Arts Explorer # 8: Pretend Play & Magical Thinking

A child engaged in pretend play

Pretend play is an integral part of children's development. Children learn through experience, and by engaging in pretend play, they are able to act out certain events in their lives such as going to the doctor, playing house, building a fort, building a boat to sail away in, or taking care of a baby. By children representing certain events during pretend play, they gain a better understanding of their world, and this in turn supports intellectual development. While children are engaged in pretend play, they are acquiring a range of skills such as language and social skills, emotional regulation by learning how to work with others, and strengthening and developing their creativity and imagination amongst other things. According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), children express their creativity through play. Additionally, pretend play develops and strengthens a variety of specific mental abilities such as language, and their ability to reason about impossible or absurd situations(Berk., 1994, as cited in Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Moreover, children who enjoy pretend play or who are encouraged to engage in fantasy play score higher on tests of imagination and creativity ((Berk., 1994, as cited in Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009).

The inanimate object I chose to bring to life is the chandelier hanging on top of the dining table in my apartment. It took a while for me to decide which object to choose because I tend to see objects just as they are. Unless the actual object or thing shifts like clouds. It's easy to spot different images in clouds because they change shape. But I looked around the room, and the chandelier jumped out at me. Firstly, it's a beautiful glass chandelier from Venice, Italy. I love how the glass jots out and elegantly curves away from the base. It reminded me of an octopus in motion. When octopuses swim, their tentacles seem to gracefully curve. So from now on, this chandelier will be knows as Murano the Octopus. I chose the name Murano, which is the name of the glass used to make the chandelier. In an island called Murano off of Venice, the glass masters use a special technique that gives the glass it's unique qualities. 

A Murano glass master blowing glass

The Story of Murano The Magical Octopus

Murano the octopus lives off of the coast of Murano, an island in Venice. Murano spoke Italian, and he wasn't a typical octopus, he had more than 8 tentacles, he had 20! Not only that, but the longest of the tentacles had a bright blinding light coming out at the tips (6 to be exact). Murano was a magical octopus who granted other octopuses wishes. Octopuses from all over the ocean would come to Murano and beg him to grant them their wish. As he granted their wish, his 6 tentacles would light up with bright brilliant light. He was a kind old octopus, but he was very lonely because he never had a family of his own. He was abandoned by his parents and siblings because they  were afraid of him and his mystical qualities.He also felt like he was being taken advantage of by the other octopuses because all they wanted was for him to grant their wishes. Because Murano wanted to do good, he granted their wishes in hopes that they'll be his friend, but much to his dismay, this was never the case. All he wanted in the whole wide ocean was for someone to be his friend. 

One warm summery day, he saw something white in the distance, he swam towards the white thing, and as he got closer, he realized that it was a net from a fisherman's boat! The net surrounded him, and he and several other octopuses were being dragged up from the ocean! Because Murano was extremely strong and had lots of tentacles, he was able to swim further down deep into the ocean, and finally the net broke loose. Murano was frightened, and so were the other octopuses around him. He swam away from the area he was in in order to stay away from the fishermen. As he was swimming, he saw several octopuses getting lifted by the nets, and this terrified him! He swam further and further down in the depths of the ocean. He rested for a bit to gain some stenghth, and he thought long and hard about what he could do. This is the first time he's ever seen the nets, and it terrified him to death that all the ocopuses were being taken away! He he heard stories about his kind being eaten by humans before, but he never believed it, until now. Suddenly, Murano had an epiphany. He realized that he has never made a wish for himself because he wasn't sure whether or not it would work. So Murano wished with all his might and said "I wish for all the fishermen to go away and leave us octopuses alone! And for all the octopuses who were trapped in the nets to come home safely!". And with that, his 6 tentacles lighted up, and a flash of white light illuminated the depths of the ocean. 

Murano wasn't sure if his wish worked. He swam up as fast as he could, and with all his might. He saw a gathering of octopuses, and saw that the families were hugging their loved ones, and there were no nets in sight. An octopus named Rafael turned around and saw Murano. He swam up to Murano and asked "Did you wish for all the fishermen to go away? And for the octopuses who were trapped to return home safely?". Murano, being the humble octopus he is, shook his head and said "no". Rafael said "I don't believe you Murano! I saw bright light coming from the depths of the ocean! I knew you made a wish because right when the light stopped shining, all the nets disappeared and all the octopuses who were trapped came back!". Murano then admitted that he made a wish, and everyone was grateful for Morano's kindness. Everyone loved Murano, and understood him more. He was kind, selfless, and very giving. He made lots and lots of octopus friends, and he lived happily ever after.  

