Sculpting in kindergarten has been overlooked for a long time, mainly due to the popularity of drawing and painting. Dragica Čadež Lapajne (2000) believes that sculpting is once again becoming very popular in kindergarten. The most frequently used materials are clay and plasticine. Especially plasticine is very popular with the youngest children because of its colours.
Sculpting is important in many aspects. Children can develop their sense organs and learn about materials. It is not easy for preschool children to sculpture three-dimensional objects as they have to think in advance. They need to predict the final appearance and model all sides of the sculpture. If we want for children to be creative, we need to give them enough freedom to use their imagination. Additionally, we have to respect their individuality and must not underestimate them.
In the theoretical part, I focus mainly on the definition of sculptige. Furthermore, I describe two of the most popular materials in kindergarten, i.e. clay and plasticine. In the end, I briefly present the meaning of creativity, which is very important for children.
In the empirical part, I present the art activities that I did with children in kindergarten. I wrote a story about a character named Skočuk. While I was reading, they needed to imagine how the main character looks like. Later on, children sculpted the main character from the story using plasticine or clay. Only one material could be used (plasticine or clay, but not both). Children created the main character with the chosen material. I was interested in how the story influenced the children’s choice of material and their creation of sculpture.
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