What's Art Therapy

It's a good video makes people understanding Art Therapy~~

Use art to evaluate children development

On one day of my service-learning, I observed something related to art therapy.

Teachers in early childhood center would use art to evaluate children development.

They would provide art materials to children and let them to draw freely.

To observe how children hold brushes and how to draw, the teachers would realize the development level of each child.

In art therapy, therapists would use the same way to evaluate some clients especially special children.

I think I should learn more about this part to improve my skills of art therapy assessment.

How to teach children

One of principles from my service-learning site I like most is using real materials.

Teachers use true materials instead of synthetical ones. For example, if they want to teach children what apples are, they would bring real apples in class, and then show children inside and outside of apples. By playing the real apples, children can know the smelling of it, the touching feeling of outside of it, etc. Children can gain true experiences of the real objects by playing, holding, touching and tasting them. On the contrary, children can’t have these experiences if they just learn by fake objects. Most of teachers here, they use the real objects to teach children as much as they can . I think it is very important for children development.

Children learn what is a pumpkin by cutting it, touching seeds inside it, cooking it.

What kind of materials can be used as clay

There is a teacher from my service-learning spot, she used some common materials to make clay for children making their art work.

She mixed flour, salt and water like making bread to make dough for children, but the dough used as clay.

First, put some dough on a tray and then children stick what they want on the dough to create their own art work. After the art work is done, put it somewhere to let the dough dry. Finally, the unique art work is completed.

All children like this activity, and they were exciting while they were making the art work. I think it can be an option for therapists to provide this kind of dough as clay for clients in therapeutic sessions.

The recipe is as follows

Materials:

3 cups flour

1 cup salt

3 T. oil

1 cup water

Bowl

process:

1.      Mix flour and salt in bowl

2.      Stir in oil and water

3.      Add more water if necessary to form soft dough

4.      Explore dough freely

It is a mystery!!

Can you find "me" in this painting?

Let me tell you a stroy about this painting happened in my service-learnign spot.

A little girl: Can you be my model? I want to paint you.

Me: Sure. It's my pleasure. (I sat down next to her )

She started to paint me. She draw my head and glasses. Suddenly, I saw pigment dropping down from her painting, and it was just under the glasses she draw. So, I said.

Me: Why I am crying?

She looked at the painting, laughed and responed.

A little girl: Because you feel sad!

Me: I don't want to be sad. I am happy now.

A little girl: No, you feel very sad.

After that, she began adding a lot of tears on my face on her painting.

Finally, as you see, it became a picture full of my tears no longer see my face.

Me: Why I am so so sad?

A little girl: Because your friends leave you here, they go to your birthday party. 

Me: So you mean all of them go to "my birthdy party", but I can't join them.

A little girl:  Yes.

How poor I am!!!

A blind girl and her journey

Sometime, people can see, but they feel less.

Sometime, people are blind, but they see more.

Who is really blind in the mind!!

My first day of service-learning

This week, I did my fist volunteer. In the morning, I went to the early childhood center. While I was waiting, there were some cute kids coming. It was so nice to meet a lot of naïve and cheerful children. It made me be full of energy.

After the orientation, I participated in one class and then introduced myself. Children were curious about where Taiwan is. Some children were confused about Taiwan and Thailand. Some children talked me that they have eaten Chinese food. They tried to find some connection with me.

In the morning, every child chose what they wanted in the first session, including painting, mosaic, housekeeping, blocks, puzzle. The second session, a teacher led the warm up activity and storytelling to inspire children shared their ideas and stories.

                                                                                                            

I got some thoughts from this service-learning. The center creates a liberal environment to children. Children learn how to make a decision since they are little. They can move around whenever they want. Compare it with my country, I think teachers would expect children pay an attention to a class in a certain time. I am not sure if children are allowed to go around the classroom in Taiwan now. However, when I was a child, I was not allowed to do it. I had to stay on my chair in class. Actually, from human development, it is better to provide a space to children to move freely.

On the other hand, children in America usually have to tell teachers what they think and to choose what they want, so they get used to express themselves. In Taiwan, teachers usually provide same material to children in class, so children don’t have as many chances as American children to speak out their needs.

I really want to visit other children centers in Taiwan to know how teachers teach children whether the learning environments are changing now. In addition, I can share my observations here to the teachers in Taiwan.