New Play School Projects
See why art and craft is amazing for your under-five, then tune in to Play School: Make and Create for inspiration!
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
Whether you’re effortlessly arty, or struggle to be crafty, it is really important to make and create with your under-five.
Actually, it’s essential, and to help you see the upsides of (imperfect) creative projects, we’ve gone to the experts!
Laura Stone is the ABC’s Early Childhood Education Producer, and Alex Papps is one of Play School’s amazing hosts, and they’re here to lift the lid on art, craft and early learning.
So, why is making and creating a must-do for your little one?
Well, Laura says, “Making and creating is essential for under-fives, because children naturally seek hands-on ways to explore, experiment and express ideas.”
When your child gets opportunities to build, draw and make art, they develop their fine motor skills, problem-solving abilities and creative-thinking.
This flexes their small muscles and little grey cells; and Laura explains that, “As children try out ideas, test what works, and make changes when things don’t (a process called ‘iterating’), they learn to think flexibly and turn ‘mistakes’ into learning opportunities (or what we call ‘productive failure’).”
This learning is really important for life; and Laura says working with open-ended materials helps your child to see themselves as confident, capable, inventive and independent.
There’s also a great social side to creative projects when grown-ups join in or children work together.
Creating in a pair or a group calls for collaboration, communication and idea-sharing; and at the end of the day (or crafter-noon), making and creating feels good!
The whole process is happy and fun, and whether that final creation is something to treasure forever (or quietly move to the recycling bin in a week’s time…), your little one will get lots out of each creative experience.
And whether you’re one of those effortlessly arty adults, or struggle to find the end of the sticky tape, Play School will inspire you!
This ABC Kids show has been coming up with cheap and cheerful creative projects for almost 60 years, and although Play School never gets old, you’ll be excited to see a brand-new season called Play School: Make and Create.
The five eps will spark creativity at your place, because they’re packed with experimental art and craft ideas that your little one can take the lead on.
You can expect a bit of mess and lots of magic as the hosts and their special guests pull marvellous materials from The Useful Box, and show you fun projects that aren’t perfect.
And that’s the whole idea.
With those ‘iteration’ and ‘productive failure’ concepts in mind, Play School: Make and Create celebrates that making mistakes is an important part of learning.
Alex explains that, “The craft segments reflect this, and although we might sometimes Blu-Tack down a bit of paper when filming, or glue something ahead of time, the episodes show us actually making the craft, and mirroring what a grown-up and child might do together.
“So, we take what’s lying in front of us, and ask what can we make – remembering that it shouldn’t be perfect – it should be an exploration, and it’s about learning.”
Play School: Make and Create is definitely fun to watch, with conversation, collaboration, singing, movement and stories packed into each episode.
This makes it the perfect screen time for you and your under-five, and there are so many easy ideas to try, from a cardboard castle, to a pop-up book, to a bird costume.
And make sure you sample the fake cake in Alex’s favourite segment!
He explains that, “For the Foodie Makers episode, we had a special guest called Dave Yan, who is an award-winning baker.
“Dave made some unbelievable cakes that are all part of a game of picking the fake and picking the cake, which was great fun, and we did get to do some cake-tasting at the end!”
Alex shares more backstage secrets in this KindiCare Q&A, and there’s a lot to love about Play School: Make and Create.
So, check out the show on ABC iview, extend your little one’s learning with this ABC Kids early education resource, and get The Useful Box up and running at your place!
