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Kind, S 2014, ‘Material encounters’, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, vol. 5, no. 4:2, University of Victoria, pp. 865–877, viewed <https://go.openathens.net/redirector/vu.edu.au?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F1954614016%2FE6D8232A494B4C6BPQ%2F10%3Faccountid%3D14844>.

ISSN: 1920-7298

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

ISBN: 9781317588573

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

Light Play, education resource file:///Users/oliviahogan/Downloads/LightPlay-2017-Education-Resource.pdf

Exploring light and dark with early years file:///Users/oliviahogan/Downloads/Exploring%20Light%20&%20Dark.html

The Theory of Loose Parts written by Jennifer Kable and adapted by Juliet Robertson.http://hfweb.co.uk/cpnl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Loose_parts1.pdf

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Light can come in forms of natural or arfical and can be used in many forms when it comes to setting up experiences for children.

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Through exploring with light, I saw the element of shadows and how it can help as a teaching resource. Light can help build knowledge about patterns, shapes, and what translucent materials look like when light is introduced.

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-Define what light means to you?

Light to me means the ability to see regardless if its dark outside.

-Does it hold memories?

Memories I hold with light include playing the spotlight in the dark with my friends and family.

-What is your favourite type of light? Why?

My favourite type of light is natural light, as it creates the chance to explore elements in natural light.

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Light can be used in the classroom to help children develop their knowledge of shapes and shadows. A lightbox table can explore the translucent materials of seeing through the plastic shapes. LightBox invites a calming sensory exploration and engages children's attention for long periods; they are resources that can be changed based on interests to help children explore patterns, shapes, form, colour, opacity, and colour mixing. On sunny days children can explore shadows outside by bringing toy buildings and animals so children can explore their outlines.

https://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/exploring-light-and-dark-with-early-years/

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Light oh light you are so bright,
You are such a delight,
You are our flashlight in the dark,
And highlight what we see in through our eyesight.

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Kind, S 2014, ‘Material encounters’, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, vol. 5, no. 4:2, University of Victoria, pp. 865–877, 

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Clay can be muilpated many ways you can:
- pinch it -glazed
-roll it -washed
-shape it -soaked
-colour it -painted
-flattened -transformed
-engraved -fired

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I took the clay to my afterschool job to watch and see how the children viewed it and chose to multiple it.
The children first saw how white the clay was and connected it to snowman based on what they already know about white. They demanded different techniques to create what they imagined. One student suggested, "could we use makers to colour the clay?" this was their way of changing the colour to suit their vision of the material. The children were able to think creatively by using another material to enhance the clay. By bringing the clay to the children, I was using inspiration from "General guidelines for studio explorations" by creating opportunities for many different encounters as the children hadn't used this type of clay before nor having free range of what they make and what after materials they add to the experience.

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How does the Clay react when you pick it up?

The Clay stays still until it is physically moved. It stays in the shape it has been moulded into until changed.

What stories does it hold? Does it bring up any memories for you?

Clay brings up memories of art class for me, building clay bowls and craving clay tiles.

How does the material feel different to our past inquiries?

Clay, in my eyes is different from the other materials as I see it as being more of a natural material. Along with having a texture like no other, it can be wet, dry, squishy, and it can be moulded and redesigned easily.

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Clay can be used in many different ways in the classroom. The children can use it to create a structure that when can turn into a keepsake. It can be a way to teach children how numbers and letters are formed by creating them out of clay then getting children to trace over them, which can then be displayed in the classroom or learning environment.

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Kind, S 2014, ‘Material encounters’, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, vol. 5, no. 4:2, University of Victoria, pp. 865–877, 

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Paper holds many uses and performs many actions :
float, tear, rip, paste, roll, bend, fold, crimp, wrap, read, flip, scatter, launch, tape, crumple, sway etc.

