Creative Group Work

Our recent mother’s day art project got me thinking a lot about collaboration. Collaborative group work is important for children’s development. It promotes skills such as communication, problem-solving, cooperation, and negotiation.

When I used to teach toddler art classes, I often encouraged group work through fun, gross-motor activities. This was a great introduction to collaboration and was often the highlight of class. Here are some photos from a few of our group projects…

Ball painting with a large tub (above).

Floor painting on a large canvas…

Pour painting on a large sculpture…

 

As kids get older, group projects can become more involved, with deeper learning. Now that Karuna is almost 5, I want her to have more opportunities to do collaborative, creative work with her peers. I’ll be thinking about how to facilitate this during playdates!
I’m especially looking forward to this summer when she’ll attend Camp Galileo, where they emphasize collaboration and call it, “an essential element of innovation.” Her group will be designing and strength-testing a giant castle wall. To design a wall as a group will be an interesting challenge in and of itself! After learning how to negotiate ideas and make group decisions on the final design, they will then have to figure out how to build it. If it doesn’t hold up, they will have the opportunity to re-work their plans and try again. I’m excited to see this process in action and how it supports their learning. I’ll be taking photos, so check back at the end of the summer to see how it goes!

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