Back-to-school time often means leaving behind the carefree, active, unstructured play that children enjoy during the summer months. Providence Children’s Museum educators recommend the following resources, chock-full of creative ideas, to ensure your kids have plenty of imaginative, self-directed playtime during the school year.
Carly Baumann, Exhibit & Program Developer
In some magical moments, play flows from the imagination, emerging from the dynamic of the players and their environment. Other times, a new activity idea or combination of inspiring materials gives the jumpstart needed to tap into the playful spirit. These are my favorite go-to resources because they’re rich in experiences, open-ended, and empower children to take the ideas in their own direction:
I carried a tattered copy of Making Things: The Hand Book of Creative Discovery by Ann Sayre Wiseman throughout my childhood, which inspired me in creating paper bead necklaces and grass baskets with my neighborhood friends and, later, teaching elementary school and developing Children’s Museum programs.
Steven Caney’s Ultimate Building Book is a fascinating exploration of structures and design with ideas for contraptions and playthings that children can make themselves.
Cathy Saunders, Director of Education
There are two books I enjoy because they appeal to both children and adults and provide a wonderful array of activities so you’re bound to find something to interest and inspire you.
How to Be an Explorer of the World: PortableArtLifeMuseumby Keri Smith prompts you to look at the world through new lenses. She gives 59 “explorations” such as making a list of the smells in your neighborhood or collecting objects that reflect in the light. These are wonderful challenges for a child, adult or an adult/child pair.
Doodles: A Really Giant Coloring and Doodling Bookby Taro Gomi gives me endless delight. In my childhood, the Un-Coloring Books were a revolution – “What? No lines to stay in?!?” Doodles and its sequels take the concept to a new level with playful prompts to make up stories and solve puzzles, put shoes on a giraffe, and draw shadows cast by the sun.
Mary Scott Hackman, Early Childhood Program Developer
I am very much into open-ended play environments and materials for children these days. My suggestions are all brand new to me and, at the same time, awe-inspiring: Infants and Toddlers at Work: Using Reggio-Inspired Materials to Support Brain Development by Ann Lewin-Benham, the director of the only Reggio-accredited school in the United States, is a down-to-earth, accessible book that outlines practical activities and materials to help infants and toddlers develop the synapses that build the brain of a lifetime learner.
Two websites will open the interested parent or teacher to the world of outdoor playscapes and activities deeply rooted in the natural world.
Visit Let the Children Play: Progressive Preschool Education for creative ideas and beautiful photos from an Australian educator who runs nature-based preschool programs. Progressive is the operative word here – DIG IN!
Get more great play resources on Providence Children’s Museum’s website. Join the conversation about the importance of play on the PlayWatch listserv and learn about an October 12 screening of the film “Where Do the Children Play?,” a documentary about kids’ need for unstructured playtime, especially outdoors.
By Janice O’Donnell, Executive Director, Providence Children’s Museum
The new climbing sculpture in Providence Children’s Museum’s garden is mesmerizing, the way a stream or a campfire is. Children swarm up 18 feet to the top of The Climber and back down again, like water spreading in all directions. They climb past and around and over each other, point out ways to get up or down, boost each other up to the next platform, call out “Coming through!” It’s fascinating to watch because of the continuous flowing motion; The Climber designer Tom Luckey has described his creations as kinetic sculptures with kids providing the movement. So I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few weeks observing kids on The Climber and have noticed how much it speaks to the nature of children’s self-directed play.
We intended that The Climber would be both challenging and safe. We wanted it to be artful and unique – a site-specific sculpture, not just a piece of playground equipment. And, of course, it needed to be fun and enticing. It is all of these things. but in a way that we didn’t fully anticipate, The Climberis really kid space. Grown-ups watch from below but they don’t climb very often. And because the grown-ups are pretty much out of sight, kids tend to think we’re out of earshot too. So they play in that way kids play when no one is looking – intensely. They claim platforms as their own (“This is my island!”) and defend them from all encroachers. They challenge each other to races up and down. They play a kind of hide-and-seek/tag, crouching out of sight and jumping up suddenly when another kid lands on the platform just above. Pretend play abounds; I overhear snatches of dialogue in robot-type voices and mighty roars and high-pitched squeals.
The Climber looks a bit risky, especially to adults, but it’s not – the platforms are surrounded by cabling so kids can’t fall off. When families encounter it for the first time, some parents’ eyes widen with apprehension as they spy the jaunty tilt of The Climber’s central pole and its whimsical party-hat roof. Kids’ eyes widen too, with that mixture of glee and fear that makes risk-taking thrilling. Can I get to the top? And if I do, will I be able to get down? What if I get stuck? What if I fall?
