| MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR Katy C. Merrell, MEd. |
 |
NOVEMBER 2005 Seeing and Celebrating the Unique Ideas and
Imagination of each NCS Child through an OPEN-ENDED learning
process.
Imagination of each NCS Child through an OPEN-ENDED learning
process.
I came across a wonderful quote recently in a book called "Abounding Grace", by M. Scott Peck M.D..
It goes like this: "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children, that makes the heart too
big for the body." When you child is born or comes to you through adoption, you truly feel as if this
new love you feel is boundless. As parents we always want the very best for our children, and one of
the hardest parts of being a parent, is trying to figure out what is best in each situation or decision.
I wanted to revisit our developmental philosophy here at school with this decision making in mind. I
was thinking about the "beauty" that children create - emotionally and artistically - when we can
leave our "adult"-ideas of how things should be done and how they should look aside. What if we let
children create from a place inside themselves? From their head, their hearts, their ideas and their
unique creativity. This is the very definition of OPEN-ENDED PROCESS art. The focus is not on the
product, or what it is supposed to look like, rather the focus is on the process, and what the child is
learning during that process.
As they create, they are making choices and experimenting with materials. They may be learning
about colors, shapes, patterns, gravity (the glue always drips down - not up!)...or that the little boy or
girl next to them has a name and likes animals too! The possibilities for learning are endless, and, at
Norfolk Children's School, we try NOT to introduce them to the sense of failure and disappointment
that comes with needing to make something that looks exactly like the teacher's, or someone else's ,
model.
We want them to discover, explore, experiment, learn what they are interested in and know how
important their ideas are! Truthfully, their ideas end up being far more imaginative than any art
project we might come up with.
Please join me in supporting and celebrating this philosophy!
Katy
It goes like this: "We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children, that makes the heart too
big for the body." When you child is born or comes to you through adoption, you truly feel as if this
new love you feel is boundless. As parents we always want the very best for our children, and one of
the hardest parts of being a parent, is trying to figure out what is best in each situation or decision.
I wanted to revisit our developmental philosophy here at school with this decision making in mind. I
was thinking about the "beauty" that children create - emotionally and artistically - when we can
leave our "adult"-ideas of how things should be done and how they should look aside. What if we let
children create from a place inside themselves? From their head, their hearts, their ideas and their
unique creativity. This is the very definition of OPEN-ENDED PROCESS art. The focus is not on the
product, or what it is supposed to look like, rather the focus is on the process, and what the child is
learning during that process.
As they create, they are making choices and experimenting with materials. They may be learning
about colors, shapes, patterns, gravity (the glue always drips down - not up!)...or that the little boy or
girl next to them has a name and likes animals too! The possibilities for learning are endless, and, at
Norfolk Children's School, we try NOT to introduce them to the sense of failure and disappointment
that comes with needing to make something that looks exactly like the teacher's, or someone else's ,
model.
We want them to discover, explore, experiment, learn what they are interested in and know how
important their ideas are! Truthfully, their ideas end up being far more imaginative than any art
project we might come up with.
Please join me in supporting and celebrating this philosophy!
Katy
| "All children are artists, and it is an indictment of our culture that so many of them lose their creativity, their unfettered imaginations as they grow older." Madeleine L'Engle |
NORFOLK CHILDREN'S SCHOOL, 23 Union St., Norfolk, MA 02056 508-528-1970
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