Posted May 2021
By Kamila Jendykiewicz, Director, KU Bradfield Park Children's Centre
At KU Bradfield Park, our children never cease to amaze us. As adults in the space, we constantly wonder what spurs children’s innovation and ingenuity? How do children use visual language as means of inquiry and to make their ideas visible? And most importantly, what can we do to nourish and support their creative thinking?
A recent teacher’s trip to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra has provided a wonderful opportunity for tapping into children’s creativity and an artist study.
Vincent Van Gogh has become alive once again. His paintings of sunflowers are among his most famous and captivated our children’s attention.
We know that the urge to draw appears to be universal and we understand that the act of making marks on paper – often misunderstood and undervalued – offers children such an extraordinary springboard for their imagination and self-expression.
We believe that these beautiful compositions are worth sharing, they provide visual feedback that delights the eye.
This experience has contributed so much to children’s enjoyment in their graphic exploration, which in turn encouraged them to persist – a key to creative and inventive thinking.