# data[].attributes.body
Clay (31 March 2023) In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay

Clay Figure Zhang (27 December 2022) In Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Figure_Zhang

Experts in China 2021  One of the Four Great Inventions of China: Paper-making    http://www.stdaily.com/English/Service/2021-12/16/content_1239506.shtml

Ingold, T. (2013) Making: Anthropology, archeology, art, and architecture ( Kindle version) New York, NY: Routledge.

Manning, E (2010) Always more than one: The collectivity of a life. Body & Society, 16(1)

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Kind, S & Kocher, LLM 2016, Encounters with materials in early childhood education, Routledge.

ISBN: 9781317588573

Paint (9 April 2023) In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint

Pelo, A 2017, ‘General guidelines for studio explorations’, The language of art: inquiry-based studio practices in early childhood settings, 2nd ed, Redleaf Press, St Paul, MN, pp. 17–44.

Pennstate Extension 2003 Explorations in light   https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/explorations-in-light

Rinaldi, C. 2005 The pedagogy of listening In dialogue with Reggio Emilia : Listening, researching and learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
I spent the whold day to make this  snowman. 

# data[].attributes.body
This snowman was made last year. I remembered that I spent the whole day making it. I found the right size of the old carton. I cut it and left three sides and a little hat on the top. Then I painted it in the right colours. The white snowflakes were cut from the white paper and stuck onto the cardboard.
As for me, I found this carton the right colour, the right size and the proper hardness. I cut it and painted it very carefully. I wanted to turn it into a snowman.
As for the carton, he accepted my idea and cooperated with me. Then after the whole day's work, it turned out to be a snowman, standing there powerfully and proudly.
I couldn't help thinking, as Hillevi Lenz Taguchi (2010_ describes, "the material world acts on our thinking as much as our thinking acts on the material world"(P.49)
The next day when I brought the Snowman to the centre and introduced it to the children, the children were so excited to play the snowman toss game. Children throw the bean bags towards the snowman, and some touch the snowman's face and shook his hands. Some children went to the back of the snowman and showed his face through the snowman's empty mouth. Children laughed. The Snowman was responding children, standing powerfully and proudly all the time.
At that moment, I was moved. We are moved by materials and are prompted by the materials' own characteristics and liveliness. It is never as simple as an idea directly imposed on the form. （Pacini-Ketchabaw & Kocher, 2016)

# data[].attributes.body
Paper is a very common material, with low value, like tissue, toilet paper, we are usign them very day. Paper also can be very superior material with high value like famouse painting. paper currency. Looking around us, paper is ubiquitous. Various industires need to us paper as their material. People's daily life is inseperable from paper. So what is paper, it is really hard to define. "a material is know not by what it is but by what it does" (Ingold, 2013, p.29)

# data[].attributes.body
Paper-making, one of the Four Great Inventions of China, was invented in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD) and improved in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 -220 AD). In particular, the paper-making technique improved by Cai Lun (also known as Cai Hou Paper) brought a revolution in writing. Cai Hou Paper was easy to carry, incorporated many different raw materials and promoted the cultural development of China and even the whole world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Origin Of Paper Making Technology In Ancient China

# data[].attributes.body
Time slips away from us
What is left is only memory
in those amazing stories
how much can we remember
The paper planed Dad ever made for me
must be some places in the dark corner.

# data[].attributes.body
1 pick some flowers with different colours from the garden;
2 cut them into small pieces;
3 add hot water and wait for some time;
4 the natural dyeing paint is ready.

When I work with children, I will make the introduction simple and direct and invite children to be initiative and creative. I would say: You are artists to create beautiful paint.
Through art exploration, we want our children to explore the sensuality and beauty of colour, texture, movement, lines and curves; we want children to acquire the dispositions of artists and scientists; we want children to become knowledgeable about a range of art media, developing skills that allow them to use the art medium with ease; we want children to be in dialogue with one anther, take new perspectives, and deepen their relationships with one another.

# data[].attributes.body
I can see that the dark colours sitting on the light colours are being together to see the world; the small rounds and squares are talking to each other and, from time to time, saying hello to the people passing by; the colourful arrows are pointing far away, or are they thinking the future days ahead? The neon lights pop up right away, showing they are full of energy and power…… I find that nothing is static, and everything is in motion. Things move, colours move, walls move, the air moves and everything moves with a different rhythm and intensity. （Pacini-Ketchabaw & Kocher, 2016)
It is about worlding a world and composing with it. It is becoming with "the force of life"(Manning, 2010. P.171) Paint assemblages are alive. They have a life of their own, which is more than the sum of their parts. They follow life.

# data[].attributes.body
These are the smart lights installed in our bedroom recently. Every time when the music sounded, the light begin their dancing with the rhythm of the music, we begin our dancing with the rhythm of the light.