I love that kids feel they’re taking a risk. They have such a sense of competence when they accomplish something they weren’t sure they could do: “Dad! Look! I’m at the top!” It is a tricky climb – you have to squiggle through some tight places and hoist yourself up to get from one platform to the next. Kids help each other, recommending “the easy way” or the “fast way.” Little ones sometimes become baffled as to how to get down. The older ones come to their rescue, gently coaching and leading them through the maze. I’m reminded how normal it was years ago (when the grown-ups were seldom part of our play) for children to assess risk, for big kids to watch out for younger ones, for kids to set challenges for themselves.
That’s what is so interesting – and satisfying – to me. This brand new, absolutely unique play structure is engendering old-fashioned, kid-directed play. And the kids are so good at it!
Providence Children’s Museum has plenty of other opportunities for active summer fun – inside and out! Get out in the garden to create from natural materials, blow enormous bubbles, and meet live animals – drop in for different activities exploring the wonder of nature, art, and science each week. Also climb aboard a fire truck, a police cruiser, and other exciting vehicles during Wheels at Work on Wednesday mornings. Check the Museum’s calendar for details.
We are concerned with possibility, with opening windows on alternative realities, with moving through doorways into spaces some of us have never seen before. – Maxine Greene
In her book Variations on a Blue Guitar, renowned education scholar Maxine Greene describes the potential for possibility when a work of art is fully perceived and carefully attended to. Sometimes, she says, it seems as though when we fully attend to a work of art, it is as if the work of art places upon the viewer “a demand that they change, look with new eyes, hear with new ears, become something they have not been before.”
What a thrilling prospect! But perhaps also a bit overwhelming. In fact, teaching young children to appreciate art can seem like a downright daunting task. Luckily, it’s easier than it seems. Looking at art with children can provide opportunities to promote language development, problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and more. The reasons why are numerous, and the good news is that the reasons how are just as numerous. From tips and strategies on looking at art, to activities that engage all the senses and get creative juices flowing – there is something for every type of learner, at every age.
Let’s start with some simple tips for looking at art with your children, perhaps in a museum or artist’s book.
Guide them. Modeling your own enthusiasm for looking at art can serve as a big inspiration for getting your child excited. You don’t need to be an expert on what you are looking at; simply expressing your own enjoyment in engaging with art creates a fun atmosphere.
Let them guide you. Allow your children to choose the works you will explore and let their interests guide you.
Look and talk. Start by inviting your children to simply look quietly. Follow up with an open-ended question; one we like is, “What do you notice?” For younger children, have them name the shapes or colors they see.
Get up and move. When viewing artworks in the museum, have fun looking from a variety of different angles; get close (but not too close!), far away and move from right to left. Ask your child what s/he notices from the different positions.
Make connections. Identify with your child any themes that emerge as you look at multiple artworks, perhaps noticing artworks featuring people, nature, or animals.
Strike a pose. When looking at artworks that contain figures, notice what the body language and facial expressions show you. Invite your child to pose like the figures they see.
These are just a few simple ways to get started looking at art with children. Just relax and enjoy the time with your child and art–indeed you may look with new eyes, hear with new ears, and become something you have not been before.
Don’t forget: Every Sunday from 10am to 1pm is pay-what-you-wish at the RISD Museum!
The Artful Family is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art. Each month, Kidoinfo will help introduce art and creativity into your family life. To learn more about family programs at the RISD Museum, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.
Join the celebration of these exciting new play and learning environments June 11-13 and look for special programs throughout the summer. Read details below.
After transforming its native Children’s Garden with two new artistic play and learning environments, Providence Children’s Museum opens Underland and The Climber to the public onFriday, June 11, 2010. If you have watched the construction, you understand what an amazing addition this is to the museum. And if you have not visited recently, you will be delighted when you return.
The museum invited Kidoinfo for a sneak peak on Monday to test out their new exhibits. I invited a dozen children (ages 4 – 9) to play and tell us what they thought of the new play spaces. It was clear upon pulling into the parking lot that our well-loved Children’s Museum has only gotten better. The new green 22-foot climbing sculpture stands like the leaning Tower of Pisa and is reminiscent of something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. The playful new structure fits right in to the garden, inviting children to come play at the museum just as Nori the dragon has done for years perched on the rooftop.
I had a chance to interview Chris, the exhibit designer. Watch the video about the making of the new exhibit.