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My inspiration for this stop motion was based off one of the local art pieces i focused on in assessment one. In practical the memorial piece dedicated to the crossing lady on the wooden bollards which show case her love for the ocean and the childrens interpolation of the ocean. The story behind my stop motion relates to helping friends in need and working together with others to overcome problems. Which i find relevent in todays world with covid and how its important to check in on your friends and family. I connected it to the bollard theme of the ocean as i used fish for the characters and an under the sea theme.

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Oh clay,
You lay still till moved,
You can be smoothed and even infused,
You can be molded into many,
And you can take your makers on a journey.

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Kind, S 2014, ‘Material encounters’, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, vol. 5, no. 4:2, University of Victoria, pp. 865–877, 

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Junk is materials that are no longer needed for their original purpose, which children can then move, carry, combine, redesign, and change multiple ways. Junk has no specific set of directions.

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Junk is defined as old or discarded articles that are considered useless or of little value. Junk is known as trash, something of little meaning, little worth, But just as the saying goes, "one mans trash is others treasure". Junk can be anything no longer needed, such as old boxes, newspapers, buttons, etc. But when brought into the classroom, it opens up children's creativity and what they can build-out of the "junk".
- out of the old boxes: cars, ships, houses
- buttons: faces on their art, used in playdough, to develop treading skills

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Adventure playgrounds allow for risky play when children experiment and push themselves to figure out what will happen without knowing the exact outcome. This environment provides children with opportunities to explore and test their capacity, access risks and manage situations.
Examples of the play held in this type of space include:
tree climbing, swinging, sliding, rolling, tug of war, balancing on high objects etc.

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Having children exposed to loose parts that can be natural or synthetic with no set directions or rules awaken children's creativity and imagination more than playing with fixed toys, and the opportunities are endless. Loose parts can be a way for children to express themselves in their feelings and thoughts through their creations.

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Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Kind, S & Kocher, LLM 2016, Encounters with materials in early childhood education, Routledge.ISBN: 9781317588573

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Through exploring paper, children build a connection with it and how to use it in many forms and ways. We connect to paper when we; paste it, wrap with, draw on, read it, write on it, crinkle it, paint it etc.

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Paper was first invented around 100bc in china by Chinese emperor ts'ai lun. It was first made using mixed mulberry bark, hemp and rags with water, mashed into a pulp, pressed out flat in the sun to dry. Creating your paper to use in the classroom can be a suitable activity to complete with children in the classroom. To make your own paper, you only require scrap paper socked and blended into a pulp followed by being flatten on a screen left to mostly dry in the sun followed by the oven. Children would be able to customize their paper by adding food colouring etc.

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Oh paper, Paper where do i begin,
Your skin is so thin,
You can be a print,
You can be flipped along with clipped,
You can be used as a script,
Sometimes you get ripped,
And even squished,
You get dripped in paint,
And through all that you can never be replaced.

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-How do you marry the idea of the 'beautiful' with loose parts and junk?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
When children see loose parts and junk, they see them as endless possibilities for their creations.

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Junk, Junk, Junk you always have people in a funk,
We only ever think of you once,
And never in the form of art,
But if we use you in our art, we can give junk a fresh start.

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As I was exploring with light and watching the shadows of objects as the sun hit them, I was able to think how exciting and new shadows would seem to a child. It can also benefit their learning in understanding shapes, outlines of objects and engaging them in learning. Looking back on the light, I thought about how it's used at the childhood I worked at and realized that each room has a lightbox to engage the children in a topic along with just the after day a room doing an art activity using the shadows they saw and paint to trace around them.

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Seeing clay used first hand by children has opened my eyes to how they view it differently from adults, how they use their creativity and knowledge of other materials to enhance clay and make it their own. Clay can also be used for art and help children understand letters, numbers, shapes, and sizes.

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This week's content on paper has opened my eyes to the endless opportunities that can arise from the paper, along with how it can be used as a learning tool and mean more than just for drawing on a page.

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This week's content on Junk and my placement held at mini Maddern has opened my eyes to the endless ways to use Junk in the classroom and play. Junk can help children explore their creativity as they have no set direction or outcome.