Expressive Arts and Design Activity In The Early Years Foundation Stage(EYFS) At Rockstar Academy
Expressive arts and design play a crucial role in fostering creativity, imagination, and emotional expression among children. At Rockstar Academy, these elements are integrated into various activities, providing a dynamic platform for young learners to explore and express themselves.
Expressive arts and design encompass a wide range of activities that encourage children to use their imagination, creativity, and senses to communicate ideas and feelings.
Let's delve into the essence of expressive arts and design, its promotion in early years, learning objectives, and an array of captivating activities tailored to different age groups.
How to Promote Expressive Arts and Design in Early Years?
When aiming to promote expressive arts and design in early years settings, it's crucial to adhere to the guiding principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
These principles underscore the significance of creating an enabling environment where learning and development thrive with support from educators. Continuous provision plays a pivotal role in this endeavor.
By ensuring access to diverse and abundant resources like role-play areas, small world materials, and art supplies, children are empowered to engage in expressive arts and design activities.
Equally important is the role of educators who must understand their responsibility in fostering EAD activities. They serve as facilitators, providing guidance, encouragement, and support to nurture children's creativity and self-expression within the early years setting.
The Learning Goals
At the end of a child's reception year, they will be assessed against the early learning goals (ELGs), which encompass various aspects of their development. Specifically concerning expressive arts and design, there are two key elements within the ELGs:
1. Creating with Materials
Creating with materials involves safely using and exploring a variety of materials, tools, and techniques. Children are encouraged to experiment with color, design, texture, form, and function as they create their artworks.
They learn to share their creations, explaining the process they have used. Additionally, they make use of props and materials when role-playing characters in narratives and stories, enhancing their storytelling abilities and imaginative play.
2. Being Imaginative and Expressive
Being imaginative and expressive encourages children to invent, adapt, and recount narratives and stories with their peers and teachers.
They engage in singing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs, fostering language development and musical appreciation.
Furthermore, they perform songs, rhymes, poems, and stories with others, learning to express themselves creatively and, when appropriate, synchronize their movements with music, enhancing their physical coordination and rhythmical skills.
These learning goals provide a comprehensive framework for nurturing children's creativity, self-expression, and social development within the early years setting.
Various Expressive Arts and Design Activities
Various expressive arts and design activities offer children opportunities to explore their creativity and express themselves through different mediums. Here are various expressive arts and design activities tailored to different age groups:
A. 0 to 11 months
Babies at this age are finding out and exploring through sensory experiences. Activities such as water play, texture books, and toys offer opportunities for them to engage in creative exploration.
When babies engage in creative art, it's a whole-body experience. They enjoy grasping, chewing, pounding, and squishing as much as they do trying to create something.
B. 8 to 20 months
As babies progress, they explore and experiment with a range of media through sensory exploration. They enjoy moving their whole bodies to sounds they enjoy, such as music or a regular beat.
They imitate and improvise actions they observe, such as clapping or waving. They begin to move to music, listen to, or join in rhymes or songs, and they show interest in the effects of making movements that leave marks.
C. 16 to 26 months
Toddlers at this age start joining in singing favorite rhymes and creating sounds with objects.
They show interest in musical instruments' sounds and experiment with blocks, colors, and marks, exploring their creative potential through different mediums.
D. 22 to 36 months
As toddlers grow, they continue to join in singing favorite songs and rhymes, experimenting with sounds and musical instruments.
They also delve into exploring colors, textures, and construction materials, fostering their creativity and fine motor skills through hands-on activities.
E. 30 to 50 months
Children at this stage enjoy joining in with dancing and ring games, singing familiar songs, and moving rhythmically to music. They tap out simple repeated rhythms and explore how sounds can be changed.
They also begin to understand the use of lines to enclose space and start to use shapes to represent objects.
Additionally, they become interested in describing the texture of objects, use various construction materials, and begin constructing with a purpose in mind.
F. 40 to 60 months
Children begin to build a repertoire of songs and dances and explore the different sounds of instruments. They experiment with mixing colors and creating different textures.
They understand that different media can be combined to create new effects and manipulate materials to achieve a planned effect. They also construct with a purpose in mind, using a variety of resources and simple tools competently and appropriately.
They select appropriate resources and adapt their work as needed, choosing tools and techniques to shape, assemble, and join materials effectively.
Other Expressive Arts and Design EYFS Activities Parents Can Try
Expressive Arts and Design (EAD) is a key part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), encouraging children to develop creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills. While activities like painting, drawing, and singing are common, there are many other engaging ways parents can foster their child's artistic and creative development at home.
1. Nature Art Creations
A great way to combine creativity with outdoor exploration is through nature art creations. Take your child on a walk to gather natural materials like leaves, flowers, twigs, and stones. Once home, they can arrange these items into patterns, animal shapes, or abstract designs on paper or the ground. To add a sensory element, try leaf rubbings—place a leaf under a piece of paper and rub over it with a crayon to reveal its texture. This activity not only sparks creativity but also helps children appreciate nature and develop fine motor skills.
