Creative Activities For The Early Years

Creative
activities
for the
early years
Skinner
Stella
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C R E AT I V E A C T I V I T I E S F O R T H E E A R LY Y E A R S
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C R E AT I V E A C T I V I T I E S F O R T H E E A R LY Y E A R S
Stella M. Skinner
Paul Chapman
Publishing
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© Stella M. Skinner 2007
First published 2007
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C ONTENTS
Author’s acknowledgement vii

The CreatAbility project ix
How to use this book 1
1 An approach to creative learning in the early years 5
2 Starting from the visual arts 20
3 Starting from music 45
4 Starting from movement and dance 69
Appendix: Integrated arts planning format 93
Resources 98
Visual arts 98
Music 100
Movement and dance 101
Index 105
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A UTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like to extend her gratitude to her family for their patience and IT support,
to her colleagues for their interest and enthusiasm and to her chauffeur for an impeccable
service.
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T H E C R E ATA B I L I T Y P R O J E C T
In the spring of 2005 two visual artists developed a programme of weekly sessions
for five nursery settings in West Sussex. These sessions formed the basis of the
pilot project and consisted of introducing children and practitioners to a wide
variety of visual arts processes and materials. The intention was to raise the pro-
file of creativity in the early years by offering the opportunity for practitioners to
work alongside practising artists and by involving the families as much as possi-
ble. In this way, working from a largely child-led activity, the adults were encour-
aged to observe and reflect on the child’s developing skills and the children were
encouraged to discover how the tools and materials worked.
Following the success of the pilot project it was decided that a wider range of
artists would work together offering opportunities to develop and integrate the
visual arts, music and dance. The approach of the CreatAbility project to working
with Early Years can be summarised as follows:
To encourage children to lead their own exploration of the materials or

processes.
To encourage children to work collaboratively.
To stimulate creative thinking skills and problem solving solutions.
To focus on process rather than product.
To use skills, materials and processes that are easily transferable to staff
and parents.
To demonstrate ways of recording the children’s experiences.
To use materials that are easily available.
To consider the environments and routines when planning the
workshops.
Ten settings in West Sussex were selected to take part in the next phase of the proj-
ect. In March 2006 four lead artists and three local artists visited the settings to
meet the practitioners, to see what spaces were available to use and to ensure that
staff understood the ethos of the workshops that were going to take place. The
artists decided to use the theme of journeys as a starting point to describe the
experiential journey the children would take, moving from one art form to
another in a variety of spaces.
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CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS
The project took place over 8 weeks in the summer of 2006 and the evaluations
were very positive, with many practitioners recognising that they needed to allow
far more time for children to experiment with materials. They were also
impressed with the way the children developed in confidence and asked more
probing questions about the process that was being explored. The project gave
practitioners the opportunity to observe the children working with other adults
and to consider their own practice and training needs.
Acknowledgements
The whole team would like to thank the children and staff at the following set-
tings for their enthusiasm and commitment:
Bognor Regis Nursery School

Glade Nursery, Bognor Regis
Kingston Bucci First School, Shoreham-by-Sea
Little Owls Nursery, Hawthorns First School, Durrington
Magic Minders Worthing Childminders Association, Worthing
Manor Green Primary School, Crawley
Play Centre Nursery, Wickbourne Centre, Littlehampton
Stepping Stones Neighbourhood Nursery, Bognor Regis
Westerfields Day Nursery, Worthing
Woodstock Day Nursery, Worthing
Also:
The CreatAbility Project was devised and managed by West Sussex County
Council’s Arts Service and was generously supported by Arts Council England
South East and West Sussex County Council. Thanks also to the members of staff
in the Early Childhood Service, Children and Young People’s Services, Bognor
Regis Nursery School and Family Learning, whose advice and support has been
invaluable.
The CreatAbility team consisted of:
Visual artists
Claire Simpson Claire studied on a Foundation Course at Lincoln Art College
and then took a degree in Fine Art at Bretton Hall, Leeds University. She currently
works as an artist, project facilitator and trainer, working with people of all ages
through her collaboration with organisations and community groups.
www.axisweb.org
Teresa Grimaldi Teresa trained in theatre design and puppetry at Central School of
Speech and Drama and has recently completed an MA in Visual performance at
Dartington College of Arts. She is a practising visual artist developing installation and
puppetry ideas that are enriched by her work with early years children.
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THE CREATABILITY PROJECT
Jane Chalk Jane studied at the University of Plymouth gaining a BA Hons in 3D

Design. She creates costumes and stage props for theatre, film and carnival and is
also a Level Three qualified playworker working with children in many different
environments, exploring materials and found objects to create wonderful and
imaginative costumes, puppets and masks.
Musicians
Sharon Quinn Sharon grew up in West Africa, developing a love of African
music. She combined studying early vocal music at Kingston University, Surrey,
gaining a BEd Hons, with performing electronic music. She has worked in Britain,
Western and Eastern Europe, teaching, singing and collaborating with other
artists and children.
Louise Bradbury Louise studied at the Royal Academy of Music and teaches
recorder at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Junior School. She works
as a freelance musician and has established the pre-school music programme,
little notes for little folks, currently serving over 200 families in Horsham, West
Sussex. www.littlenotesforlittlefolks.co.uk
Dance artists
Amanda Drago Amanda trained at the Laban Centre, London and the
Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds. She performed in dance and
theatre companies for many years and in 2004 started her own dance company,
called Falling Cat. Her first work, ‘Closer’, is a sensory movement installation for
children with autistic spectrum disorders.
Natasha McKenzie Natasha began her career as a nursery assistant and then
took a degree in Dance and Women’s Studies at Roehampton University. She has
worked with experimental and professional dance companies and has been a
‘stand in’ in films and pop videos. She runs youth dance workshops in Sussex and
London.
Photographer
Matthew Andrews Matthew trained at St. Martins School of Art in London and
has worked as a photographer for 14 years specialising in arts and education.
Recent assignments include the Sultan’s Elephant and Urban Cultural pro-
gramme for Arts Council England and the Brighton Festival, which he photo-
graphs each year in May. www.matthewandrews.co.uk
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H OW TO USE THIS BOOK
The book has been written to support and develop the ethos of the CreatAbility pro-
ject and to demonstrate to practitioners ways in which they could apply ideas and
activities to their own settings, with the emphasis being on the concept of offering a
creative learning experience rather than a ‘doing activity’. The book also demonstrates
ways in which the creative arts can be integrated, as this is something that young chil-
dren do naturally. The creative activities described include the visual arts, music and
movement and dance, and are illustrated and supported by photographs.
Chapter 1 describes the importance of the creative arts and suggests ways in
which practitioners might consider their own setting with a view to developing
this area of learning.
Chapters 2 to 4, Starting from Visual Art, Starting from Music and, Starting
from Movement and Dance, describe the importance of each of the creative art
forms, including ideas that might support a less confident practitioner. The chap-
ters are then divided into two sections, each giving three examples of how one
creative arts activity can lead into other creative art forms taking ideas from the
children and practitioners. The examples given combine stage-by-stage instruc-
tions of the exploration process alongside descriptions of what happened when
we explored the activity with children during the project.
Practitioners may like to follow the illustrated theme but are also encouraged
to use the ideas described and personalise them to suit the needs of the children
in their setting. It is most likely that even when using the given structure to the
session, different children will take the exploration in another direction. The sug-
gested activities may be used singly or as part of a set, and when considering the
suitability of an activity for an individual setting, practitioners are advised to con-
sider the following points:
The size of the group they are going to work with and whether extra adults
will be needed to support the children.
The age range within the group.
Available space and how long it will stay available.
Will the activity need adapting for any children with specific learning
needs?
The illustrated activity does not all have to take place in one session – it may
suit the needs of a setting better to split it up over several days and examples
have been divided into stages to assist the practitioner if this is the case.
1
The example of each activity is described in terms of a standard planning

format, described below, in which are inserted descriptions of what might be
included under each heading. A photocopiable example of the blank format is
included here and can also be downloaded from the companion website. The
examples of creative arts activities in the following chapters illustrate the process
that was explored during the project; therefore the detail on why the activity was
chosen and the opportunities for differentiation are specific to particular groups
and will obviously vary according to individual settings.
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Possible learning outcomes: Questions to ask:
Theme: The children might:
This could be a general theme that the

setting is investigating for a period of
time or an abstract idea to develop, for
example ‘journeys’.
Creative arts activity:

A brief description of the process that is Health and safety Opportunities for
Theme:
considerations: differentiation:
going to be explored.
Why?
The activity may be a result of the chil- Why:
dren’s interest, an observation of a child

at play, or the decision that certain skills
are not being fully explored. It really Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
makes a difference to the quality of the

activity if all practitioners understand
exactly why this activity is being made
available to the children.
Suggested resources:
The resources available for the children to use are described, with alternatives if appropriate.
Practitioners should be aware that children may also suggest or find their own resources.
Suggested questions to ask:

These are some ideas to get the children thinking and responding, which will enable the
children to take the activity forward.
Possible learning outcomes:

These will be linked to the ‘development matters’ stages of the creative area of learning leading
towards the early learning goal for the creative area of learning. The term ‘possible’ is used
because the children may develop the activity in ways the practitioner had not considered.
2

The children might:
Health and safety Opportunities for

considerations: Theme: differentiation:
Why:
Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
P
3
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Opportunities for differentiation:
These will indicate an understanding of the different learning styles within the group and ways
in which the activity may need to be adapted.
Relevant curriculum links:

Creative arts activities can link to all the other areas of learning and resources should be available to
support these connections. The children, during the exploration process, may also make some unex-
pected links. The described activities mainly include a reference to MD (Mathematical
Development, which will be called Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy), CLL
(Communication, Language and Literacy) and KUW (Knowledge and Understanding of the World).
Health and safety considerations:

Any potential risks attached to the activity are identified.
Each activity is further described under the following three headings:

Exploration process This describes the stages that the exploration process
could be expected to take. Practitioners are reminded that their children may well
discover a different direction to go in and that is all part of the creative experience.
The examples in the book describe the journey we took with the children in our
sessions. In some cases we have included comments from children as an indica-
tion of their involvement.
Assessment opportunities Ways in which the children’s involvement and
progress could be recorded.
Ways forward This forms an evaluation of the activity, which, based on the
children’s response may clearly indicate a way forward that the practitioner can
plan for.
It is not intended that practitioners should feel they have to use this planning
format for every creative activity as that would be completely impractical.
However, if a setting is interested in developing its approach to the creative arts it
would be a worthwhile exercise to do at regular intervals, thereby ensuring that
practitioners are confident about the reason for and the quality of the creative
experiences the children are being offered.
Also included as an Appendix is a format for recording the way in which the
creative arts projects within a setting are linking together. An example format is
included for each of the 18 sets of activities in Chapters 2–4, as well as a blank
photocopiable version. Practitioners may also download the format from the
companion website.
The book concludes with a list of Resources, including details of materials, sup-
pliers and some further reading suggestions from the artists.
4
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C HAPTER 1
An approach to creative
learning in the early years
This chapter will give you ideas to consider concerning:

• The importance of developing creative activities in the early years.
• Developing an ethos and structure to support creative activities.
• Further reading.
Creativity is about representing one’s own image, not reproducing someone else’s.
(B. Duffy, Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years, p.10)
Figure 1.1 This little boy explored a whole range of creative activities via his senses, culminating
in the observation of the shadow of his hand in the water tray
5
The importance of developing creative skills
We have the evidence in archaeological remains and historical artefacts that

humans have always commented on the world they live in, using available mate-
rials as well as their voices and bodies to record stories, songs and dance. The
need to describe and share experiences seems to be very important to us. Studies
of child development have revealed that children must have the opportunity to
produce representations that reflect their own experiences, thoughts and feelings.
Offering young children the opportunity to explore a rich range of creative expe-
riences will help to develop a child who is able to:
Make connections with others by ‘speaking’ feelings in verbal/non-verbal

ways.
Express thoughts and possibilities on a given subject.
Challenge ideas and problem solve in a variety of situations.
Develop a personal definition of aesthetic beauty.
Consider cultural issues.
Demonstrate good self-esteem.
Extend physical skills.
These are life skills that will enable young children not only to access all areas of
learning but to develop their full potential as human beings.
How does creative development feature in the

Early Years curriculum?
At the time of writing, the curriculum guidance for Early Years is undergoing a revi-
sion with the intention to bring together, in 2008, the Birth to Three Matters frame-
work with the QCA Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage to create an Early
Years Foundation Stage framework for services to children from birth to five.
The Early Years Foundation Stage framework for services to children from birth
to five has Creative Development as one of its six areas of learning and develop-
ment, dividing it into four concepts:
Being creative – responding to experiences and expressing and communi-

cating ideas.
Exploring media and materials – 2D and 3D representations.
Creating music and dance.
Developing imagination and imaginative play.
6
1 ■ AN APPROACH TO CREATIVE LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS
Each concept describes the pathway that the children’s progress might take,
illustrated by the ‘development matters’ section in the framework guidance, cul-
minating in the Early Learning Goal which most children should achieve by the
end of their Reception year.
Early Years practitioners will be aware of what a huge area of learning this is
and how many important connections it can make to the other five areas of learn-
ing and development.
If a setting cultivates a creative approach to any area of learning, the practi-
tioners will be encouraging children to:
Have the confidence to air new ideas and develop them as far as possible.
Learn from past experiences and relate this learning to new situations.
Invent individual methods of problem solving.
Create something that is unique and original.
Current research which supports this approach to learning
The ethos of the CreatAbility Project has been heavily influenced by the inter-
esting results emerging from the Reggio Emilia approach to pre-school education
in Italy. In essence, the young child is considered to be already capable, strong,
possessing curiosity and the ability to construct his/her own learning. The impor-
tance of the child’s collaborative skills and relationships with family, peers and
community is given a high profile. The children are stimulated to communicate
in many different forms, such as symbolic representation, word, movement,
building, sculpture, dramatic play, shadow play, music. The environment the
child plays in is considered to be the third teacher, with much thought being
given to the use of space and light. The practitioners take the role of partner,
nurturer, friend and facilitator of the children’s exploration of themes. (See fur-
ther reading suggestions.)
This approach is further supported by the Effective Provision of Pre-School
Education (EPPE) report, which focused on the effectiveness of Early Years edu-
cation and was able to identify elements of effective practice, including the
importance of the quality of the adult–child verbal interactions and the balance
of child- and adult-initiated activity. An environment in which play was valued
alongside new skills being introduced was seen to be very beneficial to the child,
as was the active engagement of parents in their children’s learning.
Thirdly, the Government’s Green Paper Every Child Matters, produced in 2003,
outlined five outcomes for children, one of which was that children should be
able to enjoy and achieve. This has had a big impact on the quality of children’s
learning, particularly in the way in which children’s views are being taken into
account and developed.
7
Figure 1.2 A monoprinting session which entailed much more than just making a print
Definition of Early Years
The focus of the book is about working with children in the Foundation Stage
(3–5) range, although some of the ideas could easily be adapted to suit the needs
of older or younger children. In terms of curriculum planning the book refers to
8
possible learning outcomes relating to the appropriate Creative Early Learning

Goals and potential links to other areas of the curriculum.
What do we need in place to support an imaginative

delivery of the creative arts?
This section will look at factors that will support the planning and delivery of the
creative area of learning and give the practitioner some questions to consider
within individual settings.
The ethos of the setting

Process over product
Observations of children at play clearly reveal that young children are fascinated
by the exploration of materials and tools and we know that children learn as
much from the ‘doing’ as from the potential end product. Figure 1.2 illustrates
the child’s fascination with the experience of using paint and a roller. The
planned creative activity was to explore mono-printing but practitioners were
amazed at how long some children spent investigating the properties of the mate-
rials and using them in unexpected ways. This illustrates that the sensitive inter-
action between the child and practitioner is an important part of this discovery
process and it is not just a question of the adult standing back and supervising
the activity. The child will be watching the practitioner’s reaction to their investi-
gation and needing reassurance that they are not doing something wrong. If there
is an end product, and sometimes there has to be, it should be unique and mean-
ingful to the child. The understanding of this ethos should be clear and carried
out positively throughout the setting.
Routines
Young children really need the time to play, to discover the possibilities and poten-
tial of the world around them. If this time is given sparingly within the confines of
too rigid a routine, the learning outcomes for the child will be limited. This has big
implications for planning because practitioners need to ensure that there have been
planned opportunities for children simply to explore materials before a specific skills
activity takes place. Settings also need to consider their daily structures and observe
whether, as far as possible, these allow for freedom of exploration. If this exploration
is facilitated in a sensitive way with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated play
and the opportunity to return to an activity, the children’s emotional and commu-
nication skills will flourish and the practitioner will be able to observe a wealth of
important steps in the child’s development.
9
Points to consider
1. Do we have an agreed ethos within our setting, which describes the way in which
creative learning will be facilitated? Do all practitioners understand and deliver it or
is further training needed?
2. If we offer flexible sessions are we sure that all children can access a wide and varied
range of activities?
3. Does our daily routine allow time for children to explore materials? Are there oppor-
tunities for children to revisit an experience?
4. Does our assessment process complement the learning which is taking place through play?
5. Are the children currently producing their own unique creations?
The learning environment (inside and outside)