# data[].attributes.body
Last Saturday, my husband tried to update the Meter Box. But unfortunately, he couldn't finish it before the night came. So that night, we had no light at home. We couldn't do anything. The mobile phone is almost out of power after the whole day's running. I sat in the garden for nearly two hours in the darkness. I realized how important light is for us.
We moved into this house recently, and I haven't had a chance to visit our garden. In the darkness, I listened to the sounds around me, and I could hear many different sounds coming from different directions, and I could feel the richness of the garden. In the darkness, I could listen to the birds talking to each other. What were they talking about? I could see the plants hugging each other. They must be exhausted after one day's growth. In the darkness, I feel the power of listening.
Listening should be open and sensitive. Listening is emotion, and listening requires deep awareness. Listening removes the individual from anonymity. Listening is the basis for learning relationships. Listening takes place within a "listening context."

# data[].attributes.body
Light is known to be one of the most intriguing elements of exploration and discovery with young children; a way to tap into emotion, beauty, vivid imagination, and concrete learning. Light sources can evoke feelings, and assist our work, living, and play.
Use the following ideas as springboards to introduce light exploration. Try using the materials and ideas you plan to offer before presenting them to the children. This can provide inspiration and ideas for you!

Offer a basket of flashlights to use in a dimly lit room.

Present large pieces of dark fabric to explore (over tables, windows, and light sources).

Trace shadows of children outside and watch changes over time.

Take pictures of shadows (especially the children’s!).

Display transparent jars with various materials, such as shells, nature items, colored water, and sequins.

Explore shiny, sparkly recycled materials.

Offer materials that are transparent: fabrics, papers, see-through containers.

Locate a slide projector or overhead projector to project light on the wall.

Look into purchasing or building a light table (can be found on-line, in child care catalogs, and art or photography sites).

# data[].attributes.body
Light is from the sun, and it gives us brightness and warmth;
Light is from the candle, and it brings us reunion and happiness;
Light is from the neon signs, and it makes us excited and agitated;
Light is from the bottom of our hearts, and it provides us with hope.

# data[].attributes.body
I am the walnut.
I am the peanuts.
I am the chestnut.
I am the water chestnut.
I am the water caltrop.
I am the pistachio.
We are all Ella's favorate nuts.
But we are not the real nuts.
We are all made of clay.

# data[].attributes.body
+ When wet, it is soft and plastic. It can be moulded into whatever you like and hold its shape when getting drier;
+ When dry, it can be so hard and strong. "Shale, formed largely from clay, is the most common sedimentary rock." (2023)
+ It's attachments. In the forest, clay transforms itself over and over as it comes into friction with things and with us. Clay never stays the same. It collects things. It morphs. Its attachments transform it and us. (Pacini-Ketchabaw  & Kocher 2016, P65）
+ It's independence. Clay is a very good construction material. It is one of the oldest building materials in history.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Clay Figure Zhang is a famous folk art inb Tianjin, China. It waas created by Zhang Mingshan during the Daoguan reign (1821-50) of the Qing dynasty. 

# data[].attributes.body
Clay Figure Zhang is made of ripe clay, a pure puddle with little sand through weathering, slurrying, filtrating, evaporating and adding cotton to rub up. After completely drying, the clay figure is put into the stove for firing. The temperature is up to 700 degrees Celsius or so. After coming out of the stove, the clay figure is polished and painted. It takes about 30 days or so to finish a piece of work. ((2022, 27 December)

# data[].attributes.body
Clay is soil, "It is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals. "(2023)

Clay is incredibly versatile. (Pacini-Ketchabaw  & Kocher 2016, P62）You can do whatever you like to clay.

Clay is moving. (Pacini-Ketchabaw  & Kocher 2016, P62-63）

Clay is powerful. Modelling clay is used in art and handicraft for sculpting. Clays are used for making utilitarian and decorative pottery and construction products, such as bricks, walls and floor tiles.

# data[].attributes.body
Ancient Paint:
The paint was one of the earliest arts of humanity. Some cave paintings may have been made by early Homo Sapiens as long as 40,000 years ago. South African archeologists reported it finds in Blombos Cave a 100,000-year-old human-made ochre-based mixture that could have been used like paint.

Modern Paint:
Smart Paint
Self-Cleaning Paint
Antimicrobial Coatings
Solar Paint

# data[].attributes.body
What is the form of the paint?
It can be in any form: liquid, liquefiable, solid;
What is the colour of the paint?
It can be any colour: red, blue, black, green, or transparent;
What is the use of paint?
It can be used in manufacturing products, decorating our homes, and painting for sure;
Where can we paint?
On the paper, on the wall, on the table, on the chair, on the glass, on the door, on our bodies, on everybody, everything.