Books on birds

 I love books and have always looked for various themes and ideas ...

This November, being a month when usually birds migrate to warmer regions is also celebrated by various bird watching societies as a month to write about birds, do bird walks, songs, art around birds.

So on that basis, I have made a small attempt to make a small compilation of books about birds.

Most of them are from publishers from India and I hope it helps some one to give a thought.

Art

        This is something that is so open-ended, but still has its boundaries and we never know if we offer it right or not for children. Are we overdoing it or depriving them of the opportunities to express themselves?

I was doing some reading around this topic, and here I am thinking of Art in a classroom set-up.

I am still unsure if whatever I am writing here is good to go, but it's still one way of thinking.

Here when I say Art, I am going to think about drawing/painting, and Collage making (Gluing/Sticking). I will think about Sewing another day. I will save writing about clay (on which I have no experience so far) some other day.

As always, I wanted to understand what was Dr Montessori's idea about Art and when we get the objectives clear, we can then work on the practicalities of a set-up.

There is mention about drawing when she talks about drawing with insets. Quoting it here

    " The exercises which we have described as drawing were really an education of the hand intended to prepare it for writing. Thus this particular drawing which we have described becomes also an artistic element, a coefficient of drawing proper.

    All these preceding exercises are "formative" for the art of drawing. They develop in the child the manual ability to execute a geometric design and prepare his eye to appreciate the harmony of proportions between geometric figures. It is by developing the individual that he is prepared for the wonderful manifestation of the human intelligence which drawing constitutes. The ability to see reality in form, in color, in proportion, to be master of the movements of one's own hand- that is what is necessary. Inspiration is an individual thing, and when a child possesses these formative elements he can give expression to all he happens to have.

    There can be no "graduated exercises in drawing" leading up to an artistic creation. That goal can be attained only through the development of mechanical technique and formation of spirit. That is our reason for not teaching directly to the child. We prepare him indirectly, leaving him free to the mysterious and divine labour of reproducing things according to his own feelings. "

And she also says about analysing the children's drawing (A major learning for me)

    " The sensory and manual preparation for drawing is nothing more than  an alphabet; but without it the child is an illiterate and cannot express himself. Abd just as it is impossible to study the writing of the people who cannot write, so there can be no psychological study of the drawing of children who have been abandoned to spiritual and muscular chaos. All psychic expressions acquire value when the inner personality has acquired value by the development of its formative process. Thus, unless we know how a child should develop in order to unfold his natural energies, we shall not know how drawing as a natural expression is developed. "

To confer the gift of drawing we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. "

AND THIS IS A MAJOR PART OF THE THEORY OF DRAWING 

So I understand from reading all of these is that she talks about inset drawing as the preceding exercises for the formative for art of drawing.

hmm, that's a new thing to see and understand.

I will write more when I get better clarity about these later as well...

Now when it comes to the practical set-up of drawing, I went back to theory if she has mentioned somewhere about these and there are a few notes. 

Copying it here for my own clarity...

                    "Another form of assistance is that which we give to every kind of learning: the analysis of difficulties or the analysis into components. In drawing itself there are various elements, such as outline and colour. Now for these two items, there is offered the tracing of outlines of the insets and filling the drawings by means of the lines, which prepare the hand for steady muscular exertion.  For colour, we provide paint brushes and watercolours with which it is possible to represent drawing even without having an outline prepared. We give pastels also, and show how to use them.

            Finally, it's possible to oppose artistic representation by cutting out coloured paper."

                "This is the beginning of production, of self-expression of work. He needs the objects necessary to carry out all this work. This of course depends upon the technique of production. Of the necessary objects. what are the brushes, and what kind of colours. how to clean the brushes....Little by little, things may develop from this." 

It's needed before we fall back into our everyday activities...

I am going to write down my thoughts about ART setup in a classroom now 

1. Do we need to set up pencils for drawing before metal insets?

        Not needed really though. Metal inset can be a good start for drawing with pencils. Maybe this can be set up as another option for Art for children with experience with insets

2. Can crayon be offered to young children?

Yes, maybe, unwrapped crayons - experiences offered with the broad side of crayons are in more alignment with the nature of the young child.As he progresses into the linear, analytic state,maybe he can start using a pencil.

The technique here is to show soft and other pressure to show the result of using a crayon on paper.

3. Why do we need an Easel?

         Painting at an easel makes us work vertically which is how we usually perceive things. It helps to keep the perception of whatever we draw better. Bigger arm movements aid in more strengthening and stability. Midline crossing.

3. Tempura acrylic paintings vs Watercolor paintings - Is it progress or just two different mediums to explore?

        Acrylic paintings are user friendly - can be painted on any paper, unlike watercolor special paper. They dry quickly. Watercolours blend easier and there are a lot of options for mixing and trying in watercolours. Watercolours give a light tinted effect, unlike acrylic colours which give a bright effect.

So basically these are two mediums and not seen as points of progress.

4. How do you set up Easel in classroom and what can the exercises ?

        The bench Easel is better. H-Easel is also okay for sake of space in the classroom.

• A plastic floor mat under the easel
  
  
  
• A bucket and a sponge for cleaning
• Primary colour paints
• Brushes of different sixes
• Primary colours to mixing of two primary colours in a container. 