Physical space
Whatever the type of setting, this should be maximised to allow real potential for
exploration and creativity. Young children naturally move about a great deal
when taking part in activities, operating at different levels, and consideration
needs to be given to the arrangement of the furniture and flexibility of its use. An
easy way to assess this is to make a series of tracking observations of the children
to see which areas of the learning environment are being used and which are
being ignored. Observations of the children’s learning styles will also support any
decision to rearrange an area. Involving the children in this decision is really use-
ful and offers them the opportunity to express their views and to realise that their
opinions will be listened to and acted on. Many settings have made ‘before and
after’ books illustrating the changes they have made to an area of their learning
environment.
Some settings are now considering the effects of different lighting on children
and are experimenting with lower levels of light in some rooms. When planning
a creative activity it is important to think about the space that is going to be used
and whether the available lighting will affect the children’s participation in and
understanding of the activity. For example, if you want the children to really
observe the fine detail in a natural object, such as a shell, the activity needs to take
place in a well-lit area and not on a small dark table well away from the window.
Colours are very affected by light and for children to appreciate the vibrancy of
the colour they might be mixing it is essential that the available light is good.
Most activities planned for young children can take place either inside or outside
and many of the examples in the book happened in the outside environment.
There are many arguments for children to have the availability of an outside
space, one of which is that children have the opportunity to really explore and
expand an activity when they are outside and practitioners often feel more
relaxed in a less constricted space. The outside space does not have to be huge,
10
Figure 1.3 By the simple hanging of items on a bush, an outdoor area suddenly offers more possibilities
but can be imaginatively set up, as shown in Figure 1.3 in which objects have
been displayed on a bush to stimulate the children’s imagination. In the same
way as young children often like small, cosy areas indoors, it is possible to offer
them similar opportunities outside with the use of draped materials, small tents
and builders’ trays with an assortment of natural objects to explore, such as shells
and pebbles.
It would be ideal if children were able to have free access to both indoor and
outdoor spaces for a significant part of their session.
Organisation
The organisation of the indoor and outdoor space needs to be logically planned
to ensure that children can access what they need easily and staff can locate
appropriate resources when setting up an area. A well-organised learning envi-
ronment, such as the area illustrated by Figure 1.4, encourages independent
learning and supports a child who may need to access materials to develop an
idea. The involvement of the children in the arrangement of the learning envi-
ronment is recommended as it helps them to identify the resources that are avail-
able and to make their own suggestions about what they might like.
The organisation of the resources is equally important so that all children,
whatever their level of development, can access equipment. Containers should be
clearly labelled with words and/or pictures, and resources such as glue and
11
Figure 1.4 Well-organised resources support children's ability to select the piece of
equipment they think they might need for the task ahead
scissors should always have a base to which they can be returned. Many resources
will ‘travel’ round a setting and practitioners should agree that in a creative learn-
ing environment children would need to have the freedom to experiment with
resources. Of course, there may need to be ground rules about clearing-up time.
Resources
It is important that children are offered a wide variety of resources, many of
which can be obtained very cheaply, because these will contribute to a broad and
balanced curriculum. It is also necessary for practitioners to appreciate that dif-
ferent media will allow children to address problems and explore materials in dif-
ferent ways. For example, items such as large plastic magnifying mirrors which are
easy to grasp can be used for a variety of activities. Figure 1 on the companion
website illustrates a starting point for an exploration of colour. The children had
been mark-making on paper and the little girl realised she had inadvertently got
colour on her nose! She was fascinated by her reflection in the mirror, which she
then used all around the learning environment to look for different colours.
These resources should reflect a range of different cultures and social structures
to ensure that all children feel represented in their learning environment.
Families are usually very willing to contribute resources once they know what
would be useful and if they are able to see it being used – for example, an
12
Figure 1.5 A builder’s tray (mixing spot) filled with natural objects provides a starting point for an
exploration of printmaking
interactive display of children’s printmaking inspired by beautiful textiles which

their families have contributed. It is really important that resources are sorted reg-
ularly, well maintained and removed if they appear too shabby, as children
deserve access to high quality materials. An essential and easy resource to build
up, as shown in Figure 1.5 would be an extensive range of natural objects, for
example shells, stones, pieces of wood, all of which can provide a stimulating
start to an activity. Each creative arts activity example in the book suggests
resources that might be used, and at the end of the book is a list of useful
resources which a setting could build on.
Displays
Visually, the environment that the children play in should be stimulating to
encourage curiosity. Displays need to be at an appropriate level for the children
so that they can see and respond to them and can also include items to encour-
age interaction. It is important that displays reflect a wide range of cultures, incor-
porating materials, pictures, photographs and music. They should celebrate
individuality and could illustrate the wide range of activities that take place in the
setting, as shown in Figure 2 on the companion website, thus ensuring that the
families feel well informed and included in the learning process. Many parents
and carers are unable, due to work commitments, to spend much quality time in
13
their child’s setting, so these displays will make a big difference to their
knowledge about the experiences their child is having on a daily basis.
Displays of children’s work should represent all the children and could show
the process of the activity, supported by photographs and children’s comments,
as much as the finished piece. It is important that displays are well maintained,
beautifully presented and changed regularly, because if practitioners have
stopped noticing the displays then the children certainly have.
Points to consider
1. Does the indoor space layout make sense – if not, how can we improve it? Have we
asked the children what they think? Have we then told parents about the process?
2. Do we really need all the furniture? Do we offer activities at different levels?
3. Consider the outside provision opportunities. What do we like and what else would
we like? How do practitioners feel about being outside?
4. Do all areas look stimulating and inviting. Would you like to play here?
5. Can the children access the resources independently and does everyone know where
resources are stored?
6. Are the resources stimulating? Are they in good condition? Do they reflect a wide
range of different cultures?
7. Do the displays reflect the many activities that are taking place daily?
8. Do the displays inform families about the value placed on their child’s contribution to
the setting?
The role of the practitioner

Attitude
Practitioners working with young children set the scene for the emotional environ-
ment that the children play in. It is important that they are able to represent a secure
world in which the children are encouraged to take risks knowing that they will be
supported if necessary, as demonstrated by the practitioner in Figure 1.6. The little girl
was not sure how she felt about being asked to lie down on the material but there was
a grown-up beside her demonstrating that it would be fine. The value that the practi-
tioners place on creativity will be recognised by the children, who are constantly
watching their reactions and picking up on often very subtle body language. Each
practitioner really needs to ‘know’ the children so that through sensitive observation
he or she will know when to intervene, when to extend, when to keep out. Ideally the
practitioner should frequently play alongside the child, demonstrating that he or she
also has things to find out about the materials and tools.
Training
It is important that practitioners understand the process and potential develop-
ment of a creative activity so they are prepared to support the child. This can only
14
Figure 1.6 Staff are actively involved in the exploration process and the girl is reassured that it is safe
to lie down on the material
happen if they have tried it out themselves. If the preparation is inadequate the
practitioner will lose confidence and the session will turn into an instruction.
They need to develop the skills that enable them to have valuable conversations
with the child and to appreciate the importance of observing, recording and
reflecting on the child’s development. This training can take place in a variety of
ways, either formally through courses, in the setting as part of a specific in-house
interest in developing an area of learning or often simply through one member
of staff having a particular interest or enthusiasm for a creative activity and pass-
ing this on to colleagues.
Reflection
A reflective practitioner will appreciate the necessity to ensure that all children
are given equal opportunities to explore an idea and this could involve adapt-
ing and expanding activities. It might also sometimes be necessary to challenge
one’s own prejudices when delivering the curriculum. For example, it is very
easy to avoid planning, usually quite subconsciously, for an activity that we per-
sonally do not enjoy doing. Examples of this could be cooking food that we
personally don’t like or playing with the clay if we personally don’t like the feel
of it on our hands.
15
Points to consider
1. Are we agreed about what we mean by the word ‘creative’?
2. Do we find out about or try out the process of the creative activity before we introduce
it to the children? Do we play alongside the children often enough? This means in a
range of situations such as child-initiated play as well as an adult-focused activity.
3. Are we sure that we are not allowing any prejudices we may have, for example not
liking the feel of clay, or the taste of a particular food, to influence the children?
4. Can we identify any training needs?
The role of the family

Communication
The communication between practitioners and parents/carers will play a vital role
in supporting a creative environment. Parents have the right to be informed
about activities that their child is being offered and are often very willing to be
involved in the activity themselves. Good communication between the setting
and family ensures that the ethos of the setting is clearly understood and there
will be no confusion about work in the form of Mother’s Day cards, daily paint-
ings or drawings that are or are not coming home. This communication will take
place naturally via home visits and open sessions where the families are invited
in to play alongside the children, as illustrated by Figure 1.7. This was a brilliant
opportunity for parents to really understand what opportunities were being
offered to their child during a nursery session and the children loved showing off
their skills and knowledge about tools and materials to their family. It is also evi-
dent from the result of asking parents their views about settings that newsletters,
displays and the day-to-day conversations are very important to them.
Relationship
The interrelationship between the child, the family and setting will inevitably
play a large part in the child’s creative development as the child will bring into
the setting their home and past experiences, incorporating them into methods of
exploration. The way in which the practitioners perceive and discuss these with
the family will support the child. The family can offer a wealth of creative exper-
tise, contributing to the richness of the offered curriculum.
Points to consider
1. How comfortable do other adults feel in the setting? How do we know?
2. How involved do adults become in their child’s learning? Would we like to develop
this involvement?
3. How do we show that we value each child’s/family’s contribution to the setting?
16
Figure 1.7 This little boy loves having his dad alongside him, helping to make a dinosour at his
Nursery open day
An inclusive environment
Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities
appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
(Article 31 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Entitlement
We all have an entitlement to reach our full potential and the seeds of this are
sown in our early years at home and in pre-school settings. Practitioners must
ensure, through careful planning and evaluation, that all children feel special and
are given the best possible opportunities to develop their potential.
Planning
A well-planned, quality creative experience will encourage children to use all their
senses, as illustrated by Figure 1.8, so that an activity that includes a child who
has specific learning needs can be adapted and expanded. Adopting an open-
ended approach to the learning experience facilitates planning but practitioners
are advised to seek specialist help if necessary to ensure they are exploring all pos-
sibilities for that child. The (draft) Early Years Foundation Stage Framework
(DfES, 2006) states that there should be:
17
Figure 1.8 Staff adapted the available space and adult support to make sure that all children,
whatever their needs, were included in the musical exploration
Opportunities for children with visual impairment to access and have physical contact
with artefacts, materials, spaces and movement.
Opportunities for children with hearing impairment to experience sound and physical
contact with instruments and other sources of sound.
Opportunities for children who cannot communicate by voice to respond to music in
different ways, such as gestures.
Figure 3 on the companion website illustrates a group of children exploring a

range of instruments, which is an activity that takes place daily in many settings.
The learning intentions were the same for these children with specific learning
needs as for any other children but the activities are being adapted by the practi-
tioners to support their individual stages of development. In any setting it is
important that the exploration of a creative arts activity will be available to all
children and it is the task of the practitioner to adapt the activity as appropriate
to the needs of the child. Activities described in the following chapters included
children with a wide range of physical and behavioural needs.
Equal opportunities
All races, religions, cultures and genders must be valued and given equal status in
the curriculum via stories, displays, music, dance, resources, visitors and outside
18
visits. It will probably be necessary to audit resources regularly to ensure that all
possibilities have been considered, for example family structure, and practition-
ers should be aware of new publications and resources which they might like to
buy to support what the setting offers.The Early Years Foundation Stage
Framework (DfES, 2006) advises that to give all children the best opportunity for
effective creative development, practitioners should give attention to ‘accommo-
dating children’s specific religious or cultural beliefs relating to particular forms
of art or methods of expression’.
Points to consider
1. What evidence do we have that the setting values each individual child?
2. Would an audit of our resources reveal any gaps that need filling?
3. Are we sure we include opportunities for differentiation in our planning?
4. Would observations reveal any gender issues that might need tackling?
5. Do we know whom to contact for advice if we have a child with specific learning
difficulties?
FURTHER READING
Duffy, B. (1998) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Bruce, T. (2004) Cultivating Creativity in Babies, Toddlers and Young Children. London: Hodder
& Stoughton.
Edwards, C., Gandini, L. and Forman, G. (eds) (1993) The Hundred Languages of Children:
The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
HM Government (2003) Every Child Matters. Cm 5860. London: The Stationery office.
Other resources
DfES (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children. www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/
publications
DfES/Institute of London, University of London. (2005) Effective Provision of Pre-School
Education (EPPE) Project. www.ioe.ac.uk/schools/ecpe/eppe/
DfES (2006) The Early Years Foundation Stage (draft). www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/ pri-
mary/foundation_stage_practitioners/
HM Government (2004) Every Child Matters: Change for Children. www.everychildmatters.
gov.uk/publications/
Further information on projects and publications of interest to Early Years practitioners can
be found on the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) website: www.dfes/gov/uk
19
C HAPTER 2
Starting from the visual arts
This chapter will give you ideas of ways to develop the visual arts by:
• Highlighting the importance of the visual arts.
• Offering practical solutions to common concerns.
• Illustrating two visual art activities each leading to an exploration of dance and music.
Exposure to the visual arts offers children the opportunity to explore the possi-
bilities of two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations. If they are
offered a wide range of activities and encouraged to use all their senses, children
will be stimulated to express their emotions and ideas in a variety of ways. They
will be given the opportunity to explore and begin to make sense of the world
they live in and make connections in their life experiences.
Hopefully they will feel confident enough to take risks and try something new.
In adult life most important discoveries have been initiated by creative risk-
taking and it is important that we value this skill.
To summarise, the visual arts play an important role in developing creative
awareness in young children in the following ways:
Children are enabled to express their feelings and thoughts in non-verbal

ways.
Children are encouraged to challenge perceptions through developing
unique creations.
Children develop an appreciation of beauty and what that can mean to
each individual person. This includes the observation of artists’ work and
the chance to work alongside artists.
Children are presented with opportunities to solve problems imaginatively.
20
2■ STARTING FROM THE VISUAL ARTS
Children’s self-esteem is nurtured as their peers and adults observe and

support their ideas.
Children have opportunities to explore and celebrate a wide range of cul-
tural differences.
Children have opportunities to investigate a wide range of materials.
Examples of two-dimensional exploration include:
Mark-making with a range of tools using fine and gross motor skills.
Painting with a wide variety of paints and tools.
Finger painting.
Printmaking.
Examples of three-dimensional exploration include:
Opportunities to use all senses to explore a variety of objects, including

natural and made objects from a range of cultures.
The chance to make structures of a chosen scale using an assortment of
materials some of which will be new and demand new skills.
The exploration of malleable materials such as clay, playdough and paint
mixed with other substances, for example sawdust or glue.
Most settings include visual art activities in their daily planning because they
are always popular with the children and link well with all areas of learning
in the curriculum. However there can be the danger of not providing a wide
enough range of experiences which results in the children and practitioners
becoming demotivated. There are also issues around the provision of visual
arts, which can deter practitioners from considering many options. The fol-
lowing points may provide some support and reassure a reluctant practitioner.
DON’T PANIC IF…
We haven’t got enough space to really explore an art activity.

Review the amount of furniture currently in the room, as settings often have too much. Don’t forget to
make good use of any outside space and don’t disregard using floor space and wall space, because
young children like to work at different levels.
We don’t have access to water.

Make a fuss, because this is a basic requirement in an Early Years setting. You need access to a sink, and
ideally one that is not also used for food preparation. Also the children need to be able to wash their
21
hands independently but you could use a bucket of warm water for this if you don’t want them trailing
paint across a room.
I’m worried about the activity making a big mess.

Young children cannot fully explore the possibilities of an activity if they are worried about making a
mess. However, there is such a thing as damage limitation. You can protect surfaces with plastic
cloths – plain shower curtains are ideal. Many settings use highly coloured, patterned cloths, which
make it very difficult for children to focus on the art activity, as the background is so distractive.
Practitioners need to operate as a team to set up, support and clear up, often with the children’s help,
a creative activity. Also, if you are lucky enough to have a separate space for creative activities don’t
call it the ‘messy room’ as it sends out a very negative view about art activities to children, parents and
practitioners.
Our parents complain if their child gets in a mess.

Even wearing old clothes or aprons will not prevent children getting paint or glue on their clothes or
hair and many settings find that the children can be quite hampered by some types of protective cloth-
ing. The setting should have a policy to explain that the children will be offered experiences that may
leave their mark on clothes and parents need to appreciate the necessity for this in terms of child
development.
Our parents want to receive an ‘end result’ from creative activities.

