create unique structure, designs and art. Loose part is a theory introduced by architect Simon Nicholson in the 1970's that best environments are those that provide and offers children variety of materials and objects that can be manipulated and transformed, and it also leads to sustainable environments and further creating connections with broader communities. My own experience with loose part took me to whole new journey. I used cardboard to create and repaint for my assessment 2 and created a stop motion video . I also wonder what else could i have done and use that loose part for my own inquiry process? As a reflection point of view as an educator, i feel loose part must have in any early childhood and as an educator i would be encouraging children and offer variety of materials that can be used as platform for creativity and not process driven .“As the children become more familiar with the materials, they use them to represent ideas and objects, a developmental progression from exploration to representation” (Kind 2014, p 866).

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In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia. (2015). In L. Gandini, L. Hill, L. B. Cadwell, & C. S. Schwall (Eds.), Amazon (2nd edition). Teachers College Press. https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Studio-Learning-Childhood-Education/dp/0807756326

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., & Internet Archive. (2017). Encounters with materials in early childhood education. In Internet Archive. New York : Routledge. https://archive.org/details/encounterswithma0000paci

Pelo, A 2016, The language of art: inquiry-based studio practices in early childhood settings, Redleaf press, p. 18, accessed 5 May 2022,
<https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4674378>

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Clay is such a sensory material that it ignites senses deeply , it gives you something to prod, squish, squeeze, roll , and platform to create your own creativity and magic. I often find this material is so therapeutic when you get in touch with clay, i often wonder what's going to happen? is it going to be, slippery, slopy? what happens if i mix clay with other materials. My observation led me to the conclusion that adults tend to use the material to represent ideas and objects, eg. a snake, a bird or a snowman as opposed to children who are exploring a new material without limitations. This prompted me to consider how invaluable children's natural curiosity is to their learning process and how adult preconceptions and instruction could potentially hinder their learning process. When using clay, this can be as simple as introducing water, leaves, twigs, rocks and other natural materials at the same time to allow for open ended exploration and inquiry. As a reflection as an educator how can i extend and let them explore with clay without worrying to be messy and have a chat with my fellow educators about importance of clay in early childhood and calming effects that it have on the senses of the children and adults