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Paper
paper makes money
paper explores your mind
paper enables creativity
paper can fly high in the sky so bright in the sky
fly high in the sky just like a plane in the sky
paper plane so bright

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Used different types of paper to create a collage 

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Used different types of paper to create a collage 

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Played with paper to create a dress for a doll 

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Played with paper to create a dress for a doll 

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Used Different types of mediums on paper: Collage paper, Textures, Glitter, Coloured paper, Paint.

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Used Different types of mediums on paper: Collage paper, Textures, Glitter, Coloured paper, Paint.

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My Father and I. This was the age we would create paper planes <3

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Paper is a nostalgic memory of my childhood. I remember when I would create paper planes with my father and siblings and had races of whose plane would fly the furthest. Paper allowed me to create and express myself when I was happy or sad. It has been a foundation in my adult life as it has prepared me for my learning journey, as I learn best by writing on paper and then using digital devices.

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I have been enthusiastic about my 'encounter with paper' as it's a material that is essential in today's society. According to Pacini-Ketchabaw et al (2016, p. 33), "we must learn how paper moves to describe what happens to it as it shifts, mixes, modifies, and mutates." I noticed the movements of the paper while cutting and folding it. I could see the fragility of paper if manipulated roughly. Paper is a material with its movements and possibilities (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016) I experimented with various mediums such as glitter, coloured textures, paint and coloured paper. According to  Pacini-Ketchabaw et al (2016, p. 35), “Paper is incredibly versatile”. Therefore,  I cut the paper to create different shapes and sizes to create a paper plane, a dress for a doll and coloured paper to create a collage. Cutting a strand of paper and folding it repetitively, allowed me to create a flower. I felt proud of myself for achieving that on my own. As a future educator, I would use paper in various ways, as paper opens our imagination (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016). Children would have loose sheets of paper on a table with textures or paint, giving them complete freedom to create whatever picture they can imagine. I would incorporate paper crafting to allow children to draw, tear, glue, and paint. John Wolseley , used nature to create his artwork to show us how nature functions and moves (John Paul Tansey, 2011). I would incorporate a nature collage where students walk in the garden or nature, collecting items that can be added to their college. Paper opens our imagination (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016). I had so much fun experimenting with paper. I can't imagine what children will create.

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In ECE, children need paper as it's a vital deep material inquiry. Paper can be manipulated in various ways; enabling children to express their creativity freely. Paper allows children's creativity to shine as the possibilities of engagement are endless. We can fold it, cut it, glue it, wrap it with it, read it, write on it, draw on it, paint it, colour it, wear it, and make artwork and cards; the possibilities are limitless! You can do anything and everything with paper. Paper is magical as it allows us to express what we see or feel onto paper. Paper enables us to deliver a message from our hearts. "Children can use materials to express themselves through the movement that can be felt and observed" (John Paul Tansey, 2011, 5:45).  Paper significantly helps improve children's fine motor skills as they strengthen and develop their problem-solving skills. Children can express themselves way better on paper than by using digital content. Children within ECE are learning how to process meaningful information; therefore, paper is a surface that we use to hold messages, lists, marks, meanings, drawings, paintings, stories and news (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016). Paper allows children to organise and record their thoughts, knowledge and creativity. Paper is essential for students to develop their arguments and present their findings.

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Junk

boxes, cartons, leaves, glass, paper, sticks
we can be reused, we don't go in the bin
we deserve a second chance
to fill your imagination with love
to make your creativity shine as bright as the sun

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A doll made out of - Plastic Water bottle with plastic lids and Pipecleaners  

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A doll made out of - Plastic Water bottle with plastic lids and Pipecleaners  

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Photo frame made out of Popsicle sticks - My Niece and I <3

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Photo frame made out of Popsicle sticks - My Niece and I <3

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Popsicle sticks and clay to create a house 

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Popsicle sticks and clay to create a house 

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(Wilson, 2010) "The richest space to be in as a child or an adult is the space you can move around and manipulate in a flexible environment" - Simon Nicolson 1970 (pg.4)

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ECE facilities should create a playground from loose parts so children can explore, manipulate, and be involved.