Sometimes they will see an end result, but you need to explain why it won’t be every time. However,
you can take photos of an exploration process and display these to share the experience with families.
Another idea is to tie a luggage label to a child’s bag with ‘ask me about’ written on it and a few words
to jog the child’s memory about the activity.
I feel that our creative activities are rushed and mass produced.
If you have an open-ended approach to the process then you won’t know what you are going to pro-
duce so the children could potentially all do something different. In terms of time, you need to consider
the setting’s routines and ensure that each child does have the opportunity to fully explore a process.
You could think about providing a creative activity, possibly with variations, over several days to
accommodate those children who like to return to activities and explore them further as well as the
children who do not attend regular sessions.
We don’t have a big budget for lots of resources.

A letter sent out to families with a list of the kinds of items you could use will nearly always be pro-
ductive but make sure you have adequate storage facilities. You do not have to buy products from edu-
cational suppliers – many of the resources used on the project were bought very cheaply from stores
and ‘pound shops’, but remember to consider any health and safety issues. There is a list of resources
and possible suppliers at the end of the book.
I find myself running out of ideas.

Although working from a theme can lend a structure to the planning, sometimes it helps to start from a
more abstract idea such as journeys, pattern or colour because these are more conducive to explo-
ration and tend to have a less prescriptive outcome. Listening to the children and following their lead
will give you new ideas as will having artists into the setting to work with the children. There are many
television programmes, websites and books that could suggest ideas, which you can always adapt to
suit the needs of your setting.
22
I’m not sure how much help to give the children.

Your interest in their exploration is the best help you can give, as well as working alongside them to
demonstrate that you too have things to find out about the process. Make sure that any tools they are
provided with, such as scissors, really work properly. Our artists placed lengths of pre-cut sticky tape
on a plastic cutting board so the children could peel them off when needed. Give the child time to
attempt a task and then ask if he or she would like some help, ensuring that they assist you in some
way, even if it’s by holding the tape.
I’m worried it might get chaotic.

It is fine to restrict the size of the group, reassuring other children that there will be plenty of time for
them to play later. In this way you are ensuring a quality experience for children and practitioners. It
works well to introduce equipment gradually during an exploration process rather than having it all
available from the start. You will also have basic ground rules about behaviour and respect for equip-
ment that still apply, even though it is a creative exploration.
The following two sections demonstrate ways in which visual art activities could
lead into an exploration of other creative art forms.
Example activities starting from the visual arts (1)
Example 2A Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Pathways.

Exploration of materials.
Why?
To provide children with an opportu- Health and safety
considerations:
Theme:
Opportunities for
differentiation:
nity to direct their own learning from a
variety of experiences.
Suggested resources: Why:
Large space, which could be in a hall or

outside.
Large parachute or material hooked up Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
and pegged out to make a big tent.

Plain paper taped to floor inside tent
with mark-making tools.
23
Four small ‘pop-up’ tents or enclosed areas with mini scenarios set up inside each one. The
ones we used are described fully in the exploration process.
Assortment of widths of coloured tape stuck to the floor and leading to all the tents from a
variety of directions.
Small world equipment, cars, animals.
Gaffer tape, pre-cut.
Small rolls of paper, for example till rolls.
A selection of bendy tent poles.
A selection of strips of materials.
An assortment of empty boxes, string, wool, card, paper etc.

What do we use pathways for?
Where do you think they might take you?
What do you think you will see on the way?

The children might:
Capture experiences and responses with paint and other materials or words.
Talk about personal intentions, describing what they were trying to do.
Create three-dimensional structures.
Understand that different media can be combined to create new effects.

Adult support – will really enhance these activities.
A wide range of different sizes and types of tools.

CLL – making up a story; producing a record of the exploration.
KUW – designing and making; time and place.

Use of tent poles.
Tent taped to floor.
Exploration process
The space will have been previously set up with all resources in place.
Stage one – introduce the theme

1. Invite the children to sit in a circle at the edge of the room. They will already
be curious about what is happening in the space around them. Roll a narrow
length of paper across the circle and ask the children what it looks like. Our chil-
dren instantly said ‘a road, a line, a path’. Taking the children’s suggestions, extend
24
their vocabulary a little by asking where the pathway might lead to? Perhaps to
the park or the beach. Ask the children what might they see on the way if they
were to follow the path? This session should not last for too long because the chil-
dren will want to get exploring the exciting scenario you have set up.
2. Explain that they are going to follow the tape pathways on the floor and see
where they lead to. They can follow whichever path they like and do not all have to
go together. The next stage describes the activities we presented but any adaptations
to suit individual resources would work. The length of this session is dependent on
the developmental stage of the children and the amount of available adult support
at each area. This is a great opportunity to observe different learning styles so ensure
that the children can wander at will and return to tents or not as the case may be.
The children will also move the resources from tent to tent, along the pathways, and
this opens up more possibilities to explore within each tent.
Stage two – explore the theme

1 Big tent: Inside the big tent provide opportunities to mark-make on the paper
that is taped to the floor, ensuring there is a wide range of tools available.
Comment on the patterns the children are making, point out any similarities to
the pathways and encourage the children to extend their line of thought by intro-
ducing items such as small world play equipment, people, cars, animals. For
some children, just being inside the tent will be an experience to respond to and
may stimulate a discussion about camping experiences.
2 First pop-up tent: Inside this tent install a toy puppet in a bed. Explain to the chil-
dren that s/he is feeling shy because s/he has no friends and suggest that they might
make a friend out of the available materials in the tent. These could be a selection of
cardboard tubes, paper, wool and tape – anything to make a puppet friend. We found
that the children loved working in an enclosed space and stayed focused on the task,
for example the little girl in Figure 2.1 made a puppet which travelled round with her
for the rest of the session. Engage the children in conversation about their puppet as
they personalise it and encourage language to describe the materials they have used
and textures they can feel. Some children might leave their finished puppet in the tent
and some might take it on the journey with them.
3 Second pop-up tent: Inside this tent provide a variety of sensory experiences for the
children to explore. For example, hang mobiles and shiny materials from the roof of
the tent and arrange a selection of textured materials on the floor of the tent. You could
also provide plastic mirrors and a few instruments. Encourage the children to try out
different positions, maybe seeing what the roof of the tent looks like if they lie down.
4 Third pop-up tent: This tent is decorated in a jungle theme, with netting over
the top of it and inside is a variety of toy wild animals of all sizes. You could
include artificial flowers, big leaves and perhaps a pond made out of shiny foil for
25
Figure 2.1 A few carefully selected resources will make a ‘friend’ for the puppet inside the tent
the animals to drink from. A tape playing appropriate music would add to the
atmosphere. Also in the tent have available some colour swatches which the
children can use to identify colours and to match the colours to the animals.
5 Fourth pop-up tent: In this tent supply a favourite story book with relevant props.
It would link well to choose a story that includes the concept of a journey, which the
children could discuss and maybe role play. We chose Harry, the Dirty Dog by Gene
Zion and Margaret Bloy Graham, and we provided a baby bath with water, a scrub-
bing brush, flannel, sponge and bubbles and of course a scruffy-looking toy dog. The
children will be able to observe the different effects of water on materials and con-
sider the best way to wash a dog to get it really clean. Some of our children were keen
to explore the possibilities of a ‘dog washing machine’. Paper and mark-making tools
can be available for the children to record their experience.
Stage three – ideas to extend the theme

1. Invite the children to make their own tent using the bendy tent poles which can
be taped together with pieces of pre-cut gaffer tape. Encourage them to decorate their
tent with strips of material, or wool, or to make their own decorations. Take photos
as they make them because you will probably not be able to keep them for long.
2. Give the children small rolls of paper and invite them to roll them out on the
floor to make new pathways, and watch what else they use them for. Our group
26
Figure 2.2 This little boy took his own direction of learning by bandaging up his leg with
the till roll tape
started to lay more ‘track’ for the trains to run on and one little boy began to use
them as bandages, developing a doctor’s role-play situation, as illustrated by
Figure 2.2 He initially began exploring the potential of wrapping the tape around
his leg as he had seen his mother do to him when he had hurt himself, and
quickly gathered other interested children around him. A mini impromptu role-
play situation developed which the practitioners were able to develop at a further
stage.
Stage four – recall the theme

When you feel the children have had enough time to explore the possibilities,
gather them together in the big tent. Using the drawing on the floor as a starting
point, encourage the children to talk about their different exploration experiences
with the assortment of materials and the pathways they took.
Assessment opportunities
Practitioners would be able to identify learning styles for future planning and
observe developmental skills. The level of the children’s cooperative play would
be evident. A group book including photographs and children’s quotes about the
experience would be a valuable addition to the setting.
27
Ways forward
Practitioners might want to follow up the children’s interests and further explore
the possibilities of materials. For example, try designing and making a dog wash-
ing machine.
Take a story as a starting point to explore the possibilities of developing

movement and dance ideas with the children.
Example 2B Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Going on a bear hunt.

Exploring dramatic movement.
Why?
Group theme, which has already been Health and safety
considerations:
Theme:
Opportunities for
differentiation:
explored through visual art. Creative arts activity:
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, retold by
Why:
Michael Rosen (Walker Books, 2001).

An assortment of materials to support Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
the actions, for example brown fabric
or non-slip mats.
Sticks with white ribbons or crepe
paper stuck on them.
Parachute.
Musical instruments – rainmakers,
claves, tambourines.
CD player with appropriate music.
A big parachute suspended to make the bear’s cave. This needs to be set up before the
activity begins.
Hoops.

Where would you look for a bear?
How would you feel on the journey?
Why are you hunting a bear?
28

The children might:
Enjoy joining in with dancing games.
Imitate and create movement in response to music.
Begin to move rhythmically. Develop a repertoire of actions by putting a sequence of move-
ments together.

Size of group – can be adjusted to enable adults to really observe and support the children.

CLL – recording the journey; writing to the bear.
KUW – features of objects and living things; sense of place.

Floor surface.
Sticks for ribbons.
Exploration process
1. Read the story to the children and discuss the concept of the hunt. Why are
they going and how do the children think they are feeling?
2. Make up a tune to the chorus of the story. Anything will do as long as it’s sim-
ple. Sing it a few times to establish it firmly in the children’s minds.
3. Explain to the children that they are going to explore the idea of going to find
a bear. First they are going to think about the different ways they might have to
move.
4. Taking suggestions from the children, using available space, explore move-
ments such as creeping on tiptoe, marching bravely, crawling on hands and knees.
Make sure you comment on unusual actions as well as those of children who
have observed and copied yours.
5. Tell the children that they are going to begin the search for the bear and may
come across some of the situations in the story. If you attempt to interpret the
whole story it can become laboured and young children tend to lose concentra-
tion so it is better to choose perhaps three ideas for movement and change them
round another time.
29
Stage two – develop the theme

1. Invite the children to sing the ‘bear hunt song’ as they begin their journey.
They could be holding hands with a friend or following in a line. Take the sug-
gestions from them.
2. The first situation you could explore is the thick oozy mud, which we repre-
sented by the brown material and non-slip mats. The children will need to stop
to see if they can go over, under or through it but will probably realise that they
will need to put on their boots.
3. Together explore movements, which suggest the squelch of the words in the
book. These could be very slow exaggerated actions in which the children lift their
knees up high and place their feet down very carefully to avoid getting completely
stuck in the mud. Encourage the children to make good use of all the space. You
could select a piece of music to interpret this action or use instruments, such as
the rainmakers and drums.
4. Recall the story and lead the children into another adventure, such as the big
dark forest, and whisper about how you all feel about going into it. Discuss with
the children which movements would illustrate the ‘stumble trip’ words in the
book and devise a short sequence. For example, stamp, stamp and then lunge for-
ward onto hands keeping feet on the floor. Encourage the children to keep the
movements slow to start off with and keep the rhythm by saying the words all
together. Again you could then support this movement with music or instru-
ments, such as claves or wood blocks.
5. Once through the wood continue on the journey, moving in a chosen man-
ner, until maybe you are surrounded by the swirling, whirling snowstorm. Using
the ribbons on sticks or even just hand-held strips of white crepe paper, explore
whirling round movements at all levels. Again, keep the pace slow initially and
introduce music or instruments if required. Don’t forget the voice is an instru-
ment and can be used very effectively.
6. Invite the children to gather together as the snowstorm finishes and they sink
down to the ground, to have a rest. The ‘bear cave’ or in our case, the big para-
chute, is now in sight.
Stage three – conclude the theme

1. Recall the ending of the story and initiate a discussion about the bear, whether
it is scary or, as our children decided, is it really lonely and needing a friend to
play with? The illustration on the last page of the book would support this
theory. Finish the story in a way that is meaningful to the children. This is the
ending that our children decided on.
30
Figure 2.3 The use of hoops controlled the dance activity as well as giving children the opportunity to
work co-operatively
2. Sing the bear hunt song as you march into the cave because you are going to
ask the bear to be friends and join in the dance. Using the coloured hoops either
individually or with a partner move to some music or the song. Encourage the
children to explore ways in which they can move in a controlled manner if they
are using circular movements, as illustrated in Figure 2.3. These children really
responded to the use of hoops and negotiating movements with a partner.
3. Finish the activity in the bear’s cave, perhaps by lying down quietly singing the
bear hunt song.
Practitioners would be able to observe the children’s ability to recall the story and
the imaginative way in which they created movements.
Ways forward
Children could put together a short sequence of the movements they had
explored. They could also demonstrate a movement and their peers would have
to guess which part of the journey they were describing.
Practitioners might want to explore further the use of instruments to interpret
the story.
31
Example 2C Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Going on a bear hunt
Creativity arts activity:

Exploring qualities of instruments,
including the voice
Why? Health and safety Opportunities for
Links to a previous exploration of

Theme:
movement and dance. Creative arts activity:
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, retold by

Michael Rosen (Walker Books, 2001).
Range of musical instruments to pro- Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
duce different sounds.

Range of beaters to use with them,
some covered in material.

What kind of a sound would a big bear
make?
Can your voice make a sound like that instrument?

The children might:
Show an interest in the way musical instruments sound.
Tap out simple repeated rhythms and make some up.
Explore and learn how sounds can be changed.
Explore the different sounds of instruments.

A variety of instruments to suit a range of developmental abilities.

KUW – designing and making and recording sounds

Appropriate use of instruments.
32
Exploration process
You will have previously read the story.

1. Display a wide range of instruments for the children to look at. These will
include:
Instruments to tap/beat, such as wood blocks, tambours, triangles.

Instruments to shake, such as tambourines, egg shakers, maracas.
Instruments to pluck, such as a guitar.
You will also need materials such as plastic bubble wrap, silver foil.
2. Invite the children to play with the instruments and see what kinds of sounds they
can produce. Involve yourself in the exploration of sound and comment on the
sounds that you are hearing. Encourage the children to make comparisons, for exam-
ple ‘it sounds like a lot of leaves shaking’. At this stage these comparisons do not have
to relate to the story. Make sure that children use this opportunity to experiment with
the whole range of instruments and encourage any ideas of using the instruments in
a different way, as illustrated by Figure 2.4, such as scratching the surface of the tam-
bourines or using a beater with material on it to soften the sound.
Figure 2.4 These children are experimenting with sounds to recreate a ‘big bear’ sound
33

1. Recall with the children the experiences in the story and suggest that they
might try to identify instruments to imitate the descriptive words in the story. At
this stage remind the children about their voices, which are also instruments. The
more opportunities the children have to experiment with instruments the easier
and more imaginatively they will tackle this task. These are some ideas that our
children produced:
Swishy swashy – bubble wrap, rainmakers, egg shakers, maracas.

Splash splosh – beaters on plastic bubble wrap.
Squelch squerch – Scraping a beater on a raised wooden surface.
Stumble trip – woodblocks, tambour or drums, as illustrated by Figure 4
on the companion website.
Hoooo woooo – voices, shouting into hollow containers.
You could also experiment with the kind of sounds that the bear would make.
For example, if it were a big bear how would it growl? What about a very little
bear? Encourage the children to use their voices to ‘growl’ into tambours or con-
tainers in a loud and quiet way.
Section three – recall the theme
1. Remind the children about the sequence of the story and discuss which
instruments they should use to imitate the descriptive words in the story.
2. Using a white board or piece of paper make a sound story board, drawing
simple symbols of the chosen instruments in their correct sequence to
match the story.
3. Invite children to play the instruments in sequence with the rest of the
group saying the words.
Practitioners would be able to observe individual children’s listening and imagi-
native skills. The sound story sequences could be recorded visually and using a
tape recorder.
Ways forward
Further sessions could explore designing and making opportunities to create new
instruments to describe sounds or emotions.
34
Example activities starting from the visual arts (2)
Example 2D Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Insects.

Using materials to create and
decorate.
Why?
Theme within setting. Health and safety
considerations:
Theme:
Opportunities for
differentiation:

Rolls of one-sided, wide sticky tape.
Shoe boxes containing items such as
Why:
small toy insects, sequins, buttons,

natural objects, foil cut into strips. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
Plastic mirrors.

How do you feel in here?
How would your insect move?

The children might:
Make comparisons and create new connections.

