This is the artefact from my assessment 1 when I did my experimentation and exploration, as I was curious to know that what would happen if I added some food colours into liquid clay, according to Erin Manning (2007) reading that helped me to understand that something, “which cannot-yet-known”. As soon as we understand that we refocused on the creative activities to know more about that we don’t know: How do they affect and infect one another? How do these alliances make possible? (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016) As a I became familiar with paint, food colours and clay, I understood about how children intensely affected by it, “Paint capabilities compelled children and educators, to try to extend and expand paint assemblages with varying degrees of success, and it penetrates even deeper, and blending and bleeding carry on”. (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016, p.57) As a result, Paint assemblages are alive, agitated, stirred in their relations and it refers to these relations as an ethics of life and a minimal pedagogy. We should always open to create something new and sustain the relations and ecologies of emerging assemblages. (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016, p.57).

·         Providing children material and observe them what they can explore on their own

·         Sensory experience and teach them through natural environment as learning is everywhere not only in the books that I have learned from this course. How can we teach children science, technology, math and science from our surroundings?

·         As when children see new things and love to touch, feel and experiment, start exploring       things, narrate stories.

Painting is a universal material and paint assembled living and no-living bodies to interact and interfere with one another (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016, p.53). According to Bennett (2010) assemblage is art that is made by assembling different elements often everyday objects. Assemblage is like a team, where one element is incomplete without the touch of another one. So, by following my inquiry into natural material I added organic food colours into white clay I made some artefacts. As long as I thought that what other things that I can explore through clay and paint. When I started to give it different shapes the first thing that I make circle. Then, the idea came up in my mind, as a teacher we can teach children not only about different shapes that use but it cannot only develop mathematic skills, but they can also enhance more knowledge of environment through clay where it does come from? And so on… Furthermore, clay can become something to think rather than a tool to enhance sensory skills.

·         Following my inquiry into natural object and sensory skills, I would love to provide material to children, so I can observe them what new ideas.

·         When children touch clay, pinch it, press it, shape it, throw it, scrape it, form it, they can bring unimaginable ideas for teachers, which helpful to extend their learning in their own environment.

·          Children can learn about the different types of math vocabulary such as circle, semicircle, triangle, rectangle, square through authentic materials.

·         Asking then opened- question children can express their favourite shape, where they can find all the shape in daily life.

·         Which shape is the favourite shape? most of the children like to tell semicircle and then connect to it rainbow shape and then favourite colours. So, I added some colours in my artefact children can paint them according to their choice express their feelings.

·         children can develop not new vocabulary of math, but children also as per (EYLF LO 5) begin to sort, categories, order and compare collection and events and attributes of objects and materials in their social and natural world. And children broaden their understanding of the world in which they live.

This clay handmade candle that I have made first in my life. I knew that I am creative person I can make it at home whenever I need them, before that I used to buy it. However, now I am not going to purchase it, as I explored, I make with my hands. While making that I I experienced that why children feel delighted to explore new things. It was a lot for me to extend my interest to do these activities. As I mentioned in first artefact discussion, as soon as we understand that we refocused on the creative activities to know more about that we don’t know (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016), takes us beyond our imaginations.

·       children are confident and involved learners. So, children are curious and enthusiastic and participants in their learning. And they are effective communicators. So, when we give them cultural cues, they can easily understand what is said to them. (EYLF LO 5)

To conclude, my goal to explain to children about different culture to broaden their knowledge, providing them sensory skills. And Children can learn to share their culture in front of their peers and adults. 

“Charcoal is not only for drawing; charcoal is a thing: a stick of compresses burned wood. But it is also a continuum, a story, an event, a happening, a doing. We are interested in charcoal ness, the expression and experience of charcoal in the encounter: always becoming charcoal”. (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016, p.40) so, to follow my inquiry into I wanted to seek more natural material to prepare next artefact. I went out and took some wooden sticks and burned them at home to make my coal and charcoal. (Video and collage attached) to demonstrate the process to investigating, crushing, gathering, sifting, and dispersing charcoal fragments).

·         To demonstrate children the process of charcoal, where from it comes, connection between trees and charcoal.

·         Uses of purposes in our daily life.

·         Sensory experiences for children, when they grind it, crush, blaze, howl, unearth, dig, discover, draw in, hammer, thumb, grate chop, dust, brush and stroke charcoal. They can learn more connections between clay, charcoal, tree and their surroundings. According to (EYLF learning outcome 2) children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment. So, children can develop an awareness of the impact of human activity on environments and interdependence of living things through these artefacts.

As I have been following my inquiry into using natural material in everyday life. Moreover, my final artefact is how do I use loose parts to making interesting things. This is whatever I learn from this subject, thinking with material as a child, how be create more interesting things from loose parts without spending a huge amount of money. So, we should teach children that we should not buy expensive toys all the time to stay happy. However, we can provide free material from our surroundings to make them more creative and intelligent. 

This is the wire tree that I made from loose parts that I got from my garage. I got black sponge, wire and colourful beads. First, I make hole in square black sponge to attach red wire and rainbow wire at the bottom, then I added beads to use them as lights of tress.

As we encounter with material and experimentations. These” experimentation helps us to open up worlds and creates new venues for thinking and doing (Stengers, 2005), which tells what living and nonliving things can do and produce whey the work together (Pacini-Ketehabw, 2016, p.6)

Children can learn about electricity as I have been following the concept of light in previous artefact. They can learn about natural light and manmade light. As a teacher I can provide them loose parts, let them do whatever they want do or create, As I have learnt from community placements. Children need some free time to use free time develop cognitive skills, physical skill, social and emotional skills.

 

To sum up, my inquiry into using natural material in daily life, how we can provide children more and more material so they can learn more without spending too much money on expensive toys. How children can connect with environment, society, cultural and heritage. Because learning exists everywhere in our life.

Reference list: 

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

EYLF learning Outcomes.