2. Shadow Puppet Theatre
For a fun, storytelling-focused activity, try shadow puppet theatre. Cut out simple puppet shapes from cardboard—such as animals, people, or fantasy creatures—and attach them to sticks or straws. Using a flashlight or a lamp in a dark room, children can project the shadows onto a blank wall and bring their puppets to life with a creative story. Encourage them to give each character a unique voice and personality. This activity enhances storytelling abilities, boosts confidence, and strengthens communication skills.
3. DIY Musical Instruments
Music is a fantastic way for children to express themselves, and making homemade musical instruments allows them to explore sound in a fun way. Simple items like plastic bottles filled with rice or beans can be turned into shakers, while rubber bands stretched over an empty tissue box create a homemade guitar. Wooden spoons and pots make great drums for a mini percussion session. Once the instruments are ready, play different types of music and encourage your child to follow the rhythm, helping them develop a sense of beat and coordination.
4. Sensory Painting with Household Items
Painting doesn’t have to be limited to brushes! Sensory painting allows children to explore different textures by using items like sponges, cotton balls, toothbrushes, or even their fingers to apply paint. Bubble wrap printing is another exciting technique—children can wrap bubble wrap around their hands, dip it in paint, and press it onto paper for a unique textured effect. String painting is also a great option, where children dip a piece of yarn in paint and drag it across paper to create colorful patterns. These activities make painting more interactive and encourage creativity in a hands-on way.
5. Box Transformations (Junk Modeling)
Encouraging children to repurpose recycled materials into box transformations is a great way to promote imaginative thinking. Using cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, and bottle caps, children can create anything from robots and castles to race cars and rocket ships. Provide glue, tape, and paint to help them bring their ideas to life. To make it even more engaging, ask them to describe their creations—what is its name, what does it do, and where does it come from? This activity fosters problem-solving skills and storytelling abilities.
6. Fabric and Costume Play
Role-playing is an excellent way for children to express themselves creatively. Gather old scarves, hats, oversized shirts, and pieces of fabric for costume play, and let children mix and match outfits to create different characters. They can pretend to be superheroes, princesses, explorers, or even animals. Setting up a mini stage where they can perform a short play or dance routine enhances confidence and social skills. Parents can also join in, making it a fun and interactive bonding experience.
7. Create Your Own Salt Dough
Making salt dough at home is a fantastic way to encourage creativity while also improving fine motor skills. Using a simple recipe—2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water—children can create their own shapes, ornaments, or handprint keepsakes. Bake at 100°C (212°F) for about 2 hours until hardened, then let children paint and decorate their creations. This is perfect for seasonal activities, such as making Christmas decorations or Mother’s and Father’s Day gifts. Parents can also encourage children to compare the texture of salt dough with playdough and other materials to develop their sensory awareness.
8. Making Your Own Slime
Slime is an exciting way to engage children in a multi-sensory experience. It’s easy to make at home or in a nursery setting, and some recipes are even edible! Experimenting with different types of slime—stretchy, fluffy, or crunchy—helps children explore textures, improve listening skills, and boost creativity. Playing with slime also supports hand strength and fine motor skills, which are essential for early writing development. Let children mix colors, add glitter, or even use scents to create a truly unique sensory play session.
9. Dance and Movement Exploration
Creative movement is another fantastic way for children to express themselves. Playing different types of music and encouraging children to move their bodies in response helps them develop coordination and confidence. Try freeze dance, where children must stop moving when the music pauses, or provide scarves and ribbons for added visual stimulation. Parents can also ask children how different music makes them feel, encouraging emotional expression through dance.
10. Storytelling with Props
Using props to enhance storytelling makes the experience more interactive and engaging. Gather small toys, puppets, or everyday household objects and challenge your child to create a story around them. For example, if you show them a toy car, ask, “Where is this car going?” and then introduce another object, like a teddy bear, to continue the story. This not only develops their imaginative thinking but also strengthens their language skills and narrative abilities. Recording their stories and playing them back can make the activity even more exciting.
11. Foil and Clay Sculpting
Sculpting is an excellent way to improve hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. Using aluminum foil, children can mold figures such as animals, people, or abstract shapes. Alternatively, soft clay or playdough can be used to sculpt miniature objects. Once the sculptures dry, they can be painted and decorated to add a personal touch. Challenge your child to sculpt their favorite animal or character from a book to make the activity more meaningful.
Explore the World of Creativity With Rockstar Academy!
At Rockstar Academy, we believe that expressive arts and design are essential components of early childhood education, providing children with valuable opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and personal growth.
Through a diverse range of creative activities, students are encouraged to explore their passions, express their ideas, and discover their unique talents.
Discover the transformative power of early childhood education at Rockstar Academy, where we blend academic excellence with a holistic approach to learning. As a Sports & Performing Arts Academy, we understand the importance of nurturing every aspect of a child's development.
Our program is designed to unlock each child's potential through expressive arts and design, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and social-emotional skills.
Join us on this journey of discovery and empowerment, where every child is encouraged to shine bright like a star. Sign up for Rockstar Academy’s free trial today and witness the difference Rockstar Academy can make in your child's early years education!
FAQ
1. What is expressive arts and design?
Expressive arts and design encompasses various creative activities such as art, music, drama, and dance, allowing children to explore, experiment, and express themselves.
2. What are the goals of expressive arts and design early learning?
The goals include fostering creativity, imagination, self-expression, and developing fine motor skills, cognitive abilities, and social-emotional competence in young learners.