Adult/peer support for children who feel uncertain in an enclosed space.

KUW – living things, materials.
MD – pattern.

Number of children in a small space.
Exploration process
You will need to have set up the following scene either in a small room, a corner
of a room or an outside shed.
35
Using one-sided, wide sticky tape, stretch lengths of it across the area to make
a spider’s web effect, using all levels.
Put some interesting items that the children will be able to stick on to the tape
in several shoe boxes, for example a selection of small toy insects, some strips of
foil or coloured plastic, large sequins or buttons, natural objects like pieces of
grass, leaves. Wrap up the boxes in coloured paper and leave by the web.

1. Encourage the children to sit in a circle and show them a large toy spider
explaining that this will give them a clue about what they are going to be
thinking about.
2. Sing ‘Incy, Wincy, Spider’ all together and discuss the idea of a spider’s web
and what it is used for.
Invite the children to come and visit the spider’s web that you have
created.

1. Carefully enter the area with the web – the children will quickly realise that
the web is sticky but that nothing is caught on it. Allow them time to adjust to
the space and settle down. Some children may be unsure of this situation so make
sure there is someone to support them, sitting outside the web if necessary.
2. ‘Find’ the boxes and, taking one box at a time, choose a child to shake it, trying to
guess what might be inside. Once the child has opened the box, discuss the items all
together and suggest that these things could be used to decorate the spider’s web.
3. Demonstrate, if necessary, to the children how the items will just stick onto
the sticky tape web and hang there. Encourage all the children to have a go, as
illustrated by Figure 2.5. We noticed how some children arranged items very care-
fully, almost making a sequence, while others were completely random in their
sticking. Once all the boxes have been opened and used discuss the look of the
web with the children. Do they think the spider will like it? Could they make
some more things to hang on it?
Stage three – extend the theme

Have three tables ready for different activities, of which the children can attend
all or one, or stay playing in the web:
Table One contains materials to stimulate the children to make their own
insects, for example card tubes, coloured plastics, pipecleaners, ribbon,
glue, tape. Practitioners should support the children by encouraging them
to talk about their insect and the qualities of the materials being used.
36
Figure 2.5 The installation of a spider’s web allows for a wide range of creative and
sensory opportunities
Table Two contains card cut into small hoops with an assortment of mate-
rials that the children can use to make ‘dream catchers’. They could use
sticky tape to reproduce the web theme on the hoop and decorate it with
feathers and sequins etc. The dream catchers need to be attached to wool
so they can be hung on to the spider’s web as they are completed.
Table Three contains an assortment of shiny materials, glitter, sequins,
silver paint and thin card. Tell the children they are going to make some
stars, discussing the shapes they might need. Some children will readily
cut their own star shapes and some might need support but you should
end up with different size and shape stars rather than lots of pre-cut stars
all looking exactly the same. Encourage the children to decorate their star
and attach some wool to hang it.

1. Invite the children back into the spider’s web and discuss the insects that some
of the children will have made. Encourage the children to think about how their
insect might move and talk about the process of making it and the types of mate-
rials they used.
2. Tell the children that it is almost night time and time for the insects to go to
sleep. Darken the room if possible, discussing what might happen in the sky at
37
night time and hang up the stars on the spider’s web. If you have access to fairy
lights they would make a lovely addition to the night time scene.
3. Invite the children to lie down in the spider’s web and look at the lights and
shiny stars. You could play some appropriate music to close the session.
The practitioners would be able to make observations of developmental skills in
using tools and materials. An illustrated book of the children’s feelings about the
experience would offer children the opportunity to recall the activity and share it
with their families.
Ways forward
In our sessions the children were very interested in the star theme and this could
be taken further.
The children’s ideas about how their insects moved might be explored through
some movement and dance activities.
Example 2E Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Stars.

Developing movement to interpret a
story.
Why? Health and safety Opportunities for
Linked to a theme, children’s interest.

Theme:
How to Catch a Star, by Oliver Jeffers Why:
(HarperCollins, 2004).
Background hanging of stars on blue
plastic. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
Materials on the floor to represent

parts of the story.
Hanging stars, which the children
might previously have made.
Appropriate music.
38

Do you have a special friend?
What kind of things do you do together?
What sort of sounds could you make to sound like a star?
Can you make a pattern?

The children might:
Develop a repertoire of actions by putting a sequence of movements together.
Play cooperatively as part of a group to act out a narrative.

Space.
Adult support.

CLL – Own stories about friendship.
KUW – World around us.

Floor surface.
Exploration process
1. Gather the children in the space which has been decorated with materials and
stars to support the story. We incorporated a climbing frame into the space to
include the possibilities of working at different levels.
2. Read the story to the children, pointing out the materials that are around
them, for example some material to represent the sand and sea. When the story
is finished recall the basic theme and suggest that they could make up a dance
about the story.

1. Introduce the idea of reaching for a star, developing stretching movements and
encouraging the children to use all levels. For example, they could start from a sit-
ting position and stretch out their arms in different directions and then try the
same actions but from a standing position. At all times the practitioners should
be modelling the movements and commenting on individual children’s efforts.
2. Give half the group a card star and invite them to develop a slow, long, lunge-
type movement in which they pass their star to another child and so on, creating
39
Figure 2.6 The children are developing stretching movements from a variety of positions
a continuum of movement, as is illustrated by Figure 2.6. This could be supported

by some appropriate music.
3. Continuing the slow theme, invite the children to pretend to be walking in

space, developing the movement of lifting their knees and placing their feet down
carefully and slowly. How would they move their arms and heads?
4. Invite the children to slowly sink down and ‘land’ on the moon, which is the
round silver piece of material. Describe the actions that they have just been doing
and ensure that you praise their participation in the dance.
Stage three – develop a sequence

1. With the children sitting on the moon, discuss the idea of a shooting star and
just practise shooting an arm out in different directions, on command. You could
use an instrument such as a short shake on a tambourine to give the command.
2. Standing up in a space, encourage the children to suggest a word or sounds to

describe a shooting star and then an action to accompany the word. Once the
children have all practised these they can be put together into a simple sequence.
This is the sequence our children made up.
40
Shoot – jump up stretching two arms above the head.
Wizz – lunge out an arm.
Star jump – make a star jump with both arms and legs outstretched.
ZZZZZ – whirl to the ground like a falling star.
3. If the children are developmentally ready for this you could then develop the
theme from the story of the little boy finding a friend. We gave each child a part-
ner and encouraged one child to make a movement which the other child had to
copy and then to swap over. Some children used the sequence we had just devel-
oped and some children investigated new ideas. This is a difficult concept for
young children so comment on actions and praise all efforts.
4. To end the session invite all the group to lie down quietly on the moon to
listen to some calm music, thinking about the story and their dance.
Either a book with annotated photographs recording the dance or a video record-
ing would provide an opportunity for practitioners to evaluate a child’s level of
participation and ability to recall and respond to the activity.
Ways forward
The idea of working with a partner could be further explored.
Example 2F Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Theme:
Stars

Identification of musical sounds and beginnings of composition.
Why?
Previous exploration of dance and partner work.

Turn-taking questions.
41

Suggested resources: The children might:
How to Catch a Star, by Oliver Jeffers

(HarperCollins, 2004).
If possible, create a sparkly space with
hanging stars, silver tinsel. You could
also hang instruments like Indian bells
from the tinsel.
Range of instruments, including xylo- Health and safety Opportunities for
Theme:
phones, triangles, Indian bells, sleigh bells. considerations: differentiation:
Ensure you have two of each kind of Creative arts activity:
instrument.
Why:

The children might:
Show an interest in the way musical Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
instruments sound.
Sing a few simple, familiar songs.
Tap out simple repeated rhythms and
make some up.
Explore the different sounds of
instruments.

Size of group.
Adult support.

KUW – Designing and making.

Appropriate use of instruments.
Exploration process
1. Invite the children to gather in the sparkly space and allow them time to dis-
cuss what they can see. Either read the story or remind them about it and ask
them to suggest a song they know well about a star.
2. Sing ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’, all together.
3. Introduce the xylophones, triangles, Indian bells and sleigh bells and invite
each child to choose one to play. Sing the song again accompanied by the instru-
ments, as shown in Figure 2.7, encouraging the children to keep a steady beat,
and then change the instruments around once to allow children the opportunity
to play something different.
42
Figure 2.7 A stimulating environment will encourage children to feel involved in the task of
accompanying a song
4. Experiment by playing loudly or quietly, fast or slow, and ask the children
which version they prefer. You could record the versions to listen to another time.

1. Tell the children that they are going to be listening carefully to the sounds the
instruments make and see if they can match the sounds.
2. Set up a divider – this could be a piece of starry material, suspended between

two chairs. Arrange one set of identical instruments (no more than four to start
off with) on either side of the divider. Initially choose instruments that sound
very different, like a drum, a triangle, a maracca and bells.
3. Choose a child to sit on each side of the divider (no peeping) and ask one
child to choose an instrument to play. When the other child thinks he or she has
identified the instrument they can play the one they think it is. Involve the rest of
the group by asking them to nod their heads if they think it is the same or shake
their heads if they disagree.
4. As the children gain in confidence, make the game more challenging by using
instruments that sound similar, for example, a maraca and an egg shaker, a clave
and a woodblock.
43

1. For those children who are developmentally ready, introduce the idea of
working with a partner, copying a pattern. Adult support is initially really impor-
tant for this process until the children grasp the concept of the exercise, which
requires quite complex cooperative skills, as shown in Figure 5 on the compan-
ion website.
2. Invite each child to work with a friend, each using the same type of instru-
ment. Encourage one child to develop a short musical phrase, for example three
taps on a tambourine followed by a long shake followed by three more taps. The
second child then needs to copy the pattern. The developmental ability of the
children will dictate the level to which this activity can be taken.
3. Some children will be able to scribe their musical pattern to read and play
using their own form of notation.
4. Invite the children to share their patterns with the group.
Practitioners can record the children’s playing and musical patterns and take
photographs to support an interactive display to encourage children to try to copy
the musical patterns.
The child’s developing listening skills can be observed, while any particular
interests can be identified and encouraged, as shown in Figure 6 on the companion
website.
Ways forward
Ensure that instruments are available in the learning environment for children to
explore and develop their composition skills.
44
C HAPTER 3
Starting from music
This chapter will give you ideas of ways to develop musical activities by:
• Highlighting the importance of music in the early years.
• Illustrating two musical activities each leading into an exploration of visual art and dance.
3
Music is not just about singing songs and playing instruments. Children can be
challenged to recognise different sounds and to explore how they can be changed,
either for fun or to accompany another activity. They can begin to identify
repeated sounds and sound patterns and they will love matching movements to
music. Even young children are able to respond to the concepts of pitch, rhythm
and tempo.
Music plays an important role in developing creative awareness in young chil-
dren in the following ways.
It allows for an alternative form of communication and an opportunity to

express emotions.
It is a fun activity which can provide opportunities to perform.
It can encourage the development of cooperative skills.
It can stimulate problem solving explorations.
It encourages children to explore the quality of sound and the way sounds
can be put together.
It emerges very naturally in children’s play and connects easily to other art
forms, thus enriching the activity.
Many practitioners feel apprehensive about planning for and delivering music
sessions. The following advice may help you feel more confident.
45
DON’T PANIC IF…
I can’t sing or keep in tune.

It won’t stop the children enjoying the activity and you can choose songs they are familiar with so they
can help you. There are also loads of rhymes and raps you can use as an alternative to singing as well
as CDs to sing along with. However, it is best not to rely on these all the time because you cannot get a
true indication of the quality of the children’s participation.
I feel embarrassed singing in front of other adults.

Tell them how you feel. Maybe you can all sing together to begin with. Singing does not have to be a
whole group experience, so what about starting off with a few children in a quiet corner?
I don’t know many songs.

There are lots of great books you can buy or borrow (see Further reading). You can also make up songs
with the children using any well-known tune, like ‘London Bridge is falling down’ or ‘Row, row, row
your boat’.
I can’t play the piano/any instrument.

It doesn’t matter. Have fun exploring the percussion instruments with the children.
I’m worried it will get chaotic when I bring out the instruments.
It won’t if you plan it carefully and perhaps introduce a few of the same type at a time. For example
instruments you play by shaking. You will have some ground rules about taking care of the instruments
and storing them properly, so the children will understand that they are a valuable resource.
We don’t have enough money for many instruments.

Buy a few good quality ones and make the rest with the children.
The following two sections demonstrate ways in which music activities could lead
into an exploration of other creative art forms.
Examples of activities starting from music (1)
Example 3A Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Theme:
Going on a musical journey.

Exploration of sound.
46
3■ STARTING FROM MUSIC

Why? The children might:
A good abstract theme.
Materials to make a den-these could be
drapes tied across a small room, or with a
small group you could use a pop-up tent.
A selection of instruments in the den.
Outside space.
Theme:

What will we need to go on a journey? Why:
What sounds can we hear?

How can we make sounds?
Possible learning outcomes – the
children might:
Tap out simple repeated rhythms.
Explore how sounds can be changed.
Explore the different sounds of instru-
ments.
Respond to sound with body movement.

A range of instruments that allows for large and small motor control skills.
Adult support – some children feel uneasy in small enclosed spaces.

CLL – stories like Peace at last, by Jill Murphy (Macmillan, 1995).
KUW – designing own instruments to make sounds they have discovered.

Number of children in small space.
Exploration process
1. Ensure the children are sitting in a circle. Play a name clapping game to focus
their attention.
2. Tell the children that they are going to go to a special den to find some instru-
ments to play, one of which will be a magic instrument which will take them on
a journey. The children will not need to take anything apart from their bodies as
they will be exploring their senses. The following dialogue incorporates identifi-
cation of body parts with a variety of sounds. The adult models the response with
the children:
47
‘Have you got your big voices?’ ‘Yes we have.’

‘Have you got your low voices?’ ‘Yes we have.’
‘Have you got your quiet hands?’ ‘Yes we have.’
‘Have you got your loud feet?’ ‘Yes we have.’
The children will make many more suggestions and you can choose one action,
for example hopping, to lead the children into the den.

1. Inside the den encourage the children to explore the different instruments and
comment on the types of sounds they are making. An empty bottle from a water
cooler, as illustrated by Figure 7 on the companion website, proved to be a pop-
ular choice and a good example of introducing children to alternative types of
instruments.
2. Remind the children that they are looking for a magic instrument to take them
on their journey. Invite each child to play an instrument in turn and discuss the
sound together. Is it high or low, loud or quiet? What kind of quality do we want
in this magic instrument?
3. Together decide which instrument it will be, then the child who is playing that
instrument will be the leader to take you out on the journey.
4. As you go outside discuss the ways in which you could move to the sound of
the magic instrument. Perhaps the children could form a long line and tiptoe,
varying levels, or if it is a loud sound you could march outside, keeping the beat.
Stage three – explore the theme

Once outside, explain to the children that they are going to discover how many
different sounds they can hear outside. They will need to listen carefully and look
for things that might make a sound. (You will have previously ensured that there
are no dangerous items in the outside space that the children might pick up.)
Listening: encourage the children to lie down and shut their eyes. Give
them time to really listen before you question them. We were told, ‘I can
hear a bumble bee’, and ‘I can hear the birds’. This was a rural space and
in your space the children might hear horns, buses and aeroplanes, which
is fine because the children are still demonstrating good listening skills.
Remember the sounds they have identified because you are going to use
them later.
Finding: encourage the children to search and pick up stones, wood, grass,
plastic. What do they have to do to find out if it will make a sound?
48
Figure 3.1 The children are listening carefully to find out if their found objects will make a sound
One example of what our children explored is shown in Figure 3.1. We noticed a
child stroking the wall with a feather to listen to the sound and then some children
discovered the big tyres and started beating them with their hands: ‘Wow, we’re mak-
ing a pattern’. When we provided them with beaters they discovered that the sound
changed. The little boy in Figure 3.2 was unperturbed by not having a tyre to beat –
he simply found an alternative. One child picked a small piece of bush and brushed
it on the ground. Some children found a spider inside a tyre: ‘He’s very quiet. Can
we sing ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ very quietly so we don’t scare him?’
When you feel the possibilities have been explored, ask a child to play the
magic instrument to gather the group together and return to the den.
Stage four – recalling the theme

1. Discuss with the children the sounds you all heard and made, repeating the
vocabulary that you heard the children use.
2. Draw the children’s attention to the instruments in the den and ask the ques-
tion, ‘Will any of these instruments make a sound like the bumble bees?’ Use the
other examples and find out what the children think.
49
Figure 3.2 An upturned bucket will make as good a sound as a drum
3. Ask the children, ‘Can we still hear those sounds now?’ ‘Why not?’ We were
told, ‘No, because we’re inside and we can hear the babies upstairs crying!’
4. Choose a short piece of music to listen to as a way of finishing the session.
Practitioners would be able to identify children who were able to stay focused on
the task and make observations on the children’s preferred learning styles. In our
sessions practitioners were able to observe that some children who showed little
response in a group situation really blossomed in the outdoor exploration, com-
ing up with some very creative ideas.
50
Photographs would clearly illustrate the involvement of the children and a

group book about the journey incorporating photographs and the children’s
comments would provide a good recall opportunity for the children and a means
of sharing the experience with families.
Ways forward
In our sessions practitioners identified a need to build more planned music
sessions into the schedule and to take the instruments outside more often.
Some of the children might be able to develop the idea of composition using
instruments to describe the journey they made.
The theme of bumble bees and insects was established very firmly by the chil-
dren and in our sessions and offers an idea that could easily be explored further.
Example 3B Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN Possible learning outcomes: Questions to ask:

The children might:
Theme:
Insects.
Exploration of light and shadow.
Why?
Follow-up on interest previously estab- Health and safety
Theme:
Opportunities for
lished by children through a music session.
Outside space – but it could work Why:
inside.
One big light box – a hinged wooden
box with the lid made of white sheet- Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
ing will work well.

