The Expressive Arts and Design area of learning and development has links to many other parts of the revised EYFS, explains Penny Tassoni

There is nothing more joyful than watching a young child using a paintbrush with abandon. Circular movements and strong lines appear with meaning sometimes ascribed to the action. Interest in using paint and other media to make representations begins early, and for some children becomes a lifelong interest. As well as the sheer pleasure of exploration, children can gain many other benefits from investigating painting, drawing and creating 2D representations.

While experimenting with colour, form and function is a key element within the Expressive Arts and Design area of learning and development, there are links to many areas of learning and development within the revised EYFS.

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Painting, drawing and collaging can be relaxing for children as well as being an opportunity for self-expression and the release of strong emotions. Children also develop feelings of pride as they create their individual representations.

Children often chat and sometimes talk about what they are doing as they paint, draw and collage. Adults can also draw children’s attention to specific vocabulary.

Fine and gross motor skills are developed as children touch and use materials. Paint and other materials such as glue can also support children’s sensory processing.

There are links also to literacy development. These include the way that early mark-making using paint and other media is the first step to early writing. In addition, children’s narration of their representations is often linked to storytelling.

Children’s spatial awareness and interest in shapes and patterns is also linked to their overall mathematical development.

Colour, shape and form are all around us, in nature and also as part of cultural identity and heritage. There are naturally occurring opportunities to draw children’s attention to these.

Babies and toddlers are free spirits when it comes to making lines, splodges and investigating tools. They are usually happy to plunge their hands in or using stabbing actions to produce spots of colour. It is an exploratory stage where movement and texture is more significant than colour, shape or form. Indeed, some children may use markers on their fingers rather than on their hands. This is not a stage when there should be any focus on producing an end product.

In this stage, the role of the adult is to enjoy observing how babies and toddlers interact with a range of media. It is likely that you will spot individual differences between children with some babies and toddlers showing caution or active dislike of the sensation of some materials such as paint or gloop. These children are likely to need more time and a range of experiences so the sensory receptors on their hands are less acute.

As well as observing babies and toddlers, adults also need to join them. Being alongside a baby and toddler as they experiment with a range of markers, chalks or paints allows for the adult to make simple comments and also to respond to their emerging language.

When looking for resources, check that they are washable and are suitable for babies and toddlers. It is worth having a combination of ‘messy’ materials that will require more time and preparation alongside some resources that are quick and easy to put out. Here are a few suggestions, although this is not an exhaustive list:

A top tip when providing paint for babies and toddlers is to plan very carefully. The aim is to provide a wide range of opportunities for exploration of colour, tools and materials without adults becoming over-directive as a result of becoming stressed. Why not:

From two years onwards, children really get into the stride when it comes to using chalks, pens, markers and other materials. The need to explore is still present, but once children become familiar with some materials, they show increasing intention, with children often declaring what they are about to depict.

Increased co-ordination and also a developing awareness of their world means that many children start to produce more recognisable images. Having said this, a recognisable dog may suddenly disappear under strokes of paint because the child wants to depict rain! This is because children at this age approach drawing as if it were ‘live action’ rather than a point fixed in time.

There are many ways adults can help children to explore colour, form and develop increasing skill and interest in drawing and painting:

When it comes to resources, it is difference that matters rather than quantity. Paint is the exception though, when only primary colours plus black and plenty of white paint is needed.

CREATING A PAINTING AND DRAWING WALL

One way to encourage children to explore painting and drawing on a large scale is by creating a wall dedicated to painting, drawing and making marks in general. There are many advantages to this approach. Firstly, children are able to have a larger space in which to work and they can also come alongside each other, which supports them to learn from each other. There are practical advantages too. Paintings can be left to dry on the wall and they form a display in their own right.

CREATING A ‘CAN DO’ ATTITUDE

While young children are often ready to have a go, older children become less satisfied with their representations. This can lead to some children asking adults to draw something for them rather than attempting their own representations. To maintain confidence, it is thought that adults need to avoid using language such as ‘that’s really good’ but instead talk about the process; for example, ‘that looks as if it was fun to do’. It is also thought that the overuse of colouring sheets and templates can also cause problems as children are presented with stylised images that they are unable to reproduce independently.

Order Penny's new three-part series of online training videos on the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning at www.nurseryworld.co.uk/eyfs-essentials

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