Although I had hoped to interview the children and capture what they thought about the new play space on film, they did not stand still long enough for this to happen. Instead they were busy climbing, exploring, and squealing with delight, and no one wanted to leave when the museum closed. Seems clear that the kids love the new environments.
The Climber
This safe, artful, and challenging climbing sculpture was designed by nationally acclaimed artists and architects Tom and Spencer Luckey of New Haven, CT. The father/son team has designed dozens of climbing structures across the country—including the one at Boston Children’s Museum—but this is their first major outdoor installation. Tom had a serious fall in 2005 and is paralyzed from the neck down, but he is still able to design while his son Spencer stepped in to take an active role in managing their business. Watch the trailer for the inspiring documenatry about Luckey.
Underland
This artistic “underground-like” environment is the work of several talented local artists – sculptors Chris Kane and Marly Rogers and metal smith Lu Heintz. This space features a host of natural materials collected from all over Rhode Island by the museum staff. Kids explore this tactile world while pretending they are underground — dressed as animals in costume, crawling through tunnels, and discovering hidden surprises along the way. Underland promotes gross motor exploration and dramatic play.
Together, The Climber and Underland will encourage active exploration, discovery, and a deep appreciation for the natural world, and it will make Providence Children’s Museum’s outdoor environment a signature destination.
New Play Spaces Open!
Friday, June 11. Museum open 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Ages: All ages
The Museum is open free from 5 to 8 PM for MetLife Family Friday, sponsored by MetLife Foundation.
Preschool Friday
Friday, June 11, from 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM. 30-minute sessions.
Preschoolers dig in to the book “An Earthworm’s Life” by John Himmelman and get the underground scoop on worms.
Ages: 3 – 5
Cost: $8 fee above Museum admission. Discount for series pre-registration. Call (401) 273-5437 ext. 234.
Worm World
Saturday, June 12, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Worms rule the Museum on a day dedicated to these crawling creatures. Kids watch closely to learn how they wiggle, wear worm suits to squirm through a maze, and get their hands dirty digging through a wormy habitat with the Worm Ladies of Charlestown.
Ages: 3 – 11
Cost: Free with admission
Meet a Worm
Sunday, June 13, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Make friends with some worms! Meet red wriggler composting worms in their habitat and hold a giant night crawler.
Ages: 3 – 11
Cost: Free with admission
Artists often represent places they know well. Tony Capellan’s Mar Caribe is inspired by the coast of the Caribbean Sea and his home in the Dominican Republic. The many sandals in varied shades of blue suggest the ocean and wearing flip-flops on the beach. Tony Capellan collected these sandals and arranged them to create this sculpture.
Installation View, Tony Capellan, Mar Caribe (Caribbean Sea), 1996. Mary B Jackson Fund.
Courtesy of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.
With your child: Look closely. Is there something unexpected? The place where you would slide your feet is made of barbed wire, which is unexpected. The artist took familiar everyday objects and transformed their appearance to share his ideas about a specific place.
Project: Find everyday objects that are all the same color or shape in your house and create your own sculpture.
ARTplay is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art in which various themes and activities introduce kids and parents to the museum’s collection both online and off. Each month, Kidoinfo will help spark your children’s interest in art, encouraging them to learn about different works at the museum. To learn more about the collection or see the art in person, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.
All additional inquires or requests should be directed to: Denise Bastien, Collection Information and Imaging Specialist, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903. 401 454- 6528. E-mail inquires to: rightsrepro@risd.edu
April 24, 11-4pm at The RISD Museum. Details listed below.
The Big Draw was first established in 2000 in the United Kingdom by the Campaign for Drawing, an arts organization that promotes drawing as an important and exciting tool to help people of all ages see, think, invent, and learn. It has has one aim: to get everyone drawing! Why? Drawing helps us to think, invent and communicate – regardless of age and ability.
Annually over 1,500 venues, from village halls and nursery schools to national museums and castles, take part in the The Big Draw. This annual month-long season spans art, science, design and the environment. It connects generations and communities. Big Draw events show that drawing can be an enjoyable public activity as well as a private passion.
Prior to Big Draw Providence, Eileen Adams, the director of the Campaign for Drawing, led a sold-out one-day workshop for local teachers, educators, and community leaders which focused on how drawing can stimulate learning and creativity and serve as a medium in developing the skills of perception, communication, and invention. Workshop participants explored the possibilities of different drawing techniques and learned ways to use drawing within their own organizations, which include Artists Exchange, City Year, Gordon School, Jacqueline Walsh School for the Performing Arts, Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, Steelyard, the Hive Archive, Top Drawer, and United Cerebral Palsy, among others.