A selection of small light boxes, for
example a shoe box with 6× 6 cm holes
cut out of the top and one end. We cov-
ered the boxes in shiny paper to make
them more stimulating.
Decorative items, shiny balls, anything that will make an interesting shadow.
A big piece of white sheeting.
Small torches.
Pieces of coloured gel/acetate/cellophane.
Scissors.
Sticky-backed plastic.
51
Pieces of plain white paper.

A selection of toy insects and animals, all different sizes.
Black card cut into picture frame shape.

What does it look like?
Where does the shadow come from?
Can we do this inside?

The children might:
Explore and experience using a range of senses and movements.
Explore colour and differentiate between colours.
Use their bodies to explore space.
Combine media to create new effects.
Use ideas involving fitting, overlapping.

Size of the group – ensure you have enough equipment for everyone.
Adult support.

CLL – stories that would develop the insect theme, for example The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and The Bad Tempered Ladybird, both by Eric Carle.
KUW – further investigation into light properties, using kaleidoscopes and light prisms.
MD – vocabulary, tessellation with shapes.

Possible glare on white sheeting.
Exploration process
1. Hide the empty small light boxes around the outside space. Tell the children
that they need to go and see if they can find some shiny boxes and watch and see
what they do with them. In our setting the younger children were happy to build
up a collection in the box that they could shake and in some cases hold onto for
the entire session, while the older children began to sort their findings and
realised that the hole in the side enabled them to view the item.
2. Encourage the children to show each other their discoveries. Discuss how they
can see the object in the box. Why isn’t it too dark to see it?
52
Figure 3.3 Investigating light and shadow with a simple light box
3. Introduce the small torches to them as another means of creating light. One of
our children demonstrated an interesting use of vocabulary as he proudly
declared, ‘Look, I’ve torched the lion.’

1. Introduce the group to the big light box. Hold up an object behind the white
sheet lid ensuring that the children are in front to see the shadow. Ask them ques-
tions such as:

How does it work?
Where does the shadow come from?
What will happen if we shine the torch?
As shown by Figure 3.3, the children will be keen to try it out for themselves.
At this stage it would be useful to have another adult to support the activity, to
ensure that some children watch while one or two children make the shadows.
Our children had a choice of items to make shadows with but very quickly dis-
covered the insects, particularly the big hairy spider.
53
2. Provide the children with a sheet of white paper and let them discover how all
objects have a shadow if there is enough light. Some of our children began trac-
ing round the shadow with their fingers.
Stage three – introduce some colour

1. Provide the children with some pieces of coloured gel/acetate and watch what
they do with it. One little girl disappeared with a piece of pink gel and then
proudly produced her light box saying, ‘My slug has gone pink!’ as she held the
gel over the hole on the top of the box which currently contained a small slug
called Stephanie! The children will realise that they can use the gel on the big
light box to create coloured shadows.
2. Provide the children with squares of black card cut into a picture frame shape
with sticky backed plastic stuck to one side. The children can then easily stick ran-
dom shapes of coloured gel or sweet wrappers to the sticky side of the plastic,
experimenting with overlapping and colour investigation. We found this activity
captivated the girls instantly but needed more adult support to absorb the boys.
3. The boys were in fact fully absorbed in a project of their own. One child chose
to hang a shiny ball on a nearby bush and came running to tell me about his
‘Christmas tree’, insisting we took a picture of it, as illustrated by Figure 3.4. Very
soon his friends were joining in and the bush became beautifully decorated.
Figure 3.4 This boy is absorbed in decorating a bush using resources which were put out with
a different purpose in mind
54
Stage four – go bigger

1. Suspend the big piece of white sheeting and encourage the children to use their whole
body to make big shadows as well as continuing to use the objects from the light box
collection. We found that an ugly bug ball soon emerged, with larger than life insects.
Practitioners could make a wide range of developmental observations on the chil-
dren, supported by photographs of their participation.
We found that the process of introducing items at different stages worked well,
as the children were not swamped with too many possibilities at once.
Ways forward
The practitioners in our settings found that the children really identified with the
light boxes.
Future activities could explore other ideas with these.
The idea of decoration, which arose spontaneously during our sessions,
offered other activities to pursue.
Example 3C Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Going on a journey.
Taking a journey with the children, find-
ing items on the way to develop a variety
of movements culminating in a sequen-
tial pattern. considerations:
Theme:
differentiation:
Why? Creative arts activity:
To explore further the idea of going on a

Why:
journey and to develop a different art
form, which might include the idea of
decoration.
Indoor and outdoor space if possible, but
this activity could all take place inside.
One small child-size empty suitcase.
Three shoe boxes covered in shiny paper
with one set of objects in each box as follows:
55
1 A selection of toy sea animals.

2 A selection of toy hippos and elephants.
3 A selection of toy butterflies.
Coloured ribbons on short sticks, enough for at least one per child.
A big piece of blue cloth with a selection of plastic fish.
A suitcase full of beautiful materials and special dressing up clothes/artificial flowers, beads,
hats etc.
Small, round, non-slip mats (for example bath mats) – one for each child taking part in the
activity.
Message written in box and coloured card spot to match small round mats.

Where do you think we will go?
What might we find on the way?
How do you feel?
What do you think might go in this empty suitcase?

The children might:
Make sense of what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel.
Capture experiences and responses with movement and dance.
Develop a sequence of movements.

Size of group.
Adult support.

CLL – writing messages with instructions for a journey.
KUW – living things.

Appropriate use of equipment.
Exploration process
1. You will previously have set up the outside area by ‘hiding’ the shoe boxes in
appropriate places. Distribute the small mats to resemble stepping stones, which
the children will use to start their journey.
2. Gather the children in a group and show them a small shoe box. Choose a child to
open it and look inside. There is a message saying ‘We are going on a journey and to
find the way you have to search for the spots that look like this’. Also inside the box is
a card spot the same colour as the small round mats.
56
3. Produce the empty suitcase. What could it be for? Tell the children that they
will take it on the journey and see what they can find.
4. Begin the journey by looking for the small mats. Encourage everyone to stand
on one.
Stage two – explore the theme

1. Ask the children ‘What do these spots look like?’ Our children said ‘puddles’,
so we decided to do some warming up exercises before we set off on the journey.
We put on our wellington boots and then:
Stamped up and down in our own puddle.

Shook our hands, shook our feet.
Jumped on the spot with two feet together.
You could take any suggestion and develop some movements to get the children
moving together. The length of time the next part of this example takes will
depend entirely on your children and their level of concentration.
2. Move off around the available space, keeping close together, maybe creeping
quietly, and look for the box containing the sea animals. Open it together and
discuss the types of animals and how they would move – take as many ideas as
possible from the children and then suggest that they could try moving in those
ways. Our children were keen to explore the concept of moving through the waves
using their bodies to stretch and arch, as illustrated by Figure 3.5.
3. Produce the blue material and fish to stimulate their imagination. Acting as a
role model, encourage the children to use all parts of their body and to explore
different levels. Some children might like to go under the material, many children
will be making sea noises as they move
4. When it is time to move on, put an animal in the suitcase you are carrying with you.
Then move on to find the next box. Maybe you could all shake as you go to get dry.
Follow the same process, discuss the animals and how they might move, also find out
what the children know about these animals – do they like to roll in the mud?
5. Explore these rolling, large, heavy actions with the group and then put an
animal in the suitcase and move on, perhaps very slowly.
6. The next box contains the butterflies. Watch the children’s suggested move-
ments and then produce the ribbons on sticks. Explore the light whirling move-
ments encouraging them to use all space and different levels. As before, put a
butterfly in the suitcase when you have finished this activity.
57
Figure 3.5 These children are expressing through movement how an animal might move
amongst the waves
7. Tell the group they are nearly at the end of their journey as you reach the suit-
case full of materials. It’s time to get dressed up and decorated and to dance at the
party. Allow the children plenty of time to choose materials and dance – you
could include instruments or use a CD player with some favourite music playing.
Stage three – recall the theme and develop a sequence

1. With the children sitting down on their spot, open the suitcase and take out
the objects one by one. Ask the children to tell you how they moved on that part
of their journey.
2. Stand up and put the sequence of movements together, talking the group
through the adventure. You could also use appropriate pieces of music now or at
a later stage.
The practitioners would be able to take photographs of the different stages of the
journey which the children could annotate and make into an individual book
about their adventure. Observations of the children’s participation would
contribute to their developmental record.
58
Ways forward
Consider writing a story with the children about the journey and illustrate it in a
variety of ways.
Introduce instruments to illustrate the journey.
Examples of activities starting from music (2)
Example 3D Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Exploring sound using percussion
instruments.

Making percussion instruments with the
children.
Theme:
Topic theme.
Why:
A wide variety of different size and shaped
containers. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
A selection of dried pulses, e.g. lentils, peas, beans.

Buttons.
Plastic film wrap, different types of paper
(greaseproof, tissue).
Elastic bands, sticky tape, gaffer tape, PVA
glue.
Shiny foil strips, sequins, material for decoration.
Card, corrugated card.
Coloured pens.
World music selection to listen to.

What kind of sound does your instrument make?
Why do the lentils sound different to the buttons?
Can you play it loudly and/or quietly?
How does your instrument make a sound?

The children might:
Capture experiences and responses with music.
Explore and experience using a range of senses and movement.
59
Describe what they were trying to do.

Begin to move to music, joining in with favourite songs.
Tap out simple repeated rhythms.

Adult support for use of tape, scissors.
Size of group.

KUW – use of materials.
PSED – cultures and beliefs.

Use of tools.
Exploration process
1. Remind the children about the instruments that you use in the setting and
what you can do with them.
2. Look together at the available materials and suggest to the children that they
might choose any they like to make their own musical instrument. The active
involvement of a practitioner in this process, as shown by Figure 8 on the com-
panion website, will encourage the children to have the confidence to try out
unusual methods of making sounds. We did not have any real instruments for the
children to look at because we wanted to see if they could use either recall or their
own imagination.

1. Play some catchy world music while the children are making their instruments.
We found that it stimulated the children to investigate ways to play their instru-
ments as they made them and developed their listening skills, as illustrated by
Figure 3.6. It also promoted very positive peer group interaction.
2. Keep an open-ended idea about the type of instruments being made and let the
individual children set the pace of the activity. Some children will be satisfied very
quickly and some will stay focused for a long time, with something very particu-
lar in mind.
60
Figure 3.6 Listening to music while making instruments adds a new dimension to the task
Stage three – play the instruments

1. Listen to the sound that individual instruments make, encouraging the
children to express an opinion about the instrument using relevant vocabulary.
For example loud, quiet, fast, slow, high and low.
2. Choose some favourite songs to sing, accompanied by the instruments. You do

not have to have them all playing at once but make sure everyone gets a turn. This
one worked well:
Old MacDonald had a farm

E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had some shakers
E-I-E-I-O
Shake shake here, shake shake there
Here a shake, there a shake
Everywhere a shake shake
Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O.
Carry on the song using all the different instruments.
61
Observations on the children would clearly reveal stages of development and
progress.
Photographs of the children playing their instruments would make a lovely
book to share, and the music could be recorded to play back to the children.
Ways forward
Investigating the connection between sound and movement offers scope for
further activities.
Example 3E Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
The relationship between move-
ment and sound.

Developing movements and
sequences to respond to the sounds
of percussion instruments. Health and safety
Theme:
Opportunities for
Follow-up on movements observed

when children made their own Why:
instruments in a previous activity.

Suggested resources: Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
Small, round, non-slip mats.

Heavy-duty balloons with some
lentils in them (one per child in
group).
A range of instruments. This activity
would work equally well with
bought instruments but is more rel-
evant to the children if they have made and therefore have ownership of an instrument.
Music to move to.
What sound does your instrument make?
How do you play it?
How can we move to that sound?
Can we put the sounds together and make a dance?
62

The children might:

Size of group.
Choice of music.

CD – the balloons could be decorated with strips of foil, which would suggest a completely
different movement.
KUW – exploration of properties of air and balloons, materials.

Floor surface.
Exploration process
1. Invite the children to choose an instrument or use one they have made and to
sit down on one of the small mats.
2. Tell the children they are each going to have a turn playing their instrument
and that everyone needs to listen carefully to the sound it makes because they are
going to be thinking about how they could move to the sound.
3. Make sure that only one child at a time plays their instrument and as they do
so encourage descriptive words from the children. For example, wriggly, shaky,
and bumpy. We found that using the mats as a base really focused the children,
as shown by Figure 3.7.

1. Discuss with the children possible movements to accompany their instrument
and try them out all together, still on their spot. Examples of movements would
be shaking body parts, jumping, waving, clapping, nodding and rocking.
2. Remove the instruments and the spots and play some music for the children to
move to, reminding them of the movements they have been exploring. Encourage
use of space.
63
Figure 3.7 Working from their own space focused these children to concentrate and take turns
Stage three – develop a sequence

1. Get the children to stand in a circle on their mats.
2. Demonstrate putting some lentils into a strong balloon and blow it up. As you
do this invite the children to pretend that they are a balloon being blown up,
starting small and gradually expanding.
3. Demonstrate the sound the balloon makes and encourage the children to
shake and rattle with the balloon.
4. Give each child a balloon and evolve a sequence of movements together. These
might be:
4 shakes up high
4 shakes down low
4 shakes side to side
4 stamps.
5. Invite the children to move around the room, with you, developing their
sequence. You could use appropriate music with a steady beat to accompany
them.
64

Encourage the children to choose an instrument, or a balloon, and to play and
move with their instruments in an appropriate way, making good use of all the
available space. You could try this with and without accompanying music and ask
the children which they prefer.
Practitioners could build up a set of photographs to demonstrate the movement
sequence the children devised and there would be opportunities to make devel-
opmental observations on the children’s progress.
Ways forward
As a problem solving activity children could make an instrument to illustrate a
given sound or movement, for example the described sounds in Peace at Last, by
Jill Murphy (Macmillan, 1995).
The expression of movement in a visual art form could be investigated.
Example 3F Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Expressing movement.

Printmaking.
Why?
Logical extension to use art materials, Health and safety
Theme:
Opportunities for
having explored movement through
sound and dance.
A table covered in plastic sheeting –

this could be inside or outside.
A drying rack that is easily accessible. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
Water-based block printing inks –

these do produce a very different
result to ready-mix paint.
Rubber rollers (not sponge rollers).
Paper for printmaking.
65
Paper taped onto the floor and also a big piece to work on on the floor.
A selection of tools to explore – combs, toothbrushes, small plastering tools, toy cars, wooden
and plastic clay tools, chopsticks, rubber snakes, we even used a child’s slipper!
Crayons, oil pastels.
Protective aprons.

How can you use this tool?
What colours can you see?
What kind of marks are you making?

The children might:
Begin to combine movement, media or marks.
Explore colour and begin to differentiate between colours.
Differentiate marks and movement on paper.

Time – there must be enough for children to explore possibilities.
Adult support.
Working on surfaces of different levels.

CLL – handwriting.
KUW – materials.

Use of tools.
Exploration process
1. Tape a long piece of plain paper onto the floor and invite the children to sit
around the paper.
2. From an interesting-looking basket produce some printmaking tools. Pass

them around the group to give the children a chance to hold and feel the tools
that they will later be using. We used some music at this stage to make the whole
experience more relaxed and to give practitioners the opportunity to observe
what the children were doing with the tools.
3. Immediately the children will begin to use the rollers on the paper, as shown
by Figure 9 on the companion website, and to explore what the other tools will
66
do to the paper, for example scoring the paper, mashing the paper. One of our
children said, ‘Will they make patterns? No, we need to use crayons’.
4. Introduce a variety of crayons or oil pastels and watch what the children do
with them. Some might use them to draw around the tools, some might begin
making their own patterns, while some of our children realised that the tools
needed other media to make them work and began to mash the pastels up with
the tools and to spread the colour, making a perfect introduction to the next part
of the process.
5. Encourage the children to walk around the paper looking at all the patterns
they can see.