Children can use loose parts to construct their toys and games, amplifying their imagination and creativity.

Loose parts allow social developmental skills through imaginary play. Children will creatively express their artistic appreciation and value for the land and its entities by engaging with materials that can be manipulated touched and explored with their senses.

The use of junk allows artistic exploration, furthering children’s ability to become curious and involved learners (Acecqa, 2008).

In an ECE facility children, can use junk donated by parents or educators such as, cereal boxes, small pillboxes, rolls from paper towels and toilet paper, coloured paper, bottle tops, corks, egg boxes, paper cups, leaves, old pots and wool.

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My encounter with Junk allowed me to manipulate and use materials that were no longer useful. Junk is giving life to an object or item with no significance. Loose items used in ECE had a first life and second life. For example, milk cartons are used to hold milk and reused to put paint or to create cars. Gandini, et al. (2015) According to Reggio Emilia's approach, "children collect and explore interesting found objects with their classes" (p.64). I used a plastic bottle, water bottle lids, and old pipes to create a doll. I tried using glue to stick the eyes (lids) onto the bottle, so I opted for blue tack. I tried creating a car made of milk cartons but the glue wouldn't stick with the plastic lids (wheels). I used my imagination to see what I could create with these objects. I found old thread and a sheet, creating a butterfly made of coloured thread. I found popsicle sticks and coloured some with paint. I created a house with popsicle sticks and clay to help hold up them. I also used popsicle sticks to create a photo frame. I remember doing this in primary school, making it easy to assemble. It was interesting to see how the movement of junk is present in our everyday life. We can manipulate junk to move the way we want it to. We can bend, squash, scrunch, rip, colour and cut it. We can divert our imagination and creativity by implementing the movement of ideas into any object that can be reused to create something magical. The manipulation of the plastic bottle doll was easy. I wrapped the pipe cleaners around the bottle to add an illusion of clothes. The movement of the stitching was one I enjoyed the most; each time I added a stitch, the form of the butterfly would be more evident. Junk can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, taken apart and put back together in multiple ways (Gandini, et al. 2015).

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The term junk has changed over time. The original term Junk referred to ships built in China to support trade and commerce across the ocean. Junk in the 21st century has changed meanings as the word can refer to multiple other things; for example, junk food, junk is an old object that is useless, and junk could be a man's or woman's bottom.

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1. Junk allows; children to creatively express their artistic appreciation.

2. Enable children to utilize their body language and creative expression to interact and play with their peers and educators by supporting peer interaction and cognitive development.

3. Brings out artistic exploration, furthering children’s ability to become curious and involved learners.

4. Children are enhancing their cognitive development as they can reach the best of their ability and explore their imagination within the loose part.

5. Junk is an old item that can be still reused for another purpose.

6. In Ece we use 'junk' that can have another life eg: Milk cartoons, Egg cartons (check for childrens allergies), magaizines and paper.

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The concept I have portrayed throughout my reflections is movement of materials. The units I have explored with movement are Paper, Junk, Clay and Light. 'Movement' was the concept that caught my eye; it's been intriguing to see how each object has its own 'Rhythm' of movement and how each material can be manipulated and moved to create wonderful things to enhance children's learning and creativity (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016).

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Bubbles

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bubble with vanity lights (artificial lights )

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bubble with vanity lights (artificial lights )

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artificial lights

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Up close rainbow bubble next to the crystal clear bubbles 

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Up close rainbow bubble next to the crystal clear bubbles 

