ARTS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. Angela Schwindt |
Autism Workshop Susanne Burgess and Mary LaBianca met June 23, 2011 with teachers and care providers at the annual Southeastern Autism Symposium at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. The workshop explored the integration of literature, dance and music as a means to address the sensory needs of autistic children. Participants brought a wealth of experience and knowledge through their work with the varied needs of individuals on the autism spectrum. |
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Early Childhood Conversation On June 22, 2011 Mary LaBianca and Susanne Burgess convened a gathering of early childhood practitioners, educators, and administrators to consider the arts education needs of Chattanooga’s youngest citizens. The rich conversation was framed around three essential questions: |
• What are the needs of the early childhood education community for arts education? Join the conversation on SCEA's Facebook page. |
Supporting the Whole Child Workshops The Southeast Center for Education in the arts conducted two workshops on Supporting the Whole Child with Music and Dance, one in the fall of 2010 at the Creative Discovery Museum and the second in the spring of 2011 at the Hunter Museum of American Art. SCEA music and dance educators Susanne Burgess and Mary LaBianca led explorations of the integration of movement and music within the preschool setting. Participants received Tennessee licensing credits and some signed up for UTC continuing education credit. – Active literacy instruction through creative movement and music making Early childhood educators from Chattanooga and the region examined how and why dance and music can further the social, linguistic, cognitive, and creative abilities of children in the early childhood years. |
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The workshop included active participation, analysis and deconstruction of the pedagogy, and guided planning time during which teachers adapted, designed, and planned for implementation of these strategies in their own classrooms. Part of the day included a clinical approach engaging random visitors to the Museum in movement and music-making activities that served as child-centered examples for workshop participants. Workshop notes provided instructional guidelines for arts integrated work and references for the acquisition of appropriate CD's, storybooks, pedagogical resource books, and props for use in their classrooms. |
The second workshop, which kicked off the Week of the Young Child, expanded participants understanding of literacy through visual art. Educators explored the classroom and galleries of the Hunter to develop skills in visual thinking strategies, and music and dance pedagogy. Erin Noseworthy, Manager of Multimedia Interpretive Programs at the Hunter led discussions of selected art works, which were then explored through dance and music both by adults and later by a group of students. Returning to the galleries, participants sought out works of personal interest and brainstormed ideas for integrating instruction in dance and music with the visual imagery. |
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Arts Integration Preschool Style SCEA director of music education, Susanne Burgess, presented Listening: The Reading and Singing Connection – a workshop for early childhood educators at the Tennessee Association for the Education of Young Children Conference held at the Chattanooga Convention Center on October 1, 2010. The hour-long session introduced songs, games, and creative movement to highlight the literacy connections between music and reading for emergent readers. Teachers gained insights into the integration of music and movement into the daily routines of the preschool setting, and the alignment of developmentally appropriate music instruction with reading strategies common to current practice. The instruction was aligned with Creative Curriculum, a commonly used text written by Dodge, Colker, and Heroman for preschool educators. Purposeful and kinesthetic teaching can connect a child’s innate way of learning to important cognitive insights. At the preschool age children are starting to learn how to reason and understand language in addition to developing strengths as emergent readers. A session entitled Supporting the Whole Child: Integration Dance for Preschool was taught by Mary LaBianca, SCEA director of dance education. The objectives were to illustrate, encourage and discover connections in how we teach our children knowledge and skills in dance with what they already know and do and need. Participants experienced an inquiry-based approach to implementing dance in the EC classroom and had the opportunity to deconstruct content. The session incorporated exploration, reflection, small and large group discussion as well as on opportunity to share personal experiences with bringing movement and dance into the classroom. |
Project Diabetes SCEA music and dance educators Susanne Burgess and Mary LaBianca are collaborating with Chattanooga partners to evolve awareness and prevention of childhood diabetes through music, movement, and literacy in twelve area preschool centers. Through funds provided from the Tennessee Department of Health, SCEA has partnered with United Way, the Creative Discovery Museum, the YMCA, and United Way’s Center for Nonprofits in this endeavor. |
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SCEA Tackles Childhood Obesity On September 14, 2010, SCEA director of dance education, Mary LaBianca, and Susanne Burgess, SCEA director of music education, presented Movin’ and Groovin’ – a workshop for early childhood educators sponsored by the Tennessee Child Care Resource & Referral Network at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville. The gathering of 150 regional trainers focused on issues of childhood obesity and strategies to bring awareness and solutions to the problem in statewide children’s centers. |
Participants explored music and creative movement activities appropriate for preschool children and made plans to pass them on to practitioners in the field. Through these active learning strategies, trainers built a repertoire of techniques applicable and adaptable to multiple topics across the curriculum in an effort to activate learning for youngsters in developmentally appropriate ways. |
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The workshop included a varied program of creative movement activities, games, songs, stories, and picture books through which teachers can guide children across Tennessee to experience the physical, social, creative, cognitive and affective growth so critical to a rich preschool environment. |
