Published 30.01.2025
by Kids’ Own

New Early Years Project with Arts Council Ireland

Kids’ Own is delighted to continue its commitment to early years arts engagement through a new project supported by the Arts Council Ireland. Building on our participation in the 2023 pilot, this initiative deepens our work with young children, embracing a process-led, material-focused approach that values child-led exploration and creativity.

This project is taking place in two Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings in Sligo:

  • Inspiring Minds Preschool – Continuing a strong and collaborative partnership.
  • Holy Family Preschool – Engaging with artists for the first time to provide transformative creative experiences for children with additional needs.

Kids’ Own associate artists Maree Hensey and Naomi Draper are leading the workshops, using materials as a means of communication and self-expression. The project places a special focus on non-verbal invitations to participation, which is particularly significant for non-verbal children, neurodiverse children, and those with intellectual or physical disabilities.

Through immersive and repetitive practices, children are encouraged to explore creative processes with curiosity and wonder, fostering their own unique ways of engaging with materials and ideas.

At Holy Family Preschool, the residency ensures that every child can fully participate, marking the school’s first collaboration with artists and opening up new opportunities for creative engagement in an inclusive setting.

Supporting Artists and Educators

A key aspect of the project is professional development for both artists and educators, strengthening skills and sharing best practices:

  • Mentoring Emerging Artists – A new artist committed to early years practice will receive mentorship, gaining hands-on experience alongside an established project artist.
  • Creative Sharing Days – Opportunities for artists and educators to reflect on their work, exchange insights, and develop new approaches to creative engagement with young children.
  • Educator Creative Session – A free workshop for educators, facilitated by project artists, exploring process-led approaches to working with young children.

Capturing the Learning

Throughout the project, documentation and reflection play a crucial role. The insights gained will be compiled into a professionally designed digital publication, ensuring that the learnings can be shared widely across the early years and arts sectors.

Artist Reflections: Insights from Inspiring Minds Preschool

As part of this project, our artists have been documenting their experiences. The following reflections come from their work at Inspiring Minds Preschool. Insights from Holy Family Preschool will follow as the project progresses

“There’s a lot of listening; To the children To each other To the other voices in the playground.”

“We join the circle with an offering of a small white stone wrapped in tissue for each person. The excitement as the pieces are unwrapped and wrapped back up, appearing and disappearing—into pockets and school bags to bring home. The scrunched paper becomes an elephant and a dog… sculptural forms from these tiny sheets.”

“We return to the tissue drawings, colours bleeding from the markers, transferring from one page through to the next. The sheets are folded into booklet forms, revisiting and refining the activities from the previous day.”

“A lovely day… frosted …snow and rolling… rolling .. familiarising ourselves with the use of rollers… rolling through the snow. Cycling through the frosted surface. Dipping our rollers into the water. Melting marks and melting snow…”

 

 

By prioritising process-led, inclusive arts engagement, this project ensures that every child’s voice is heard and valued. Through creative exploration, children can express themselves in ways that transcend verbal communication, fostering confidence and joy in their artistic journeys.

With a strong emphasis on professional development, this project also leaves a lasting impact on the educators and artists involved, helping to build a sustainable network of skilled practitioners in early years arts engagement.

Stay tuned as we continue to share reflections from Holy Family Preschool, and celebrate the creativity, wonder, and discoveries of young children through this project!

Follow the link for more information on our early years projects: https://kidsown.ie/early-years-pilot-farmyard-miniworld-ballintogher/

 

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