1. Work with a group of no more than four children around the plastic-covered
table. Invite each child to choose a colour of the printing ink and squeeze out a
small amount onto the plastic surface. We would suggest that the adult be in
charge of the squeezing for obvious reasons!
2. Reintroduce the rubber rollers and encourage the children to roll over the ink.
The children will make comments about the noise that the ink makes, and
the way the shape spreads. You can then add more colours and observe the
comments.
3. Introduce the tools and suggest the children see what kinds of marks they can
make in the ink. Clearly this is going to be a messy process and the children will
want to fully explore the inks, sometimes rolling them on their hands and mak-
ing their own prints. It would be important to have established a set of ground
rules so that the children know their boundaries.
4. Ensure that the children have quality uninterrupted time to explore the mate-
rials. This is a totally absorbing experience for children, the sensation of experi-
encing the different textures and moving fingers and tools through the inks to
create their own special patterns. For many children this will be enough, but you
might want to introduce the idea of taking a mono-print.

Once a child has created a pattern on the table surface demonstrate how to care-
fully place a piece of paper on top of the ink and press down. When you gently
peel the paper back the child will be amazed to see the pattern reproduced on the
paper. Depending on the developmental stage of the child you might want to
expand on this idea. We felt that while some children responded with excitement
67
Figure 3.8 This girl explored the process right to the end
to this development of the theme, for example the little girl illustrated by Figure
3.8, for many children the process was in itself an end result.
Practitioners would be able to observe the progress of the children through the
stages of the process and support those who were initially reluctant to become
involved.
Ways forward
Practitioners might like to explore further types of simple printmaking; for exam-
ple, building up a printing block or potato prints.
68
C HAPTER 4
Starting from movement and dance
This chapter will give you ideas of ways to develop movement and dance activities by:
• Highlighting the importance of movement and dance in the early years.
• Illustrating two dance activities each leading into an exploration of visual art and music.
Movement and dance is an activity that all young children naturally engage in
as they play. Watch children, for example, in the role play area, in the book area
or outside and you will notice a wide range of very individual and purposeful
movements/dances taking place. Movement and dance are put together here
because they are so inter-related that a sequence of movements could be called
a dance.
Our role as practitioners is to build on what the children are showing us, devel-
oping skills such as responding to sound with body movement, beginning to
move rhythmically and perhaps developing a repertoire of dances. This chapter
will illustrate how an idea for a movement activity can unfold, develop existing
skills and introduce new ideas which may then take the children into a new direc-
tion, to explore a different creative art form.
Movement and dance play an important role in developing creative awareness
in young children in the following ways:
They provide children with an alternative means of expressing emotions

and feelings, giving them an opportunity to respond to others. This is par-
ticularly important for children with specific learning difficulties.
They extend the children’s vocabulary, embedding concepts such as high,
low, under, behind, fast and slow.
They encourage children to develop recall skills, through sequential
pattern-making or telling a story.
69
They can present children with a problem to solve, such as developing

their own way to move like a spider or a tiger or even a dinosaur. It is quite
an intellectual challenge to pretend to ‘be’ something else.
They can demand the beginnings of cooperative work with peers.
They are really good fun and invite children to enjoy moving and to find
out what they can do with their bodies.
They are an ideal way to introduce children to the wide variety of rhythms
from around the world, ensuring that they appreciate the multi-cultural
world they are growing up in.
It is clear that by regularly planning for movement and dance many other cur-
ricular areas would be enriched. However, many practitioners feel daunted by the
prospect of managing such a session so the following may help allay some fears.
DON’T PANIC IF…
I’ve got two left feet.

The movements that you will be doing are simple, repetitive and taken from natural body movements.
You will be moving with the children, often copying their actions, and they will be too busy being in the
dance to notice your performance.
I don’t know what music to use.

There is a whole world of music out there and this is your opportunity to spend some time listen-
ing to it and deciding what would suit the activity best. The Resources section at the end of the
book has some ideas to get you started, but as with many resources it works best if it is something
that you like yourself because your enthusiasm will infect the children. Try to make sure that you
use a wide range of music; it may be the only time in some children’s lives that they hear, for exam-
ple, jazz music.
I’m afraid they will go wild and I won’t be able to control them.
They might, if you are not well prepared and do not have a structure to your session. Also you cannot
suddenly offer the children a large space and not expect them to want to race around, so you need to
build in opportunities for a free exploration of the area before you begin being more specific about
your expectations. You will need to have a basic skeletal outline to the activity, which then allows you
to incorporate the children’s ideas.
I’m worried I won’t keep their attention.

Don’t make the session too long. All the activities described in the following chapter are divided into
short stages, so depending on the maturity of the children you can decide how much you want the
group to achieve.
My group is too big.

Spread the activity out over a week to make sure that the children receive the attention they need.
70
4■ STARTING FROM MOVEMENT AND DANCE
Space is a problem.
Again, consider how large the group needs to be and don’t forget that movement and dance can just as
easily take place outside.
The following two sections demonstrate ways in which movement and dance
activities could lead into an exploration of other creative art forms.
Examples of activities starting from movement and dance (1)
Example 4A Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
A journey into space.

Developing a sequence of movements
that explore the idea of going into
space. Health and safety Opportunities for
Theme:
The idea came from the children fol-

lowing a music session. Why:
A large space to move in. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
A small round non-slip mat (e.g. a bath

mat) for each child taking part in the
activity.
A big round shiny piece of material to
represent the moon.
A selection of cut-out star shapes.
A silver ball – could be an ordinary ball painted silver.
Ribbons on sticks, one per child.
Appropriate music.
A selection of coloured lengths of material.

What do we need to wear on our journey?
What does this look like? (the moon)
What does it feel like (the silver ball)
How will s/he pass it on?
What else do we see in the sky?
71
Suggested learning outcomes:

The children might:
Begin to move rhythmically.

Space – children not used to working in a group in a large space might need adult support.
Structure – children who have already had opportunities to explore free play in a large space
will be ready for a more structured activity.

KUW–time, place and communities–place.
PD–health and bodily awareness.

Floor surface, use of equipment.
Exploration process
Stage one – introduce the theme.
1. Arrange the mats in a circle on the floor and invite the children to come and
sit on one.
2. Explain to the children that ‘We are going to go on a long journey, up into
space, to the moon. What do we need to do to get ready?’ The children will
respond with their own suggestions, which you must acknowledge and act on.
For example our children were very anxious there would be enough food.
3. Ask ‘What clothes will we need?’ Put on your special boots – involve the chil-
dren in actions such as pulling on the boots, shaking out the trousers, doing up
the jackets.
4. On the spot shaking activity to get ready to go on the journey – shake differ-
ent body parts to music.

1. Start with the essential count-down to blast off!
2. Tell the children they are going to move in any way they like into space. When
the music stops they will need to be on a different spot. Allow them some time
72
to explore moving to the music before they have to land, making sure that all
adults are joining in too.
3. Children are sitting on a new mat. Ask, ‘Now we have landed, where do you
think we are?’ Put the big shiny silver circle down and see what the children sug-
gest. Our children were quick to tell us it was the moon.
4. Produce lots of silver stars and give at least one to each child. Introduce the
idea of falling and shooting stars and encourage the children to twirl, whirl, high
and low, with their stars, making good use of all the space. They could also
explode, with high jumps. Music could be used here too.
5. Invite the children to place their stars on the moon shape, and return to their spot.
Stage three – calm it down.

1. Introduce the magic silver ball and tell the children you are going to pass it
round the circle. As it gets to each child ask questions about it, for example is it
hard or soft, heavy or light? Where do you think it came from? Make comments
on what the individual children choose to do with it. For example, ‘Can it float
up high? You must be strong!’ Some of our children decided to bowl it to each
other, some children commented on their reflection in the ball, one little boy sat
on it saying, ‘It’s gone!’ This activity will give the children the opportunity to slow
down, to relax and listen to each other but remember to consider the length of
time children might have to wait for their turn with the ball if you have a large
group with a high proportion of younger children in it.
Stage four – ending the journey

1. Ask the question, ‘What else can we see in the sky?’ You will get lots of answers but
wait for the rainbow suggestion. Then give the children at least one ribbon on a stick
each and encourage them to explore the idea of making a rainbow as illustrated by
Figure 4.1, waving, twirling the ribbons as they come down to land on Earth. One
little boy became very engrossed in the idea of wrapping the ribbon around his arm.
2. Provide a mixture of coloured materials for the children to lie down on and
close their eyes. As they lie, recall the experience of the journey and allow for a
short moment of quiet before the session ends.
Practitioners will be able to make observations of individual children’s responses

to the challenges.
A group book of photographs would usefully show the sequence of the journey.
73
Figure 4.1 Using coloured ribbons on short sticks the children are exploring the concept of rainbows
Ways forward
More developmentally able children could put the explored actions
together to make a sequence.
After our sessions we were interested in exploring further the idea of
wrapping material.
Example 4B Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Theme:
Going on a journey.

Investigating string printing and properties of materials.
Why?
Supports the idea of taking a journey already explored through dance; develops the possibil-
ities of wrapping materials.
74
Suggested resources: Possible learning outcomes: Questions to ask:
Large sheets of paper taped to the floor.

The children might:
A selection of drawing tools.

A selection of pieces of string and wool, all
different lengths.
Paint in shallow containers.
Pieces of string with a clothes peg clipped
on to them.
Paper for printing on. Health and safety
considerations:
Theme:
Opportunities for
differentiation:
Lengths of different types of sticky tape – a Creative arts activity:
useful tip is to pre-cut strips and place them
on a plastic cutting board. The children can
Why:
then peel them off as they need them.
Lengths of pre-cut strips of coloured paper.
Sticks or cardboard tubes. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:

Can you make your crayon follow the
string?
Can you drive your car along the pattern
that you’ve made?

The children might:
Begin to combine movement, media or marks.
Differentiate marks and movements on paper.
Understand that different media can be combined to create new effects.

A wide range of types of drawing tools to accommodate different gripping skills.
Different levels to work on.

MD – length vocabulary.
KUW – materials.

Appropriate use of materials.
Exploration process
1. Invite the children to sit around the paper on the floor, giving them pieces of
string and wool to arrange on the paper. Allow time for exploration of the pat-
terns that they make with the materials, commenting on them. For example, ‘I
75
can see your pattern looks like a snail’s shell and yours looks like a long, long
road.’ Encourage the children to talk to each other about the shapes they have
made.
2. Remind the group they are thinking about going on a journey, introduce the
drawing tools and suggest that they could make the crayon go on a journey by fol-
lowing the string pattern they have just made, as shown by the little boy in Figure
10 on the companion website. Some children will need to be encouraged to press
harder or introduce tools like felt-tip pens if they are having difficulty applying
enough pressure. See if they can fill up all the paper with different ‘journey
patterns’.
3. Introduce the strips of sticky tape and watch what the children do with them,
commenting on and developing their ideas. We saw children sticking the tape
straight on to the paper to make new roads, as well as sticking the tape over the
string.
4. Provide strips of paper of different colours and you will observe the children
using these in a variety of ways. One little girl, illustrated in Figure 11 on the com-
panion website, used her string and tape to make a lead for her small toy rabbit,
which she then took for a walk around the paper! Some children drove the toy
cars over the paper, developing the journey theme further by drawing houses and
petrol stations to visit.

1. Set up a table with the paint, string and paper, and in small groups introduce
the skill of string printing by providing each child with a length of string and a
clothes peg to clip on to it. This in itself could be an interesting challenge for
some children.
2. Demonstrate how to dip the string, whilst holding the clothes peg, into a
chosen colour of paint. Children will comment on the change of string colour
and some will really explore just the process of swirling the string around in the
container. Suggest that the string could be dragged over the paper to make
patterns and encourage the children to talk about what they can see as they do
this. All the children we worked with found this a totally exciting experience, as
Figure 4.2 illustrates.
3. Introduce the idea of folding the paper in half, putting the string which has
been dipped in the paint inside the paper and gently pulling the string out, leav-
ing a trail of paint as it comes out. Open the paper and look at the pattern. One
of our group discovered that if they dipped the string in water it diluted the paint
and changed the effect.
76
Figure 4.2 The process of string printing offers a complete sensory experience
4. You could add PVA glue to the paint to thicken it or use acrylic paint and produce a
much more textural appearance. Remember that the process is the important experi-
ence and that some children may not be interested in the technique of the printing.

1. Reintroduce the string and wool along with strips of pre-cut material, strips of plas-
tic, ribbons. Don’t make the strips too long or they become unmanageable. Provide
sticks, cardboard rolls or anything which children could wind the materials around.
2. Invite the children to explore the materials on the table and watch what they
do. The children we worked with became engrossed in the process of wrapping
layers of materials, sticking them securely with the strips of sticky tape. There were
many opportunities to discuss colours and texture.
Some children will be satisfied with the process and some may like to turn their
wrapped object into a puppet or whatever their imagination dictates. It is neces-
sary to have an adult, who will be able to make extensive observations on the
child’s progress, available to support this process.
77
3. Display the stages of the exploration process for the children to share with each
other and their families.
Photographs will remind children about the process and encourage them to recall
the experience.
The activity provides opportunities to observe children’s fine motor skills and
levels of focused attention on a given task.
Ways forward
The practitioners in our sessions were aware that some children were
developing the idea of wrapping materials in their role play, for example
by wrapping dolls up, and this could be explored further. It might also be
possible to bring some music into the theme.
Example 4C Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme :
Going to sleep.

Exploring sounds, rhythms and songs
which might encourage a bear to go to
sleep.
Theme:
Story used as stimulation.

Why:
A small role-play area – this activity
needs the surrounding vicinity to be as Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
quiet as possible.
A number of bears and beds (just
covers on the floor are fine).
Selection of instruments.
Some lengths of material.
Peace at last, by Jill Murphy
(Macmillan, 1995).
78

How do you get to sleep at night?
Why do we need to sleep?
What things might keep you awake?

The children might:
Begin to move to music, listen to or join in rhymes or songs.

A range of instruments.
Adult support.

CLL – make up own story.
KUW – materials, what would feel soft?

Number of children in space.
Exploration process
1. At group story time read the story using a wide range of visual aids, including
the bears and lanterns (you could have made these with the children). Allow time
to discuss the implications of the story and for children to express their own expe-
riences of this situation.
2. Make a list with the children of all the things that might help the little bear to
get to sleep. Tell the children that they are going to turn the role-play area into the
bear’s cave and explore some of these ideas.
3. Fully involve the children in this process, keeping the area quite basic without
too many distractions. (We set up four bears in their cosy beds, lots of cushions
and soft wrapping materials. We also included some lullabies on pieces of card
and storybooks.) Agree with the children that a limited number of children at a
time will be able to explore this role-play area but that they will all get a turn.

1. Work with small groups of children, they need a bear with a bed each. Tell the
children that all methods of getting the bears to sleep have failed and now they
79
Figure 4.3 These girls are really focused on the task of getting the bears to go to sleep
are going to try using musical instruments to lull them to sleep. First make sure
that each bear is well tucked up in bed.
2. Introduce a range of instruments to the group, including loud and quiet instru-
ments. Encourage each child to individually play an instrument, to all listen to
the sound it makes and discuss if this sound would be appropriate to encourage
sleep. The practitioner needs to comment on and develop the children’s vocabu-
lary. Having discarded the noisy instruments, encourage the children to choose
an instrument to play to their bear. At this point you can also model a quiet voice
when talking to the children and they will copy this when telling their bears that
it’s time to go to sleep.
3. Observe the children, for example, as in Figure 4.3 as they play their instru-
ments, commenting on patterns that you like and the actions they are making.
For example, using the beater very gently, shaking the bells very slowly. Encourage
the children to explore all the instruments but don’t let this session run for too
long or they will lose concentration.
Stage three – conclude the theme

1. Tell the children the bears are so nearly asleep but that they need to be wrapped
up in some materials and rocked gently while the children sing a lullaby to them.
80
Modelling a quiet, gentle movement, support the children while they wrap a
chosen piece of material around their bear.
2. Choose a favourite lullaby and sing it together, accompanying it yourself with

one of the instruments. Remember the voice is an instrument too and the chil-
dren could be reminded that they are choosing to make their voices quiet so as
not to startle the bear. Encourage the children to rock their bear as they sing, keep-
ing a slow and steady rhythm and movement.
3. Close the session by asking the children to carefully put the bears into their
beds and tiptoe out of the role-play area.
Working with a small group of children at a time will ensure that the practitioner
is able to observe stages of development and any significant areas of progress.
Ways forward
Expressive movements could be encouraged through a movement and dance
sequence.
Examples of activities starting from music and dance (2)
Example 4D Movement and dance activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
Theme:
Travelling and exploring.

Explorers’ dance, developing into a sequence.
Why?
Dinosaur topic.
Round mats – one per child.
Large space – could be outside.
Appropriate music.
Plastic toy animals, e.g. a dinosaur, a tiger and an elephant.
81
Suggested questions to ask: Possible learning outcomes: Questions to ask:
What will we need on our journey?

The children might:
What might we see on our journey?

