Plastic-art expressive activities
Plastic arts are arts where children shape or make things: drawing, painting, clay, paper cutting and folding, collage, building with blocks and boxes, printing with leaves.
What children learn: control of the hands and fingers, colours and shapes, planning, imagination, and pride in making.
Adult's role:
- Give open materials (clay, paper, paint, recycled boxes) rather than colouring outlines.
- Value the process. Ask 'Tell me about it' instead of 'What is it?'.
- Do not draw for the child and do not correct. Display the work.
- Keep it safe: non-toxic paints and glue, scissors with round tips, no tiny parts for under-threes.
Verbal expressive activities
Verbal activities use spoken and told language: picture-book reading, storytelling, puppet shows, rhymes and poems, riddles, role play and conversation.
What children learn: new words, listening, sentence making, memory, imagination and the courage to speak.
Adult's role:
- Read aloud daily and ask open questions ('What do you think will happen?').
- Use the child's home language first. Add other languages gently.
- Let children retell and invent stories. Write down their words so they see speech becomes writing.
- Give time to answer. Do not finish the child's sentence.
Music and movement activities
Music and movement include singing, clapping rhythms, simple instruments (drums, bells, shakers), free dance, action songs, games like musical statues and yoga-style stretching.
What children learn: sense of beat and pitch, balance and body control, listening, feelings expressed without words, and joining a group.
Adult's role: sing with the child, include songs from home and the local culture, give simple instruments, allow free movement as well as copy-me games, and keep the volume safe for little ears.
Activities using ICT
ICT (information and communication technology) means tools like a tablet, camera, voice recorder and simple drawing or music apps.
Good uses: take a photo of the block tower and talk about it, record a child's story or song and play it back, draw on a tablet, video-call a grandparent.
Rules for wise use:
- Use it with an adult who talks with the child. Not as a babysitter.
- Keep sessions short and balanced with real play (very little for under-twos).
- Choose content that is creative, not only watching or tapping.
- Protect privacy: never share children's photos without parents' consent. Keep screens away from bedtime.
Planning an expressive activity
A simple plan has four lines: Aim (what the child may grow), Materials, Safe space (nothing sharp, nothing small to swallow for babies) and How I will talk (open questions). After the activity, note what the child did and said.
Try it: plan a 20-minute clay activity for four 4-year-olds using these four lines.
Key formulas and definitions
- Four stations: Art, Words, Music, ICT
- Rule: process before product
- Plan = Aim + Materials + Safe space + How I will talk
- ICT rule: short + with an adult + creative + private
- Key terms: expression, plastic arts, storytelling, rhythm, ICT
Worked examples
1. A child shows a scribble and says 'my dog'. What should the adult say?
'Tell me about your dog.' Do not say 'that does not look like a dog' and do not redraw it. The child feels heard and adds words and ideas.
2. Plan a 15-minute verbal activity for 3-year-olds.
Aim: new words and listening. Materials: one picture book, a hand puppet. Safe space: a cushion corner. Steps: show the puppet greeting, read the book with questions, children retell with the puppet. Note new words used.
3. Why is a drum better than a recorded song alone?
With a drum the child makes the sound and feels the beat in the hands and body. A recording only listens. Both can be used, but making builds more skills.
4. A parent asks if a tablet is okay for a 4-year-old. Answer in three points.
Yes for short, creative use with an adult (record a story, draw, video-call). Balance with real play outside and with friends. Keep screens away from meals and bedtime and protect photos.
Common mistakes
- Judging a child's art by how real it looks. The aim is expression, not copying.
- Using colouring-in sheets as 'art'. Open materials allow imagination.
- Using a tablet as a babysitter. The adult must join and talk.
- Forgetting safety: small parts, sharp tools, loud sound and unsafe materials.