The Big Draw at the RISD Museum is a celebration of drawing for all. Bring your imagination and come make your mark! There will be drawing activities on the walls, in the galleries, and beyond. Let your drawing come out of the box. After making your mark in the museum, experience a collaborative performance by the youth dance troupe JUMP! and Lynne Harlow, explore the litany of lines in Pat Steir’s work or draw from puffer fish and ferns in the RISD Nature Lab.
The Details:
The Big Draw
The RISD Museum – 224 Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island
(401) 454-6500
website: http://www.risdmuseum.org/
Schedule:
11-4pm
• Drawing on the Walls: Who says you can’t draw on the walls? Join us for drawing exercises that explore the physical space around you.
• Take it to the Floor: Let the museum be your muse. Explore the galleries through the eyes of an artist and make your own response to the lines, dots, and dashes that bring a work of art to life.
• Be a naturalist: Drawing from models helps artists develop their eye for observation and detail – at the RISD Nature Lab, our models range from furry and winged, to the poisonous and slimy.
2pm
• PostScript: Visual artist Lynne Harlow and JUMP! Dance Company will present Postscript, a performance exploring the intersection of drawing and dance.
1 + 3pm
• Drawing out of Line:Join us for an introduction to the exhibition Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line and explore how the artist challenges the notion of drawing in scale and ambition.
This Free event is for all ages. Food and refreshments provided throughout the day by Tim Hortons. Support for The Big Draw is provided in part by the Providence Tourism Council and Tim Hortons.
By Mary Scott Hackman, Early Childhood Program Developer, Providence Children’s Museum
Children learn best when they are allowed to make choices and experiment – the process is as important as the outcome.
This statement is not only powerful; it is the sum and substance of Providence Children’s Museum’s educational philosophy. It is the message we believe in, the message we strive to impart with each program we plan.
As we think about the child’s process, we carefully consider the materials we provide. When we give children opportunities to design and build, we challenge them to do it with an eclectic collection of leftover stuff – some might call it junk! We want to give them plenty of choices so the product is all theirs. We believe kids need to have control over their creations. If you choose narrowly in terms of materials or provide children with lots of commercial items, then somehow the product is dictated. Rather, when you place an array of open-ended items on the table, the child has an opportunity to design something entirely their own.
Watching a child’s creative process unfold is fascinating; you can tell when he or she is taking control over a project. What they choose to include or exclude will decide the look of their end product. Last spring, I planned a program where I placed bins around the room that held different recyclables. There were jar tops, buttons, foam scraps and feathers; all sorts of design options. Using these and in different combinations, children made robots, sail boats, cars and space vehicles. And as materials were changed out, products changed as well. One mom loved what her children were doing with the tops of peanut butter jars. She approached me and whispered excitedly, “I’m going home to start a collection of our own!”
This is another reason we use everyday items in our programming. Parents are constantly getting ideas of what they can do with the things they already have at home. Look in your basement, your closets, your pantries, your drawers – your home is your kids’ ‘oyster’! Another wonderful resource for artful junk is the Resources for Rhode Island Education center in Providence. There you can find baskets of buttons, piles of foam rubber, and odd-shaped trinkets for your children to play around with.
Ingenuity, inventiveness, design…think about these the next time you throw away the plastic lid from the apple juice bottle. It could make a great wheel or headlamp for your child’s next invention!
Explore the wonders of reusable materials at the Children’s Museum this month with different hands-on activities every day. During school vacation, enjoy creative performances by Sparky’s Puppets, the State Ballet of Rhode Island, folksinger Maria Sangiolo, and an Earth Day presentation of “No Time to Waste,” a hilarious comedy about trash and recycling. Check the Museum’s website calendar for details.
With your child: What objects make up the head, back, seat, and legs of this chair? There is a compass, pencil, paper, and ruler. These are some of the tools of an architect. This chair is called a Valet Chair because you could hang your coat from the pegs at the top of the compass and then take a seat. The designer is a professor at RISD. He creates furniture that looks like sculpture.
Alphonse Mattia, Architect’s Valet Chair, 1989. Museum purchase with Funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Courtesy of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.
Project 1: Look at the chairs in your home, at school, or in a theater. What do they look like? Look at the size, shape, color, and materials. How are they similar to or different from the architect’s chair?
Project 2: Design your own chair on paper or make a model using legos, boxes, pillows, etc. Give your chair a name. What would it be used for? What would it be made of?