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My exploration of light was enjoyable! I could see the bubbles I blew into the direct sunlight would all have different colours. Some even had a rainbow effect. It was an eye-opening experience to see how the wind would divert the bubbles in a direction; on the left, I could see the bubbles clear as crystal and on the right, a rainbow effect. The movement I installed was like a beautiful put-together melody. By observing the bubbles in the photos, you can depict the beautiful colours of the rainbow. I played around with shadows. Initially, I tried using a flashlight to explore. Unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied with the outcome; therefore, I used my dad's iPhone for light to create shadows in my room, with my nephew's and nieces' toys to explore. I used dolls and stuffed toys, which enabled me to think of creating a shadow show with dolls or puppets for children; I also used a dinosaur plush. The more I moved the dinosaur closer to the light, the more scary and larger the dinosaur appeared. I used a bus and a kitty cat to further my exploration. I also created shadows with my hand. I was curious to see how a bubble would look in artificial lighting and under the flashlight. Will it have the same effect natural lighting had on the bubble? I used my vanity lights to explore; I could see the bubble reflecting a mix of colours, purple, pink, yellow and green. The bubble on the flashlight looked like a tiny ball. Overall, I wish I had more time to explore with light! I really wanted to try the technique with my cellphone. I wasn't able to as I've been sick for a week now. hopefully, I can use this material in my future ECE facilities.

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1. Transparent: Clear light. Travels through an object. eg Clear glass in window.

2. Translucent:  Allows a lot of light to pass through. Can see objects through a light shadow but not all the details. Eg Thin curtains.

3. Opaque:  An object that stops light coming through. An object would create a shadow. eg Metal, door, wood, trees and a human.

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The properties of light are reflection and refraction:

Reflection: A light ray hits a surface and bounces off.
Our reflection in the mirror.

Refraction: The bending of light as it passes from one transparent substance into another. Example: Straw in a glass of water and eyeglasses

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With light comes shadow:

Shadows are formed with the help of light. A light is blocking an item, therefore creating a shadow (opaque light). There are different types of shadows Long and short.

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The sun is the source of natural light. Natural light comes from the sun, moon and stars, fire and fireflies. Electricity is produced by light that radiates from the sun. There are artificial lights such as glow-in-the-dark, LED, black and white, fireworks, radium (xrays) and candles.

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Acecqa. (2008). Beloging, being, becoming. The early learning framework for Australia. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020- 05/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Gandini., L., Hill, L., T., Cadwell.(2015). In the Spirit of the Studio : Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia.Teachers College Press.

John Paul Tansey. (2011, October 3).Documentary:

John Wolseley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZmMesG74cU

Orozco. G., (2003). Thinking with Clay. Art in the Twenty-First Century" Season 2 episode, "Loss & Desire. https://art21.org/read/gabriel-orozco-thinking-with-clay/

Pacini-Ketchabaw.V., Kind. S., Kocher. L. L. M. (2017). Encounters with Materials in Early Childhood Education, Taylor & Francis Group.

Pelo, A. (2016). The Language of Art : Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings. Redleaf Press

Wilson, P.(2013). Playwork indroduction. Kaboom!

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Clay is discovered 14,000 BC in the Late Palaeolithic period in central Honshu, Japan. Clay is a natural medium as it comes from the earth. Clay is made of minerals from rocks when in contact with water, air, or steam. Clay is used to create dishware, cooking pots, musical instruments, decorations, bricks, floor tiles, pots, sculptures, arts and crafts and building houses.

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There are five types of clay which are earthenware clays, stoneware clays, ball clays, fire clays and porcelain clays. Modeling clays like Plasticine, Sculpey, and Crayola Model Magic modeling compound (Pelo, 2016).

