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Clay is a material much like play-dough, it serves the same purpose as play-dough it can be molded and shaped, cut or rolled it just has a different texture, depending on the clay you use it can also be tougher, if its modeling clay you can use it exactly as play dough in fact i believe it is better to use then play-dough it will last longer and won't go crumby like play-dough does as long as stored correctly. It differs from paper and paint because of its texture and capabilities, clay has much more opportunities to make things like sculptures, however it is also similar because it also encourages the use of fine motor skills much like paper and paint and is also used in our ECE creative arts activities and learning.

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We use paper to help children develop their fine motor skills by having them play with it, we get children to draw or paint on it, we further develop those skills by getting them to cut paper, or paste using paper over paper. We make meaning out their experiences with paper by adding a personal touch to their play eg. I would set up an activity for children to learn their names or the spelling of their names as an educator my head instantly goes to "I'm going to set up a pasting activity with the child's name as a prompt that way they are both developing their fine motor skills and learning what their name looks like".
i have realized that educators use and rely on paper as one of our key used resources in ECEC.

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After watching video clips and my recent lessons i can see now that different forms of light evoke different things, like the natural sunlight outside encourages happiness and the desire to play outside and a room light or light table being used to do shadow puppets is actually children using their creativity and imagination to express themselves and potentially their emotions in a curious and fun way, it encourages children's curiosity for their movement and how it affects other parts of their world, light being one of the things by creating their shadows and reflecting their movements within their shadow.

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I never really thought of light as a creative art material... Don't get me wrong i knew all about shadows and shadow puppets and knew ECE centers used light tables, but up until this unit it wasn't really a thing i thought was seen as art. All though after further exploring this i can see that light play is a curious and fun activity, you get to explore your movements by seeing them in your shadow that a light casts.
When i played with my lights in my room i did simple shadow puppets and focused on the shadow rather then the thing (my hand) that was creating the shadow so while looking at my shadow i used my hand to add movent to the shadow and watched as every time i moved my hands the shadow did as well, no matter how fats or slow it was an exact replica. Instead of seeing my hands movements i saw that the effect the light gave to my hand movements and a wall (the shadow) looked not a lot like what my hands were actually doing and when moving my hand further the shadow become bigger it was truly fascinating exploring this

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I remember reading somewhere that children use paint to express themselves and their emotions... the color a child decides to paint with reflects their emotions and how they are feeling... paint allows children to express themselves in an open and fun way.
As an educator, paint is something we use as one of the main "messy play" creative arts when it comes to ECE. We use it as an art experience or an experience to develop sensory skills or fine motor skills. Any way we use paint we do to benefit a child's development. We mix colors to add some teaching into using paint, we teach the use of different textures of paint by using different materials in order to paint

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Playing with paper after class reflection 

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Playing with paper after class reflection 

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personally i was never one for origami, i preferred making paper planes... I even worked with my younger brother for this experience we made paper planes to see who's plane would fly the furthest, only now did i actually really notice the fact that with a few folds to make the air hit the plain on its wings can we actually make something glide through the air and create a flying/floating affect

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Playing with paint after class reflection 

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Playing with paint after class reflection 

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I will admit after class i didn't straight away go off and play with paint, i waited until the next day at work where i had it accessible and had some children their to experience the feel of paint and how it makes you feel by my side. I saw the happiness on the children's face as soon as i started getting paint supplies and i watched as they ran over to the art table ready to begin painting... For me i was never one to enjoy painting (mostly because i look at my work and think "wow that's terrible") but for this day i dismissed my feelings towards creating something and just played with the paint i rubbed it into my fingers experiencing the sensory concept it gives and just painted, i used the paint brush and instead of trying to make something i just slid the paint brush over the page and watched the texture it created, i moved the paint brush in a different motion and watched the new texture that the paint created when i brought it all together.
For this play experience with paint i really had to let myself and my thoughts go and just let it be and create whatever came my way... and i realized something.. Sometimes all children are doing when it comes to painting it exploring the colors, textures, and movements that they have miraculously made their not always aiming to paint something in particular, and sometimes they paint something and they look it and they think "That' it! i made a picture of me and my family"..

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What would my Observations and experiences mean for my practices  

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What would my Observations and experiences mean for my practices  

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In my practice i would like to further explore light and shadows with children and how they see the effect of light and what they take away from those experiences... Does it make them happy?, do they look curious?, do they seem engaged?. i would like to explore how children play with light on their own and without provocation

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while playing with clay I learnt that clay is harder to use then it seems, i see people using clay and making mini sculptures (my sister included who played with her clay while i was trying to explore it as well) but also that after a little bit of stretching and it becomes easier to shape and use, during AT2 i used clay for my stopmotion and found it slightly difficult like when i didnt make it thick enough it stuck to the other materials i was using or stretched and i had to remake my little 'submarine'... even though even tho this happened i still understood the feeling of shaping something to make a creation and can see the benefits children have when it comes to using clay

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children 

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children 

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With paper having so many doors of opportunity for play and development i now have this information drilled further into my mind and i already encourage the use of paper but i will continue to encourage children to continue playing with paper, not only is it easily accessible but it also develops their fine motor skills! Who knows i might even introduce children into the art of Origami

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children 

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children 

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This unit really made me look a lot closer at paint and how it is being used instead of how i think it is being used. Never again will i ask a child to paint me a picture of themselves or mum and dad, or specify what colors they should use. From now on i will always have an opportunity for children to paint out on the tables in my room children have the right to play freely and express themselves in what ever way they desire

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children

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What would my observations and experiences mean for my practice with children

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After learning about Clay and its benefits i will definitely be encouraging the use of clay rather then play dough as it is a lot more of a molding material which is developing children's fine motor skills as well as i believe clay would give a better desired result when it comes to making a creation such as a sculpture