Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
On Being an Atelierista

A fantastic recollection from Anna Golden on what it’s like to be an Atelierista – or resident artist/studio teacher – in a Reggio Emilia-inspired American preschool.

I love Anna’s blog dearly; it’s one of the relative few that talks about kids where I feel at home.

Feb 16, 2010 :: Tagged under: , , :: #

Exploring the Forest: Wild Places in Childhood (PDF)

Some really wonderful stuff in here.

Even if you’re familiar with much of the “children in nature” literature, preschool teacher Anna Golden brings it all together so very nicely with this narrative account of her class’s exploration of the nearby woods. A completely enjoyable read, all throughout.

Don’t forget to check out the references at the end – there’s some fantastic writing there, with Rich Louv, Robin Moore and Roger Hart’s works about children in nature; Louise Chawla, Elizabeth Goodenough and David Sobel’s explorations of the meaning of places in childhood; and lastly, writing about the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. I’d recommend every one of them.

Feb 03, 2010 :: Tagged under: , , , :: #

Places of Education

The early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy – widely acclaimed to be among the best in the world – have a saying about their classrooms: “The environment is the third teacher,” alongside parents and teachers themselves. This very visceral connection that children have to physical spaces and places (PDF) is too important to neglect, and yet so many of our classrooms are poorly kept, uninspired, and ill-maintained.

“A school needs to be a place for all children, not based on the idea that they are all the same, but that they are all different.”

-Loris Malaguzzi, Founder of the Reggio Emilia schools

With this in mind, GOOD Magazine has a selection from Lissa Rivera’s photo collection, “Places of Education.” It’s interesting to consider classrooms in such a detached way, that perhaps only a photograph can provide: when we step back and really see how these classrooms and places of education are, I think we begin to question what implicit assumptions and expectations they communicate about education the process of learning.

Among my favourite of Rivera’s photos:

I feel like I could spend all day in this art studio at The Windsor School.

Nov 23, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , :: #

Six-Year-Old Watercolour Artist

The Daily Mail:

A street scene from the paintbrush of a child usually involves triangle-topped boxes for houses. And often an unnaturally large dog. But Kieron Williamson’s attempts are so beautifully rendered that artists ten times his age will be filled with envy.

Experts have said that the six-year-old’s atmospheric paintings, which began with harbour scenes and expanded to include rural vistas, animal portraits and landmarks, have perspective, shadow and reflections that demonstrate an ability well beyond his years. He is even preparing for his first exhibition in a gallery near his home in Holt, Norfolk.

Here’s one of his paintings:

Young six-year-old's watercolour painting

Kieron’s mother mused, “We often think about why Kieron has chosen art in this way and I think it’s because we live in a top-floor flat and we have no garden or outside space, so perhaps he’s had to create his own scenery.”

Whatever his motivation, Kieron’s certainly found a wonderful mode of expression for himself. And while not to belittle his impressive efforts, I do wonder how many children beyond Kieron are capable of such work – provided we adults allow and encourage them to do so. The work being done to help support children’s literacy and expression through the arts in the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, for example, is simply stunning – and will undoubtedly impress a person of any age. (The first time I watched the video “To Make a Portrait of a Lion”, for instance – documenting a group of young children’s efforts to fully understand and make a portrait of one of the large marble lions in San Prospero Square in Reggio Emilia – I was simply floored with wonder.)

But what’s important to consider when we see great art coming from children is that it’s not so much a matter of talent, but of expectations. If we hold a powerful image of children in our heads – if we expect them to be strong, competent, thinking, and wise – then they will most often rise to meet those expectations.

Aug 01, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , , :: #