BIII - What about taking this empty cup & filling it up

With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's okay to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
Love for a Child - Jason Mraz

How do Sylvia Kind’s ideas about children’s art relate to those you have held? How can they guide you as you approach practice?

I've always liked Jason Mraz. Even before he got all mainstreamy and played on the radio constantly. Plus I've always liked his songs that weren't played on the radio, they've always seemed to have a little more substance. Nonetheless, I think I've found another appropriate song. Though technically these lyrics could be being read out of context in relation to this blog, I'll just ignore that and innocently grin.

Sylvia Kind basically addresses the development of a child in an art environment. She talks about the kinesthetic and aesthetic evolution of a child's work. Initially a child's development is purely kinesthetic with the learning of motor skills and sensory learning. If I do this I feel this then I see this... and crayons smell waxy. Then a child develops to a stage where their works depict stories, which I've witnessed. My little cousin had this elaborate story for this large drawing. They story may have changed each time but the objects in the drawing were constant -- the group of ladybugs were in the grass under the sun and things in the sky. When I say things in the sky, they'd be explained differently each time and I feel that's a small example of his development into another stage in artistic development.

It's very interesting to know Kind's ideas because I feel they congruent with what I've observed but haven't been able to verbalize/confirm. I remember being a child and drawing random things just to see what I'd experience and feel. One of my significant childhood memories is tracing shadows when I was trying to develop representation. Come to think of it - I was artistically developing early as I was still at most 8 years of age and focusing on the detail of shadows. But none the less it's interesting to read Kind's ideas.

The confirmation and presentation of these ideas let me feel comfortable understanding the developmental stages of a child in an art environment. To have these ideas solidified, in my mind, allow me to watch for the developmental stages of children and manage what they are capable of and comfortable with. At the same time, I'll be able to understand when they start to progress and perhaps help them along their way. The largest impact her work is the idea of kinesthetic learning within art. Taking into account of what the child is experiencing through various senses gives a lesson plan another dimension, another thing to learn, another memory for the child -- like the fact that crayons smell waxy.