ART

In today’s seminar we had the opportunity to let our creative minds flow and put ourselves in the shoes of the children we will soon be teaching. We were given a bunch of different materials and asked to make a paintbrush. To begin with I was quite confused as to why we had been asked to do such a task, but as the lesson progressed the answer became very clear.

As children start to appreciate others works around them, they begin to realise that everyone’s skill level is different. They then start to compare each others work and some children’s confidence begins to drop as they may not think their art and design is as good as the person next to them (McAuliffe, 2007). When a child is given a standard paintbrush, it is as if they are all expected to produce the same art work. Before the children even begin their work, we are giving them the means to compare and how can we possibly expect anything unique. As an educator it is very important that we make sure children are given equal opportunities and that they feel as valued as one another.

Our task in the seminar was to create our own paintbrush. We were given a wooden broomstick, and many materials such as wool, string, tape, and feathers. Everyone in the class created a very unique piece of art.

After creating our paintbrushes, we then had the chance to then paint a picture. Our lecturer described a scene and then we began to paint with our own creations. I felt confident when doing this exercise as I was proud of my creation and knew that no one else was going to have the same painting as me because we all had a different painting material.

The Curriculum for Excellence (2004) ensures that all children should have equal opportunities. Providing a lesson such as creating your own paintbrush will not make the children feel as if they are all the same. From this lesson in today’s module I walked away with the clear understanding that no one or nothing is perfect, and as a matter of fact, we are all perfect in our own unique and different ways.

MUSIC

In today’s music lesson, we had the chance to explore music within the expressive arts. As I had not taken part in any music lessons the early stages of secondary school, I was quite nervous, especially with anticipation of having to play in front of my peers, however when being introduced to Figurenotes (2017) I felt confident and I was able to follow and read the music with ease using this strategy.

Figurenotes allows you to play the instrument by looking at colourful symbols, instead of normal letters. This would be a very appropriate technique to use in a primary classroom as it is a step by step way to read music and can be easily followed. When trying a few songs I began to build my confidence, and I was willing to improvise in front of the class. I did however find it quite difficult to follow the symbols as I learned how to play music using letter, so it was challenging to use the symbols. However I think this is a fantastic way to introduce music to children for the first time.

This lesson proved to me that anyone can play music. The Curriculum for Excellence provides many opportunities for music to be played in the classroom, and figure notes would give children the confidence to do so.

References

McAuliffe, D. (2007) Fondation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 3-11. (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Herne and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London: Continuum.

Scottish Government. (2004) Curriculum for Excellence: Expressive Arts. [Online] Available: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/expressive-arts-eo.pdf [Accessed: 28 September 2017].