How will you feel?
Suggested learning outcomes:
The children might:
Imitate and create movement in response Health and safety Opportunities for
Theme:
to music and imagination. considerations: differentiation:
Develop a sequence of movements linked Creative arts activity:
to an idea.
Why:

Size of group.
Adult support. Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:

CLL – stories and rhymes about explo-
ration. For example, Walking through the
Jungle, by Julie Lacome (Walker Books,
1995).
KUW – living things, bones, telescope.
PSED – self-care.
CD – looking at artists’ work, Rousseau.
Floor surface.
Exploration process
1. Invite the children to sit on their spot in a big circle and explain that they are
all going to go on a journey during which time they might find some dinosaur
bones or some wild animals.
2. Get ready for the journey – What will we need? As the children make sugges-
tions, demonstrate different movements, for example as shown by Figure 4.4, as
they wriggle on their socks or stretch their arms into their jumpers. Encourage
movements that include sitting and standing.
3. Pack the rucksacks. Again, ask the children for suggestions. Food will certainly fea-
ture and you could include movements such as screwing the cap on the water bottle.
Don’t forget the hats and sunscreen, which they could first put on their bodies.
4. Introduce a telescope and discuss what it could be used for. Practise extending
it out and pushing it in, to make sure it is working properly. Maybe they could
look at the person next to them through their telescope, as the boy shown in
Figure 4.5 is doing very earnestly.
82
Figure 4.4 Getting ready to explore the jungle
Figure 4.5 It’s very important to be able to use a telescope when looking for wild animals
83
5. Practise walking and looking through the telescope by creating a short

sequence, as follows: 4 steps on the spot followed by 4 stretching out the tele-
scope movements – these could go up, down or to the side.
6. Introduce some slow, steady beat music for the children and adults to move to
in this sequence.
7. The children return to their own spot to finish this stage – it’s time to have a
drink from the water bottle.

1. Introduce the plastic dinosaur to the children and tell them you have found a huge
dinosaur bone and it is very heavy. Model holding and lifting this heavy imaginary
bone. Encourage the children to stand up and pass this bone to each other making
sure you praise their actions to help develop the relevant vocabulary.
2. Invite the children to stand up and introduce a sequence of lifting a heavy

bone, all together to the count of 4 to lift it and 1 to drop it as it is so heavy.
3. Discuss how a dinosaur with bones this big and heavy might move.
4. Develop a slow, heavy, steady beat dinosaur dance with the children, using
suitable music. Encourage good use of space and working at different levels.
5. When this stage reaches a natural conclusion encourage the children to slowly
sink back on their spots.

1. Introduce the plastic tiger to the children, discuss its name and any information
the children may offer about it. Develop the idea of the tiger creeping stealthily for-
ward through the jungle.
2. Tell the children they are going to look for a tiger and remind them of their explor-
ers’ dance, using the telescope. You can then develop a sequential dance that is as
simple or complicated as your group can cope with. The following example is the
one we used with our group, keeping to a steady beat of 4 counts. It is a good idea
to repeat the movements several times before you introduce any music.
Marching to 4 counts
Lunging with the telescope in different directions to 4 counts
Feet staying on floor, creep hands forward for 4 counts
Feet staying on floor, creep hands backwards for 4 counts
Tiptoe low down for 4 counts
Tiptoe, stretching up high for 4 counts
March around the space pushing aside the jungle foliage to finish the sequence.
84
3. Divide the group into two and invite each group to show the other group their
sequence. Remind them of the creeping action of the tiger and ask where this fea-
tures in their dance.
4. Return to the circle for a well-deserved drink and snack from the rucksacks.
Practitioners are able to observe children’s participation, actions and ideas.
A book of photographs will describe and record the adventure and encourage
children to recall the experience.
Ways forward
The children could develop musical instruments to accompany the explorers’
dance.
It would be easy to introduce other animals into the activity, for example an
elephant, and discuss how the movements would be different.
The theme of bones, stones, and other things that are dug up offers potential
for development.
Example 4E Visual art activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Bones and stones.

Exploring clay.
Why?
Development of a dinosaur theme. Health and safety Opportunities for
Searching for hidden objects.

Theme:
Clay, red and white if possible. (We would Why:
recommend that you use proper clay not

air-hardening clay. You will not be firing
this and will be able to recycle and reuse it, Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:
unless it dries out completely.)

Large builder’s tray.
Water.
Clay tools.
Mark-making equipment.
85
Table protection and A4 size pieces of cardboard for children to work on.
A selection of stones, sticks, shells and bones if available and clean.
Plastic dinosaurs/animals.

How does it feel?
What can you find?

The children might:
Be interested in and describe the texture of things.
Differentiate marks and movements on paper.
Experiment to create different textures.

Size of group.
A variety of levels on which to work.
Adult support.

KUW – materials
PD – use of tools.
CD – looking at sculptors’ work.

Use of tools.
Exploration process
1. Invite the children to sit in a circle around a large piece of paper taped to the
floor. Show the children an interesting-looking stone and describe why you like
it, what you have noticed about it. Tell them where it came from – out of the
ground, maybe in your garden.
2. Pass a selection of items around the circle so that each child has something to
look at. Invite the children to use all their senses, to see how the item looks, feels,
smells, does it make a sound and would they want to taste it?
3. Ensure that each child has the opportunity to talk about their object, at all
times be supportive and encouraging and allow for the child to follow what may
seem an obscure link in their imagination.
86
4. Encourage the children to explore other objects, and use the mark-making
tools to visually describe what they can see on the big piece of paper. We found
that children quickly observed patterns and shapes. Very few children used the
objects to draw around and if they did we encouraged them to make a bigger one
around the little one, to make a ‘house’ for it. Discuss what might have made the
holes in the stones and shells and how the sticks came to be such strange shapes.
5. Stand back and look at the picture. Most children will be able to identify their
own work. This will make a great display, with photos and children’s comments
alongside the natural objects.

1. Provide a small group of children with a builder’s tray (mixing spot) in which
there is a little water and a selection of pieces of clay. You do not need much. This
is going to give them the opportunity to discover the properties of clay in a play
situation. It is important that an adult is present to be able to support and observe
the children’s comments.
2. Encourage the children to squeeze and spread the clay, as illustrated by Figure
4.6, to describe how it feels and to notice what happens when it mixes with the
water.
Figure 4.6 Children will naturally engage in conversation whilst exploring the qualities of clay
87
3. When they have had sufficient time, suggest they might like to hide some
stones, shells or sticks in the clay, adding more clay or water if necessary.
Dinosaurs could also be part of this play if required. We used them because we
were developing a theme about dinosaurs, but you could use any animals.
4. At all times listen to, repeat and extend the children’s textural vocabulary. This
type of exploration may be as much as some children need and they may need it
frequently before they are ready for the next stage.

1. Provide a small group of children with a ball of clay, which is not too sticky.
Have available the stones and sticks to look at as they work. Encourage the chil-
dren to push fingers into the clay to make holes, maybe like they can see in the
stones. See if they can squeeze the clay to make shapes like the natural objects
and then use the clay tools to copy the marks and patterns on them. A garlic press
is great fun for making wiggly worm shapes. Remind them how the use of added
water will smooth the clay and moisten it if it is getting too dry.
2. The clay objects could be saved as part of a natural landscape for small world
play. Once dried, they will eventually crack with use but that can be another
opportunity to observe the properties of materials. If the budget is an issue and if
the clay has not completely dried out, it can be squeezed back into a big ball and
covered with a damp cloth or put in a covered bucket with a little water in it, to
be used another time. Most children at this stage are happy for the experience to
be the important part as long as the adults are not demanding an end result.
Stage four – investigating another property of clay

1. Provide each child with a small ball of clay and show them how to flatten it
slightly with a rolling pin.
2. Have a selection of items which the child can use to press into the clay and
observe the impression it leaves when taken out.
3. Encourage the children to explore their environment with their ball of clay and
see what patterns they can find. Our children discovered that practically anything
they pressed their clay onto made a pattern and some children actually then
referred back to the drawing patterns they had made earlier.
Practitioners can observe language and physical skills.
A photographic record can be made of the children’s work, and they can be
encouraged to draw their creations.
88
Ways forward
There are opportunities to develop impression work by using a variety of materials,
such as playdough, or plasticine, to make moulds.
Language skills may be developed, as we found the children in our sessions
clearly identified opposites like smooth, bumpy, dry and wet.
Further activities might develop sand and malleable materials play.
Example 4F Music activity
AC TI V IT Y P L AN
The children might:
Theme:
Opposites.
To investigate opportunities to explore
opposites using musical instruments.
Why?
To develop an idea from a previous
Theme:
experience. Creative arts activity:
Dinosaur Roar!, by Paul and Henrietta
Why:
Stickland (Ragged Bears, 1997).

Cloth 1, with instruments that will make
a loud and short sound: for example,
a drum, claves, tambourine, coconut,
woodblock.
Cloth 2, with instruments that will make a
quiet and long sound: for example, Indian
bells, triangle, cymbal, xylophone.
If you can, use bright multi-cultural material, it will look really inviting.
Selection of beaters to produce loud or quiet sounds.
Home-made or toy dinosaurs.
Is it loud or quiet?
Do they sound the same?
How shall we decide when to stop?
Listen to our voices – are they high or low?

The children might:
Tap out some simple repeated rhythms and make some up.
89

Explore the different sounds of instruments.

Group size.
Adult support.
Types of instruments offered.

CLL – storytelling.
KUW – use of materials.
MD – counting opportunities.

Use of instruments.
Exploration process
1. Read Dinosaur Roar! to the children. Take opportunities to encourage the chil-
dren to make connections between the size of the dinosaur and the type of noise
it might make.
2. We had made dinosaurs with the children and they sang a welcome song to
them, making them dance. You could use a variety of toy dinosaurs for the same
purpose. We ensured that we praised the children, saying ‘Well done, you really
moved to the rhythm of that song.’
3. Leave the dinosaurs in a safe place for future use.

1. Invite the children to sit around cloth 1, with the loud and short sounding
instruments, telling them they are going to listen to the sounds that the instru-
ments can make. At this stage introduce a signal that means stop – for example,
one hand raised, palm facing the children.
2. Encourage each child to choose an instrument and explore the sound – when
they have had sufficient time, try the ‘stop’ signal. Tell the children that, like one
of the dinosaurs in the story, they are going to try to make a loud and short sound
with their instrument. Because you have pre-selected the available instruments
this concept will not appear too confusing.
90
Figure 4.7 An interesting selection of instruments stimulates children to focus on a task
3. Going around the circle, as shown in Figure 4.7, encourage children to play
their loud and short sound. As they do so tell them the name of the instrument
if they don’t already know it and ask the other children if the sound is correct.
4. If you feel the children are developmentally ready, you can play a game called
‘Pass the sound’. The children will have to watch to see when it is their turn to play
as they pass the sound around the circle, and for some children this will be quite
a challenge. Allow several opportunities to do this, encouraging children to
change instruments and try something different. Keep reminding them about the
loud and short concept. We noticed that many children were able to develop the
ability to make a louder sound with practice and improving self-confidence.
Stage three – change the opposites

1. Invite the children to sit around cloth 2, with the quiet and long sounding
instruments on it. Explain that they are going to listen first and play in a moment.
2. Tell the children you are going to play the Indian bells and you want them to
count and see what number they reach when they can no longer hear the sound.
It works better if an adult plays the bells for the first time to ensure that you get
a good, long quality of sound. Model the steady counting with the children.
91
3. Repeat the previous example with the children, passing the quiet long sound.
The example of Figure 12 on the companion website illustrates clearly the level
of concentration of the group we worked with.
Stage four – add a challenge and recall the theme

1. Invite each child to choose an instrument from either selection and remove the
rest. Ask them if they can find a way of changing the sound of the instrument.
This may be by scratching a tambourine rather than banging it or by scraping a
guiro rather than tapping it. Beaters covered in different materials will also pro-
duce a different effect. Observe and comment on the children’s approach to this
task, making sure they show each other what they have discovered.
2. Remind the children about the dinosaur story and suggest they might like to
use their instruments to make up a dinosaur dance. For example, the children
who chose to play loud short sounds could march or jump as they played and the
children who chose quiet long sounds could wriggle or float as they played. Don’t
forget to remind them about the ‘stop’ command! You could also add music at
this stage.
Practitioners can observe the approach to the given task and the use of coopera-
tive skills.
These could be the opportunity to record the different sounds the children have
discovered.
Ways forward
The children could develop simple musical compositions using symbols to rep-
resent the type of sound.
The ‘Pass the sound’ game can be made more challenging by introducing the
rule that if someone plays the sound twice, it then has to be passed in the oppo-
site direction.
Children could make their own instruments to display different sound qualities.
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A PPENDIX
Integrated arts planning format
The completed activity records here show how the projects described in this book
link together. A blank photocopiable is also included for practitioners to use in
recording how the projects in their own settings are integrating.
93
Skinner-3502-Appendix.qxd
94
Music activity (2C)

Movement and dance activity (2B)
Visual art activity (2A)
Theme: Going on a bear hunt
1/22/2007
Theme: Going on a bear hunt

Theme: Pathways
Music activity: Exploration of qualities
MD activity: Exploring dramatic move-
Art activity: Exploration of materials of instruments, including the voice
ment
4:49 PM
An installation activity that encour- The children explore sounds to inter-
In using a familiar story the children
ages children to explore a variety of pret parts of the story and build up a
are encouraged explore a range of
different materials and experiences. sequence sound story.
Page 94
movements and work cooperatively.
Music activity (2F)

Visual art activity (2D) Movement and dance activity (2E)
Theme: Stars
Theme: Insects Theme: Stars

Music activity: Identification of
Art activity: Using materials to create MD activity: Developing movement to
musical sounds and beginnings of
and decorate interpret a story
composition
An installation activity that encour- Individually and cooperatively explor-
Exploration of sound and possibilities
ages children to explore structures ing movements to illustrate a favourite
of working with a partner.
and creative use of materials. story.
Chapter 2 Starting from the visual arts

Music activity (3A) Visual art activity (3B) Movement and dance activity (3C)
1/22/2007
Theme: Going on a musical journey Theme: Insects Theme: Going to journey
Music activity: Exploration of sound

Visual art activity: Exploration of light
and shadow
MD activity: A sequential journey in
movement and dance
4:49 PM
Following an exploration of
instruments, the children use an Children explore shadow possibilities The children experience the fun of
outdoor area to investigate the using light boxes and a range of going on a journey, discovering items
Page 95
sounds they can hear. materials. on the way and building up a sequen-
tial pattern of movement.
Music activity (3D) Movement and dance activity (3E)

Visual art activity (3F)
Theme: The relationship between
Theme: Exploring sound using
movement and sound Theme: Expressing movement

percussion instruments
Music activity: Making percussion

instruments MD activity: Responding to sounds of
percussion instruments
The children will explore movements

Visual art activity: Printmaking
The children investigate printmaking

to the sounds made by home-made tools and explore the process.
The children explore a range of mate-
rials to make and use instruments. instruments.
Chapter 3 Starting from music

95
96
Music activity (4C)

Movement and Dance activity (4A) Visual art activity (4B)
1/22/2007
Theme: Going to sleep
Theme: A journey into space Theme: Going on a journey
MD activity: Developing a sequence of

movements Visual art activity: String printing
Music activity: Exploration of sounds,
rhythms and song
4:49 PM
The children can investigate the prop-
The children explore the instruments
The children explore movement possi- erties of materials and explore the
to make appropriate sounds to soothe
bilities based on a journey into space. process of printing with string.
Page 96
teddy bears to sleep.
Visual art activity (4E) Music activity (4F)

Movement and Dance activity (4D)
Theme: Bones and stones Theme: Opposites

Theme: Travelling and exploring

Visual art activity: Exploring clay Music activity: Exploration of oppo-
MD activity: Developing a dance
sites using musical instruments
sequence
The children have the opportunity to
investigate a range of natural objects Using a story as a stimulus the chil-
Using a story as a stimulus the
and develop the process of working dren explore making opposite sounds
children develop a dance to represent
with clay. with instruments.
the idea of an explorer in a jungle.
Chapter 4 Starting from movement and dance

Skinner-3502-Appendix.qxd 1/22/2007 4:49 PM Page 97

Starting from:
P
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Skinner-3502-Resources.qxd 1/22/2007 4:51 PM Page 98
R ESOURCES
Visual arts
Paint and mark-making tips
Explore different types of paint (non-toxic) such as acrylic, watercolours
and inks. Remember you can mix things like washing-up liquid, washing
powder, sand, glue and vegetable oil with most types of paint to thicken
it and make it more stimulating.
Paint on flat and upright surfaces as the paint responds in different ways.
Try painting on windows, clear Perspex, thick polythene sheets, bubble
wrap, material.
Use paint inside and outside to explore scale opportunities.
Experiment with different tools to apply paint, such as big and small
brushes, twigs, cotton buds, cloths, sponges, string, fingers and feet.
Good ideas for mark-making are oil pastels, chalk pastels, felt-tip pens,
graphite pencils.
Light and shadow tips

Explore a variety of light sources – torches, overhead projector, slide pro-
jector, lamps, sun.
Test out different fabrics and papers to make the screen for a light box e.g.
cotton, Lycra, tracing paper, silk. Try coloured materials, too.
Project anything that will cast an interesting shadow – Christmas tree dec-
orations, household objects.
Explore on a big and small scale using small light boxes and large pieces
of sheeting. Play games – guess who/what is making the shadow.
Print tips
Mono-printing: use water-based printing inks. Roll the ink onto a hard
surface and make marks into this with a variety of tools.
98
RESOURCES
Oil printing: print with vegetable cooking oil onto paper, experiment with
foam blocks, feathers, string. Let the print dry a little then rub powder
paint into the oil.
Potato prints: still wonderful, but try a variety of paints and surfaces to
print on.
Clay
Use real clay, red or white, but not air-hardening clay which has added
fibres and is hard to manipulate. Buy bags from educational suppliers: it’s
cheap and will last a long time if looked after. Store it in a bucket with a
lid on to keep it damp.
Use a piece of cardboard to work on to stop the clay sticking to a table-
top. You can use a variety of tools, for example strong plastic cutlery, gar-
lic press and combs, to explore the properties of the clay.
Materials/natural objects
Weaving materials can include strips of coloured bin liners, coloured plas-
tic bags, thick wool, string rope, ribbons.
Natural objects such as shells, stones and sticks to make patterns.
Sources of supplies
Remainder stock shops (‘pound shops’).
DIY stores.
Stationers.
Army surplus stores for items such as big foil sheets, tape, plastic sheets,
tents, parachutes.
Fabric shops and market stalls.
Educational supplies catalogues.
Kitchen suppliers.
Charity shops.
Art and craft stores.
Scrapstores.
Free from families and local companies in the community.
99
ARTISTS’ FURTHER RESOURCES SUGGESTIONS
Damm, Antje (2005) Ask Me. London: Frances Lincoln Publishers.