Reference 

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children. Clifton  Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.

Arts Explorer # 7: Twist & Sketch

Grapes

A picture of a vineyard where grapes grow

The food item I chose for this week's arts explorer are grapes. I've always loved grapes, ever since i was a kid. Not only are they tasty, refreshing and juicy, but they also come in a convenient small round package! When my mom would pack my lunch during Kindergarten, she would add peeled green grapes as a snack because I didn't appreciate the skin, and I found the purple grapes too bitter. As I got older, I actually started liking purple grapes as well as the skin because it added another layer of sour taste, and chewy texture. Now that I am old enough to drink alcohol, I now appreciate grapes in the form of wine. It's interesting how something I've enjoyed eating when I was a kid, I now enjoy in a totally different way. As I've grown older, my taste in food has matured and developed, and now I've appreciated and acquired a taste for the sourness, the tannic and dry taste of wine, and I appreciate different textures. 

Different coloured grapes

Grapes come in many colours, shapes and sizes. They grow in vines and are usually harvested during the summer, although they can be harvested during the winter to make ice wine. Grapes usually grow in clusters. "Colour is based on the passage of light, comes from the sun and makes each of us respond with feeling" (Fox & Schirrmacher, 2009, p. 136). I was surprised when I read about the different colours of grapes, which include black, dark blue, yellow, crimson, green, orange, and pink. I always thought that grapes were either green on purple, which are the kind of grapes I usually see in groceries. The grapes used to make red wine are small in size, usually seeded, and the skin is left on the grapes because it adds colour, and much of the aroma and taste comes from the skin. Additionally, the grapes used to make wine contain 24% sugar, while grapes for eating contain 15% of sugar. You can choose to buy grapes with seeds, or seedless grapes, which are more convenient to eat. Grapes can be eaten as is, or when you go to the grocery store, you may find vinegar, red, white or ice wine, jam, juice, jelly, raisins etc which are all made out of grapes. The shapes of grapes can be round, oblong, long and thin, short and thick etc. 


This is a fun activity for children to do because it allows them to think about different forms of a category of food. For example, as I have drawn, grapes can come in a liquid drinkable form, or a solid eatable form. This allows children to think of conservation. Although the form or shape of a 'thing' changes, it is still the same 'thing'. Allow children to sketch the different categories of food, and to think about the different forms it comes in!

Sketches of Grapes in Different Forms

A sketch of grapes

A glass of red wine

Grape juice 

Reference 

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar Cengage Learning. 

Arts Explorer # 6: "Mobile with Scissors"

Art is important in classrooms because it allows children to express their identities and understanding of their world in creative and meaningful ways. For this week's arts explorer, we had to come with an activity that allows children to communicate just that. I decided to come up with a mobile activity which is described in the textbook as a "three-dimenasional works of art consisting of separate parts joined together by thin connectors, usually wire or string"(Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009, p. 312). Moreover, a mobile is a hanging sculpture that moves and generally has pieces that are suspended and free to more about (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Children can bring artifacts and materials from home that communicates their culture or their identities, which in turn communicates their understanding of the world and themselves. 

Examples of mobiles

Activity: "Mobile with Scissors"

