Expressive Arts and Design in the Early Years
​
The EYFS Statutory Framework states that the development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.
​
The Early Learning Goal at the end of Reception involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, so that they develop their imagination and creativity through artistic and cultural awareness.
There are several strands that make up Expressive Arts and Design
Music
We foster a love of music by singing, dancing and playing instruments.
At home you might like to sing Nursery rhymes with your child. Here are links to a few. Nursery rhymes encourage language development and imagination.
The Tiny Happy People website has lots of ideas
https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/articles/zf7ccqt
You could clap along to songs or play an instrument. Make a shaker at home using a yoghurt pot, dried rice, a paper cover and elastic band.
Dance
Dancing is such fun and children are able to express themselves through movement and use their imagination.
Try Oti’s Boogie Beebies https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jsds
​
Mark Making
Children love to make marks and at nursery we encourage them to use pens, crayons, paintbrushes, hands, sticks. Writing develops from early circular movements and the opportunity to make marks on large pieces of paper or the pavement outdoors helps the development of the muscles needed to hold a pencil comfortably in order to write later.
​
Imaginative Play
Role play is really important to develop children's imagination.
Play with your child and encourage them to be whoever or whatever they want to be. They might like to be a pirate, a princess, a monster! They might like to pretend to have a party or a picnic and invite their teddies along!
​
Paint/ Collage
Children love explore anything that is messy. Their experience of paint and collage at Nursery starts with the opportunity to put their hands and sometimes feet into paint to see what it feels like. Later they develop painting skills like printing, marble rolling, drip and fold and colour mixing. These skills are taught in our Round Robin activities and later the children practise them over and over.
Collage starts with the exploration of texture and the physical skill of using glue and Sellotape. We use natural objects and textured paper. Try using junk to make models.
​
Look at The Tiny Happy People website for ideas https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/articles/z3sbydm
​