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'My encounter with Clay' has been my favourite one. As soon as I sunk my hand inside the clay, a vivid flash of memories from my childhood emerged. The cold but moisturizing feeling was memorable. We enjoy clay with our hands and feel it on our skin (Pelo, 2016). I pressed my hands onto the cold clay. I started to warm the clay up, giving me endless possibilities for what I could create. The more I submerged my hands in the clay, I remembered what Pacini-Ketchabaw et al (2016 p. 64) stated: "Clay is incredibly versatile"; the sky is your limit with clay. The more I used my hands to manipulate the clay, the motion of ripping, rolling, cutting, pinching the clay between the thumb and pointer finger, pinching small pieces from large blocks of clay, poking, and using plastic tools to cut shapes of the clay; the motion of movement was evident. Clay allows us to indulge in a creative experience. I started to roll over a piece of clay with a roller; the more I rolled it, the thinner it got, which allowed me to manipulate it to create shapes. This is the 'movement' I experienced within my manipulation of clay.  I used clay for my stop-motion video. The process was super fun. I used shape cutouts and a crafting knife to create flowers, butterflies, letters, clouds and grass. I used pink, purple, white and red clay to replicate the clouds, petals of a flower and a butterfly. I used play-dough for the rest of the elements, such as grass, the stem of a flower, a bee and the sun. Clay allowed me to represent the movement that makes the shape (Orozco, 2003). I used clay stamps in my exploration; it was beautiful, the patterns pressed against the clay from the clay stamp. I also created pots out of clay and a sombrero out of play dough. The pots and sombrero are special to me. When I was little, my dad and I would create them. I created a  rose with clay. Movement of repetition was needed to emulate a rose. I had to fold, press and wrap to have desired outcome. I created a bunny from clay, I had to roll pieces of clay to form its head, body, legs, arms and ears. I used textures to create its features. Overall my experience with clay was the best.

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Early childhood educators could use light within their curriculum as the Reggio Amelia approach has allowed educators to explore different techniques to teach light that is not science-based Gandini, et al (2015). Children explore the wondrous world of illumination as they manipulate the light Gandini, et al (2015). Children can use their imagination and enhance their creative expression whilst manipulating shadows and light to create stories and images. Playing with light and shadow allows children to explore while enhancing their gross motor skills as they learn about size, transparency, interplay and shapes. Children can use available equipment, such as flashlights, a projector, water tanks with Perspex or a mirror to create shadow puppets, images and stories, cellophane paper to manipulate the colour of natural light, children’s bodies to make shadows and glow-in-the-dark markers and torches to create drawings; mirrors will allow children to move objects in front of the mirror, therefore, increasing their spatial awareness. The possibilities are endless with light. Light in ECE offers an opportunity for magical experiences to be enjoyed by children.

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When I was young, I clearly remember using the shadows of a lamp and the lights turned off to create shadow puppets. My father would create stories of birds, bunnies and butterflies. It was so magical to witness as I would use my imagination that we would be in the forest.

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Clay allows children to enhance their fine and gross motor skills and development, problem-solving and mathematical skills, strengthens small muscles of the hands and builds arch development on the hands, increasing endurance. Children use clay for self-expression as they can create anything from their imagination and feelings. In ECE settings clay is used as a learning material that is a trial-and-error style learning, supporting problem-solving skills (Pelo, 2016). It is essential to incorporate clay into children's curriculum to enrich their creative experiences with clay. We can do this by showing children many forms of manipulation. Children can create animals and plastic utensils to create shapes, food, sculptures and pots. Children can think, feel, notice and question (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al, 2016). Clay allows children to use the knowledge they have gained through their explorations to shape the clay into sculptural forms whilst sharing there ideas with others, improving social skills. Children begin to use the clay to articulate their ideas, experiences, and observations (Pelo, 2016). Children can create anything they desire. Clay is a sensory exploration, where children dissolve the clay into gooey, grainy mud and create drawings. The utilization of clay gives children another language for expressing their thoughts, ideas and emerging working theories about their world (Pelo, 2016).

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Clay is my whole childhood!!!! I would beg my mother for clay every shopping trip, to the point she would have to make it for me. I still remember my mother making it from scratch. I would love to create 'food' like hamburgers, and Mexican food such as tacos; for my parents and siblings. It was entertaining and memorable to reconnect with Clay. My mother is the reason why I love clay, she use to play with me for hours and hours. She would tell me how in her childhood she used clay as a form of artistic expression. She created pots and vases. I want her to teach me how to emulate these together; so we can share more memories together.

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Bunny made out of White clay with texture to add features 

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Bunny made out of White clay with texture to add features 