• Materials: Ask children to bring something meaningful to them from their home that represents their culture, what they like, or what is meaningful to them. Additionally, tell them to ask their parents for help. This can be shells, pictures, leaves, cards, or feathers etc. 
• Also, provide pieces of paper for them to draw on and cut out, and magazines for them to cut pictures from.Provide string for the children to hang the materials from. The support from which the materials can be hung from could be a coat hanger, a tree branch, chopsticks etc. Whatever is available
• Construction: Once the children have collected the materials that they would like to hang on their mobiles, provide hole punchers for them to add holes. If they have shells or hard objects, you may want to use the string to tie around the object. 
• Once they tie strings around their objects (the length doesn't really matter), they can then tie it on to their support. Make there is space between the objects so that you can see the individual objects. You may want to show them how it's done first so that they can observe how it's done, then you can provide support for each child later.
• Depending on the kind of supports you have for the mobile, you may want to hang it on a clothing rack or on the ceiling with hooks. For a clothes hanger, it will be easy to hook it on, but for chopsticks or branches, you may want to add wire to wrap around the support then hang it. 
• Discussion and closing activity: Once all the mobiles are finished, gather in a circle with each child's respective mobiles and have a group discussion about the objects they chose to hang up. Ask open ended questions as to why they picked those objects. 
• Sample Questions: Why did you pick those objects? What do those objects say about you? Did you ask your parents for help? What did your parents help you pick? How do those objects make you feel? Are you happy with what you made?
• Discuss with the class where they think they should hang the mobiles. 
• Hang up the mobiles and admire them!

I remember doing a mobile activity in my first year placement, and it was a lot of fun. The children were very happy, proud and excited with what they made. It really made the children feel included in the classroom, and it created discussions about the materials they hung up that lasted for weeks. It created an inclusive atmosphere in the classroom because children hung up things that they valued, and meant something to them, and their objects were accepted and celebrated by everyone. 

Reference 

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children. Clifton  Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.

Arts Explorer # 5: Watch an 'art film'

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 

The movie I chose to watch for this week's Arts Explorer is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This movie struck an emotional cord in me. First, let me give you a quick background about the movie without giving too much away. The movie begins with Joel Barish (Jim Carey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) striking up a conversation on a train in Long Island. Although they appear to have completely opposite personalities (Joel seems apathetic and shy, while Clementine seems to be  lively and boisterous) they seem to be drawn to each other. What the audience doesn't know, and what is later revealed as the story unfolds is that both Joel and Clementine were actually lovers for two years prior to that fateful train ride. The reason why they seem like they're meeting each other for the first time is because Clementine decides to get rid of all her memories of Joel, and once Joel found out about this, he followed suit. As Joel gets his memory erased, he realizes that he still loves her, and tries to hide the memory of her deep into the depths of his memory. 

Not only is the plot complex and makes you think, but the movie is shot beautifully, and truly takes you on a journey into the mind and dreams of Joel (since the procedure of erasing memories is done while the person is asleep).  Schirrmacher and Fox (2009) described surrealism as the attempt to create a dreamlike world that is magical and more exciting and fantastical that reality. This includes dreams, the subconscious and images that may seem realistic or abstract. Since the movie isn't shot chronologically, it provides an interesting and surprising ending that ties the whole movie together, and provides an exciting twist. Also, because the majority of the movie revolves around Joel's dreams, the audience constantly questions the significance of some of the scenes, and what it means. By doing this, the director is able to add in freakish, bizarre, abstract, and distorted images such as warped faces, crumbling walls, and a sudden change of location, all of which provides an exciting, but scary experience. However, the intentions of these images isn't to just scare the audience, but it is significant in that it lets them know that they are entering his dreams, and in dreams, nothing is impossible. And I also admire movies that make you think, and isn't just feeding you with predictable plots and lines. This movie kept me on my toes the whole time. Every scene and line made me question its significance, and like a puzzle, I had to put the pieces together. 

This movie made me think about the possibility of actually being able to erase a certain memory, and I questioned myself whether or not I would ever do such a thing, and the answer is no. I think that despite how painful my past experiences were, that I wouldn't be the person I am today if I didn't have to go through them. These painful episodes are what makes you stronger, and makes you learn. I think that humans have the capacity to be resilient, and this depends on how they choose to deal with those experiences. If we don't face them and pretend like it never happened, then we're essentially pretending like it never happened, and it may manifest itself in more painful ways such as intense reactions to certain situations that remind us of those episodes. I think that we learn from our past relationships and experiences, and this is what allows us to grow and figure out what it is we want in our next one. 
I discussed this film with others who have watched it, and they were also very emotional throughout the film. They agreed that they would never want their memories taken away because they wouldn't be the person they are today. Also, they thought that it was beautifully made, and were scared in some scenes. 


Reference 
Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development for Young Children. Clifton  Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.