 Real presentation:

1. How to attach the paper to the easel
2. How to dip a brush into the paint and wipe it on edge of the container.
3. How to remove the paper and how to carry it and where to put it
4. How to clean the apron, easel and mat
5. How to clean a brush and position it so that it will dry correctly.
6. How to mix primary colours 
7.  Mixing white and black will make shades of grey (Advanced)

       

4. What do you present in watercolour painting?

1. How to mix one colour with water and use it on paper
2. How different amounts of water bring different shades of colour
3.  Can paint freehand or later draw a picture and paint
4. Where to put the paper
5.  how to clean watercolour palette and brushes
6.  How to dry the brush (here it has to be laid on its side when its wet as water may get into the ferrule when kept upright while it's wet)

4. Does Easel painting and watercolour painting both setup needed in a classroom?

        It's basically different mediums to explore. So it depends. Can be alternated.

4. Cutting set up - Ideas and thoughts?

• Papers to cut into strips.        
• Papers/cardboards with predesigned  like straight lines, wavy lines so that children cutalong those lines.
• Showing children to draw a line at  a designated distance along  a ruler and then practice cutting along this straight line.
• Simple pictures from magazines
• Single folds: Take a rectangular/square piece of paper. Fold it half and draw half of leaf, half of an pval and then have the child cut it out and open it up to discover what he has made

5. Gluing set up - Ideas and thoughts?

• To take it further to collage making like using small squares to make a design- just the technique of collage making.
• We use a pasting brush and jar instead of a squeeze bottle - ever wondered why? To help in better coordination rather than a good efficiency so that they work out a good efficient technique later.

6. Why different colours and sizes of paper needed?

• To offer freedom to explore
• There is no compulsiveness to do more

7. Do we have to store art work or send ? What can be done?

• Copying here a reply from a renowned Montessorian that made more sense to me

  As adults what's our role:

•  To observe , have casual conversations 

                This may give us some thoughts to ponder when we talk with children about their Art:

                " If he puts the moon in the sky, he will realise that many of the colours will change. The green of the earth will become black. Instead, if he has the sin, all the colours will become brilliant. When the sun is shining many details can be put in - little houses, some animals, many boats in the bluse sea , with coloured sails. Roads can be put on in parts that represent the earth.Gradually the painting grows. While painting, he also learns a bit of technique - how to use colours, how to handle brushes. He can then draw whatever comes to his mind on a piece of paper. Perhaps they are only houses, perhaps only an animal or a leaf, an idea taken from his imagination. He has a brush and some colurs, and his own hand. Thus, a new path to self expression lies open."

• When we present, we make sure not to leave a representational example unless we are looking at a real specimen and drawing because we are introducing the children to a process.
• Telling simple short interesting true stories about artists.
• Have beautiful pictures of realistic or abstract art, from all periods, cultural and ethnic traditions, hung  so that the centre of the image is level with the eye level of the child.
• Not too many pictures on wall, but instead change the pictures often.
• Books about artists, visiting an art museum, beautiful photographs, book of arts.
• Always modelling care of art area
• Give exact names of materials, names of art hanging on walls and technqiues.
• Classified pictures and reading set of Art cards.
• Defintion booklets (defining various art technqiues, branches of art)
• Booklets about indivdual artists 

And this is one of the longest posts I have written after reading few to many reference books for this :)

• The discovery of child
• Creative development in the child Volume One
• Art and developmemt essay by Nell Weniger and Karin Salzmann from the publications:Montessori talks to parents:Nuturing the Creative personality.
• Chapter: Drawing from The Advanced Montessori MEthod - II
• The Red Corolla Montessori Cosmic Education for Ages 3 -6+ - Susan Mayclin Stephenson

BUT I ENJOYED WRITING THIS.......

Baric tablets

 Have you ever wondered why this sorting in middle of everything else? What is the significace of these tablets ?

I have often thought about in my first years of practice with children and then brushed it aside  thinking, something easy to show - just leave it ....

I know the aims and objectives of this presentation but not given deeper thought to it ...

But few things I had managed to take care while sorting 

1.  Weigh two same tablets on different hands together 

2. Make sure you weigh different size tablets On the hand from the previous weighing so that the subtle idea of weighing is passed on 

Once an experienced trainer asked to present this and then she walked us through how those little nuances are important to pass on the aim to the child.

I forgot to write them down but the experience remains intact ...

So I read about them and here are few technical details and some interesting information

Technical aspects:

        For the education of baric sense, I use with great success little wooden tablets, six by eight centimetres, having a thickness of half centimetre.These tablets are in three different qualities of wood - wistaria, walnut and pine. They weigh respectively 24,12 and 18g, making them differ in weight by 6g. These tablets should be very smooth; if possible, varnished in such a way that every roughness shall be eliminated, but so that the natural colour of the wood remain. The child, observing the colour, know that they are of differing weights, and this offers a means of controlling the exercise. He takes two of the tablets in his hands, letting them rest upon the palm at the base of his outstretched fingers. Then he moves his hands up and down in order to gauge the weight. 

Now coming to idea 

Why up and down 

How to offer baric tablets 

There is so much that makes sense as to why behind these offerings