Kindergartens and schools are quite different in nature, and many children struggle with the transition between the two contexts. They both have curricula and competence aims, however, kindergartens emphasize play and playful practices, whereas schools focus on learning, such as basic mathematical, reading and writing skills and learning strategies to approach textual material. For some children, the transition is so stressful that they experience strong emotional distress and anxiety. To solve this challenge, a case-study has been carried out in a Norwegian municipality, where creative drawing techniques have been applied across kindergartens and schools to ensure continuity and emotional safety across contexts. Preschool teachers and teachers have been instructed in drawing faces with different emotions, as well as animals and other creatures, with techniques that are simple, which results in, sometimes strange and funny, but good drawings and facial expressions. Experiences from applying these visual creativity techniques have been collected from representatives from two schools, and three kindergartens. The kindergartens reported that the children experienced mastery in the drawing situation, and that they were proud, when applying these techniques. They expressed surprise that also children who normally did not draw participated actively. The schools emphasized the same, that the children enjoyed applying these techniques, as they were fun and quite simple, and most children were proud of the results, although it could be challenging that some children strived for perfection. Further research is needed to investigate and realize the potential of the visual creativity techniques applied in this study.

Authors:
May Olaug Horverak, Norwegian Research Centre, Norway
Øistein Kristiansen, Earthtree Media AS, Norway
Janne Håkedal, Birkenes municipality, Norway
Mette Harberg, Birkenes municipality, Norway
Marianne Henriksen, Birkenes municipality, Norway

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. May Olaug Horverak currently works as a senior researcher at NORCE - Norwegian Research Centre. She has a background as a child welfare worker, a teacher and special needs educator in lower and upper secondary school, and a headmaster at an adult learning centre . She has also taught English didactics in the teacher training programme at the University of Agder, and her PhD project focused on English writing instruction in Norwegian upper secondary schools.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-olaug-horverak-10855b187

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/May-Olaug-Horverak-2

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