ARTplay is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art in which various themes and activities introduce kids and parents to the museum’s collection both online and off. Each month, Kidoinfo will help spark your children’s interest in art, encouraging them to learn about different works at the museum. To learn more about the collection or see the art in person, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.
All additional inquires or requests should be directed to: Denise Bastien, Collection Information and Imaging Specialist, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903. 401 454- 6528. E-mail inquires to: rightsrepro@risd.edu
By Mary Scott Hackman, Early Childhood Program Developer, Providence Children’s Museum
Clay and dough are sensational media for children. It always surprises me how all-involving they can be, that a child can poke them, pick them up, push things into them for hours. I recently made a few batches of dough for the Museum’s Preschool Friday class. Once I placed it on the table and put out a few tools, the children were off and running. They rolled it, squeezed it through their fingers, pressed it with the palm of their hand. In short, they savored the experience.
What is it about these materials that grabs their interest almost immediately? I think it’s because clay and dough are malleable and children can control them quite easily. Each goes where it’s pushed and moves according to how soft or hard it is pressed. The act of manipulating clay and dough feels good. Children can play with it endlessly or they can actually form it into something. And if they don’t like what they make… voilà, with a push or a poke, they can change it!
Last fall, in Preschool Friday, we read a story about a bear who warned his animal friends that winter was coming. Then the children and I went to work forming critters from clay and creating an environment for their hibernation nest. I was amazed at the preschoolers’ agility as they used toothpicks to poke in the eyes and mouths, rolled tails, and pressed into the clay to make ears. Each creature was different! What an amazing process – you start with a clump and you finish with a critter. Or you start with a clump and you end with a bunch of clumps. It doesn’t matter; it’s the journey, not the destination.
Not only can children play with clay, they can help you make dough, color it and make it smell good by adding a scent. Follow the simple recipes below and you will be amazed at the inspiring and absorbing experiences your children will enjoy. Using the salt dough, they can make something that, when hardened, can be painted or colored with markers. Try the cooked dough and you can store it for up to two months to be enjoyed over and over again. Get out a few rolling pins and plastic forks and you have a preschooler’s dream activity at their fingertips…literally!
Salt Dough
Make this dough in a cool, dry room, otherwise it becomes too soft and sticky. If you have to store it, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. Keep all unused portions covered. To harden, you can let it air dry or bake it in a slow oven.
Recipe:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
To color, add food coloring to water
Cooked Dough
This dough is a pleasure to work with – smooth and just the right consistency.
Recipe:
1 cup flour
½ cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup water
Food coloring
Mix dry ingredients in a pot. Mix oil, water and food coloring and add to dry ingredients. Heat on stovetop and stir until dough begins to form. Dough will be ready in 5 – 7 minutes. Place on cutting board and knead when warm to the touch.
The next six-week series of Preschool Friday classes at Providence Children’s Museum begin Friday, March 5. Children will cuddle with bunnies, explore magnetism, welcome the April showers and much more. Register today! Click here for details, including registration information and a full schedule of activities.
Artists create portraits for many reasons. They can depict what a person looks like and also reveal their profession, status, identity. Every detail in this painting is intended to tell us that this is a young woman from a royal family. She stands between palm and laurel trees on a grassy terrace above an enclosed garden. Her dress would have been considered very fashionable in her time and is decorated with pearls, gold, and silver embroidery.
English, Active early 17th Century Portrait of a young Women, possibly of the Hampden Family, ca 1610. Gift of Miss Lucy Aldrich. Courtesy of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.
With your child: Have you ever sat for a portrait? Perhaps you have had your picture taken at school. Did you do anything special to prepare? Project: Prepare yourself for an imaginary self-portrait. Dress up in costume. Place a mirror in front of you. Copy how you look using crayons, markers, or pencils. Will someone recognize your facial features? Will they be able to identify who you are pretending to be?
ARTplay is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art in which various themes and activities introduce kids and parents to the museum’s collection both online and off. Each month, Kidoinfo will help spark your children’s interest in art, encouraging them to learn about different works at the museum. To learn more about the collection or see the art in person, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.
All additional inquires or requests should be directed to: Denise Bastien, Collection Information and Imaging Specialist, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903. 401 454- 6528. E-mail inquires to: rightsrepro@risd.edu
In some magical moments, play flows from the imagination, emerging from the dynamic of the players and their environment. Other times, a new activity idea or combination of inspiring materials gives the jumpstart needed to tap into the playful spirit. These are my favorite go-to resources because they’re rich in experiences, open-ended, and empower children to take the ideas in their own direction:
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