“it must not be forgotten that the basic law of children’s creativity is that its value lies not in its results not in the product of creation, but in the process itself. It is not important what children create, but that they do create, that they exercise and implement their creative imagination”
-Vygotsky
Hi all,
This week we thought we would discuss something very much close to us and our approach. We are talking about the idea of process over product. The idea of focusing on the journey or the process that is taking place when creating rather than the product that is created.
You know when your little one brings you a piece of paper and says, “look at what I made” and you go “oh that’s a lovely …. *thinks to self what on earth can this be!?*” or when they bring you a junk modelling creation and you think ‘what can this even be? A castle? A car? A giant’ and then they turn around and say, “look at my lovely ladybird!” and you would not have been able to guess what it is in a million years!
At Squirrel Lodge we love to see what the children create and the finished product of which they are so proud to show off! However, what we are most proud of is the process and the journey that the child has taken to create this product!
A good example of how to embrace the sometimes chaotic and messy journey is below.
When you see this heap of ‘junk’ it doesn’t look like much, it doesn’t appear to have much thought put into it at all, a few bits thrown together and left. However, it all started with a single crate. A crate and an idea. The idea to create a car! During this time one child was working with an adult, which soon because 2, then 3, then 4 and lead to children dipping in and out of the process as to which part interested them. The children meticulously thought about each detail, the size of the wheels, the number needed, the shape of the engine, the number of seats needed. The process kept continuing. Using teamwork to lift and manoeuvre heavy items, to test ideas and balance each piece
appropriately. It eventually ended up being about 3 times as big as the initial model. Extended by the practitioner continually this then included making a license plate, practicing mark making skills and letter formation. This then continued to plan a holiday and looking at maps to plan a journey, to packing bags and suitcases, continuing a role play. So, what may seem a simple uninspired collection of items in fact has opened a whole world of opportunities for learning and development and of course fun!
So in future when a child is creating whether is be with loose parts, paint, pencils or any other media they can get their hands on, try to place consideration to the process and what opportunities it can provide for them rather then how perfect the finished product may be.
We hope this blog helps to share our knowledge and experience we have in order to support you and your children’s developments at home and give you a peek into our day to day practice.
I hope this has given more insight into our approach and your children’s little minds and has shown that no matter the end product the journey is much more important that the destination.
As always if you have any questions or would like to know more about how to support your child at home please do not hesitate to contact us!
Terrie and the Squirrels
xx
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