Gee, T. A Moveable Feast – a Workshop Handbook, www.themoveablefeast.co.uk (accessed
September 2006).
Van Swaaij, L. and Klare, J. (2000) The Atlas of Experience (trans. D. Winner). London:
Bloomsbury.
Music
Most music-making in the Early Years should involve singing and rhythmic work
using hand-held un-tuned percussion instruments. These are instruments that
produce a rhythm rather than a tune. However, many children of nursery and
reception age are ready and have the enthusiasm to experiment with tonal instru-
ments such as xylophones and electronic keyboards.
Essential range of instruments

Hand-held percussion suitable for Early Years children, such as egg shak-
ers, claves, tambourines, tambours, maracas, triangles, Indian bells, sleigh
bells, small drums, woodblocks, agogos. It is highly recommended that
you buy high quality instruments, fewer if necessary, rather than a lot of
cheaper plastic instruments.
Several tuned instruments, such as the little xylophones that are readily
commercially available that have coloured keys, enabling the children to
invent a tune and recall it by a pattern of colours.
Desirable additions to your range of instruments

A range of ‘real’ instruments is desirable, some examples of which follow, reflect-
ing the richness and diversity of our culture. These can be ordered from general
educational suppliers or local music shops. Consider the cultures that are repre-
sented in your setting and ask for advice from the families:
Mbira (African thumb piano)
Djembe (African drums)
Darabuka (Middle East and North African drums)
Panpipes
Electronic keyboards.
New ideas
Keep a look out for new developments in musical resources, as they are con-
stantly evolving. For example, Boom-Wackers are tuned plastic tubes which can
100
RESOURCES
be beaten on different surfaces to produce single notes, chords and patterns. They
are a particularly effective way to draw boys into music-making because they
involve large-scale movement to create sounds. These and related music resources
are available through mainstream educational suppliers and good music shops.
Make your own instruments

Ensure you keep a well-stocked range of items to enable children to explore the pos-
sibilities of making their own instruments to produce a required sound. These will
include card tubes, plastic film wrap, dried pulses and sticks. It is also well worth
exploring the shops at specific times of the year, for example just after Easter time, as
you can find reduced plastic egg containers to make into simple egg shakers.
Record your music

Make sure you have a reasonably good quality cassette player or similar to enable
the children to record their music-making. Don’t forget that many mobile phones
will record sound.
You will also need an extensive range of different types of music for the chil-
dren to listen to. We would recommend that young children are not automati-
cally exposed to ‘background’ music all day long because they begin to lose the
ability to really listen to a piece of music, which is a skill in itself.
Hedger, A. (n.d.) Hubble-Bubble: 22 New Things to Do in Music Sessions with the Very Young.
Golden Apple Productions, a division of Chester Music Limited.
Hedger, A. (n.d.) New Ways with Old Rhymes: 21 Rhymes with Singing and Percussion Activities.
Golden Apple Publications, a division of Chester Music Limited.
Floyd, M. (1991) Folk Songs from Africa. London: Faber Music.
Gritton, P. and Bolam, K. (1993) Folk songs from the Caribbean. London: Faber Music.
Both the latter collections have an accompanying cassette or CD. As well as the lyrics and
music they also include simple percussion activities.
Movement and dance

Movement and dance does not need very much in the way of resources but one
important thing is space. Most Early Years settings have a dedicated outside space
divided up into areas that contain fixed items, for example a sandpit, a garden or
planting area and shed for wheeled toys storage. While these are all an important
part of delivering the Early Years curriculum it could be worthwhile thinking
about the space carefully before items are ‘fixed’ because an area can sometimes
be more versatile with a little more flexibility. The following are some points that
may influence your decision.
101
The advantages of an empty space are:
It ensures the children focus on the activity, as there is nothing else to dis-
tract them.
The children are able to safely create big energetic movements in a con-
trolled area without the threat of hurting themselves or others.
Music can be played loudly if appropriate.
The disadvantages of a large empty space are that it can have the opposite
effect of dissipating the focus, especially with only a few children in it.This can be
addressed by cordoning off one area and then working the group in a circle to
direct the energy inwards.
An empty space means that the practitioner has to be really prepared with
dance ideas and must use resources to stimulate the children. If the children are
not engaged in an activity they can cause havoc by endlessly racing around, which
is a potentially stressful and non-productive situation for a practitioner to be in.
It is also bad practice to get everyone warmed up and then run out of ideas and
have to ask them to sit down again and get cold.
Materials
Small non-slip bath mats are a brilliant idea, as illustrated in many of the
activity examples, because they provide the children with a place to ‘be’,
which also helps to focus their concentration.
A range of beautiful materials will help stimulate movement. One tip is to
sew a little sand in a corner of a lightweight piece of material, which will
alter the way it moves.
Ribbons and scarves – these can be hand-held, tied on short sticks or sewn
onto a small hair scrunchie and then placed on a finger or wrist. These can
be used for a variety of large movement and pattern explorations.
Music
Music is an important resource and you need to set aside a significant amount of
time to listen to a selection and research your collection. Choose tracks that really
do what you want them to do, for example, create an atmosphere, provide a heavy
beat or complex rhythm. Listen out for music and if you hear something you like –
on television, radio, in the cinema or out shopping – find out the name of the artist.
The following are some music ideas to start from. Please check all lyrics before
use to ensure they are age-appropriate, and, if necessary, clear copyright with the
appropriate copyright-holder.
102
RESOURCES
Electronic dance music:

Mylo
The Chemical Brothers
Lemon Jelly
Orbital
Fat Boy Slim
Traditional world music:
Regional UK folk
Blue Grass/American folk
Cuban rhythms
Flamenco rhythms
African /Indian drumming/singing
Film scores:
Disney/Pixel films
Bollywood films
Quentin Tarantino soundtracks
Compilation CDs:
Music from adverts
Music from films
Music from television programmes
Compilation CDs given free with newspapers
Music websites – some online music websites allow you to listen to a
short sample of the album so you can try before you buy.
Apple: iTunes Music Store – a large catalogue of songs in digital formats
available for purchase and download.
www.apple.com/itunes/music
Amazon.com Music – online shopping for thousands of music CDs.
www.amazon.com
103
Music companies:
Jabadoo
www.jabadoo.org
Bare Toed (Early Years movement, play and dance)
www.baretoed.co.uk
Dance organisations
www.danceuk.org
www.communitydance.org.uk
www.ndta.org.uk (The National Dance Teachers Association)
www.akademi.co.uk (South Asian Dance in the UK)
www.adad.org.uk (Association of Dance of the African Diaspora)
Dance Books Ltd – www.dancebooks.co.uk

Specialist dance bookshop that sells new books, videos and CDs.
Sightlines Initiative – www.sightlines-initiative.com
Supports creative thinking and practice in early childhood services across the UK.
104
Skinner-3502-Index.qxd 1/22/2007 4:50 PM Page 105
I NDEX
Added to the page number ‘f’ denotes a figure.
A exploring sound using percussion instruments music

activity plans 2–4 activity cont.
assessment opportunities 4 exploration process 60–2
ways forward 62
B expressing movement visual arts
bear hunt movement and dance activity 28–31 activity 65–8
activity plan 28–9 activity plan 65–6
assessment opportunities 31 assessment opportunities 68
exploration process 29–31 exploration process 66–8
ways forward 31 ways forward 68
bear hunt music activity 32–4
activity plan 32 F
assessment opportunities 34 family, role in planning and delivery
exploration process 33–4 16, 17f
ways forward 34
bones and stones visual arts activity 85–9 G
activity plan 85–6 going on a journey movement and dance
assessment opportunities 88 activity 55–9
exploration process 86–8 activity plan 55–6
ways forward 89 assessment opportunities 58
exploration process 56–8
C ways forward 59
chaos in activities going on a journey visual arts activity 74–8
in movement and dance 70 activity plan 74–5
in the visual arts 23 assessment opportunities 78
when using instruments 46 exploration process 75–8
clay 98 ways forward 78
communication 16 going on a musical journey 46–51
CreatAbility project ix–x activity plan 46–7
influences on 7 assessment opportunities 50–1
creative development in the Early Years Foundation Stage 6–7 exploration process 47–50
creative learning in early years 5–19 ways forward 51
creative skills, developing 6 going to sleep music activity 78–81
creativity 5 activity plan 78–9
assessment opportunities 81
D exploration process 79–81
dance, movement and see movement and dance ways forward 81
displays 13–14
H
E helping children with activities 23
Early Learning Goals 7
early years, definition 8–9 I
Early Years Foundation Stage Framework 17–18 ideas, running out of 22
creative development in 6–7 inclusive environments 17–19
and equal opportunities 19 entitlement 17
Effective Provision of Pre-School Education equal opportunities 18–19
(EPPE) report 7 planning 17–18
empty space and movement and dance 101 insects visual arts activity 35–8
‘end results’ from activities 22 activity plan 35
entitlement 17 assessment opportunities 38
equal opportunities 18–19 exploration process 35–8
Every Child Matters 1 starting from music 51–5
exploration process 4 activity plan 51–2
exploring sound using percussion instruments music assessment opportunities 55
activity 59–62 exploration process 52–5
activity plan 59–60 ways forward 55
assessment opportunities 62 ways forward 38
105
instruments see musical instruments musical instruments cont.

integrated arts planning format 93–6 new ideas 99–100
interrelationship between the child, the family playing 46
and setting 16 range of 99
resources for 46, 99–100
J
journey into space movement and dance activity 71–4 N
activity plan 71–2 natural objects, use in the visual arts 98
assessment opportunities 73
exploration process 72–3 O
ways forward 74 opposites music activity 89–92
activity plan 89–90
L assessment opportunities 92
learning environment 10–14 exploration process 90–2
displays 13–14 ways forward 92
organisation 11–12 outside space 10–11,100
physical space see physical space
resources see resources P
light and shadow tips 97 paint and mark-making tips 97
lighting 10 pathways visual arts activity 23–8
activity plan 23–4
M assessment opportunities 27
mark-making tips, paint and 97 exploration process 24–7
mess 22 ways forward 28
parent’s complaining about 22 physical space
movement and dance 69–92 and the learning environment 10–11
advice on 70–1 for movement and dance 71, 100–1
and developing creative awareness 69–70 to explore art activities 21
example activities starting, from 71–92 planning and delivery 9–19
bones and stones visual arts activity see bones and stones and inclusive environments 17–19
visual arts activity entitlement 17
going on a journey visual arts activity see going on equal opportunities 18–19
a journey visual arts activity planning 17–18
going to sleep music activity see going to sleep and the learning environment 10–14
music activity displays 13–14
journey into space see journey into space movement organisation of 11–12
and dance activity physical space see physical space
opposites music activity see opposites music activity resources see resources
travelling and exploring see travelling and exploring and practitioners see practitioners
movement and dance activity role of the family 16,17f
integrated arts planning format 96 communication 16
resources 100–3 relationship 16
music 45–68 and settings see settings
advice on 46 practitioners 14–16
and developing creative awareness 45 attitude 14,15f
example activities starting from 46–68 communication between parents/carers and 16
exploring sound using percussion instruments see reflective 15
exploring sound using percussion instruments training 14–15
music activity print tips 97–8
expressing movement visual arts activity see expressing process over product 8f, 9
movement visual arts activity
going on a journey movement and dance activity R
see going on a journey movement and reflective practitioners 15
dance activity Reggio Emilia approach 7
going on a musical journey see going on a relationship between movement and sound movement
musical journey and dance activity 62–5
insects visual arts activity see insects visual arts activity plan 62–3
activity, starting from music assessment opportunities 65
relationship between movement and sound movement exploration process 63–5
and dance activity see relationship between ways forward 65
movement and sound movement and research supporting the creative approach 7
dance activity resources 12–13, 97–103
integrated arts planning format 95 budgets for 22
for movement and dance 70, 101–3 for movement and dance 100–3
recording 100 for music 46, 99–100
resources 99–100 organisation of 11–12
musical instruments 99–100 for visual arts 97–9
bringing out 46 sources of supplies 98
making your own 100 routines 9
106
INDEX
S travelling and exploring movement and dance activity 81–5

settings 9–10 activity plan 81–2
communication between the family and 16 assessment opportunities 85
ethos 9–10 exploration process 82–5
process over product 9 ways forward 85
routines 9 two-dimensional exploration of the visual arts 21
interrelationship between the child, the family
and 16 V
suitability of activities for 1–2 visual arts 20–44
shadow tips, light and 97 advice on 21–3
singing 46 and developing creative awareness 20–1
space see physical space example activities starting from 23–44
stars movement and dance activity 38–41 bear hunt movement and dance activity see bear hunt
activity plan 38–9 movement and dance activity
assessment opportunities 41 bear hunt music activity see bear hunt
exploration process 39–41 music activity
ways forward 41 insects see insects visual arts activity
stars music activity 41–4 pathways see pathways visual arts activity
activity plan 41–2 stars movement and dance activity see stars movement
assessment opportunities 44 and dance activity
exploration process 42–4 stars music activity see stars music activity
ways forward 44 integrated arts planning format 94
resources 97–9
T sources of supplies 98
three-dimensional exploration of the visual
arts 21 W
time management of activities 22 water, access to 21–2
training 14–15 ways forward 4
107

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Creative

© Stella M. Skinner 2007

First published 2007

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or

Paul Chapman Publishing

SAGE Publications Inc

SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd

SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007920334

A catalogue record for this book is available from the

Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India

Author’s acknowledgement vii

2 Starting from the visual arts 20

3 Starting from music 45

4 Starting from movement and dance 69

Appendix: Integrated arts planning format 93

To encourage children to lead their own exploration of the materials or

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

Bognor Regis Nursery School

The CreatAbility team consisted of:

THE CREATABILITY PROJECT

Jane Chalk Jane studied at the University of Plymouth gaining a BA Hons in 3D

H OW TO USE THIS BOOK

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

The example of each activity is described in terms of a standard planning

Theme: The children might:

This could be a general theme that the

Creative arts activity:

dren’s interest, an observation of a child

makes a difference to the quality of the

Suggested questions to ask:

Possible learning outcomes:

Possible learning outcomes: Questions to ask:

Health and safety Opportunities for

Creative arts activity:

Resources: Relevant Curriculum links:

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

Relevant curriculum links:

Health and safety considerations:

Each activity is further described under the following three headings:

This chapter will give you ideas to consider concerning:

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

The importance of developing creative skills

We have the evidence in archaeological remains and historical artefacts that

Make connections with others by ‘speaking’ feelings in verbal/non-verbal

How does creative development feature in the

Being creative – responding to experiences and expressing and communi-

1 ■ AN APPROACH TO CREATIVE LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS

Current research which supports this approach to learning

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

Definition of Early Years

1 ■ AN APPROACH TO CREATIVE LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS

possible learning outcomes relating to the appropriate Creative Early Learning

What do we need in place to support an imaginative

The ethos of the setting

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS

The learning environment (inside and outside)

1 ■ AN APPROACH TO CREATIVE LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR THE EARLY YEARS