YWCA West Mountain
with Keira McArthur
Toddlers
These toddlers don’t have words, but their faces are alive with wonder, puzzlement, interest and curiosity, sometimes closed in
distrust and distress.
They express themselves most clearly through play, and when the play is good they are a group together. Materials like clay become a way to explore with their hands, and describe what they have
experienced: a hamburger, a lollipop, a face. A baby owl and a mama owl puppet become a way to tell the story, together, of what it’s like to be in a place where your mother isn’t. How she will always come back.
What a pleasure it has been, to learn from them.
Preschool
What a highly creative, highly engaged group of preschool children this is! They LOVED the frogs, as objects to explore, build with and dismantle, characters in stories, more than as instruments to make sounds with. Many of them engage with a high level of emotional intensity and are not yet familiar or comfortable with the idea of respecting the space of others. There is a strong territorial imperative here, many do not collaborate or share easily. There are quiet ones here too who are just as fascinated and curious to explore creatively, in a peaceful space.
Breathe in the flower, blow out the candle…. several of the children in this group were learning self regulation skills. Others were off in their own world but all were curious to explore and express. It was heart-warming to witness as their coherence grew, as a group and as people.
Kinders
Frogs in blankets, hands and feet like signatures, faces like masks. This group worked together, and often told similar stories but they
had room for distinction and difference, too. The boy without arms was surrounded by friends who wove him in to every story.
At the end of the day when only a few were left one boy said to me “I just want my mom to be here.” Not sad, just wistful. Another end of day it was G. who told me her dad was in Toronto, but she’d never met him. “I’m collecting stickers to give to my little sister”. Protective and strong. She’s the one who looks after everybody. Once when the group was a little pushy, she turned to me and said with a sigh, “I just want to go home.”
Library Group
“I don’t have a dad”, she says while making a rainbow snowflake that she later gives to me. “We don’t celebrate Christmas, but
I don’t mind the Christmas songs.” says the smaller boy. “I’m making dragon’s breath” says the one who drew the lost backpack on the first day. He’s scraping a piece of pink chalk over and over again on the ridges of cardboard and it’s all over her shirt. This one makes a fantastic story out of anything, all the time.
After two sessions I am always greeted with hugs by some,
most of the others on alert to see what we’re doing. Then the
intersecting waves that seem like chaos take over and they are
pulled into them until they need a break. That’s when they come
to the art table and explore. I know this group benefited from the AiN sessions, learned new expressive tools and techniques and developed collaborative skills. I wish we could have done more, but we did the very best we could with the time we had.
“This is for you.” Says L, one of the quiet ones. It’s beautiful.
One child who sometimes preferred quieter moments found focus and connection through the shared art experience.