Today's Family Waterdown

I met with my only EarlyON group at the Today’s Family Waterdown location. It was a different experience changing the programming style from one particular age group to another.

When I arrived at the site, some kids and caregivers were already present and playing. I just sat and announced to the room that I was there to make arts and all are welcome to come join. Not everyone seemed interested in the beginning, but one by one they came and sat to do the activity as they saw their peers engaging. Some kids and parents also remembered me from the site visit, so it was definitely easier for them to come join.

I had already pre-cut letters from the shopping bags and also brought stickers, and colored paper bases for the badges. I also took colored wood sticks and pipe cleaners from the arts supply room at the site for further decorations. It was particularly interesting to see that some kids recognized these shopping places from the logos present on the bags. EarlyON kids and caregivers were interested in the activity; they also saw it as a chance to practice the spelling of their names. The use of the white glue was definitely a bit tricky, so I made sure to warn the kids just to use little amounts of glue and give it the time to dry. I realized that some kids were already used to leaving their artwork to dry before engaging with it – they even had a corner where they usually left items for drying. In addition, the use of the stickers also helped substitute for the glue for some decorations.In these photos, we can see that when the kids were not able to find the pre-cut letter needed for their name, I helped them create the letter by drawing it on the colored paper. We also see the use of colored wood sticks, and some trouble with balancing the amount of glue used. On the other hand, it can be seen that the use of larger piece stickers definitely helps accomplish the collage element that the activity aimed to establish.  

Saadet Serra Hasilogluo