On 10 November, the book Lego art, which maps out how arts and culture can strengthen daycare by promoting children's play and education - while making everyday life both easier and more fun for educators. The book's findings are based on research from daycare centres in 23 municipalities across the country, where up to 20,000 children aged 0-6 have worked with the arts over the past three years.
In the book Lego art you can get lots of concrete ideas on how play and art can open up the world and communities for children. The book, which will be published on 10 November, explores what happens when you invite art and culture into day care.
"Something very special happens to children and their play and education when they encounter art and culture," says Lars Geer Hammershøj, associate professor at DPU as well as the new book's editor and co-author. According to the book, the involvement of the arts supports, among other things, that children:
- Have the opportunity to try out new roles and identities
- Dissolves existing social hierarchies
- Starting to play new games
- Forming new friendships
For educators, the inclusion of art supports them to become more playful, to let go of control and to be more in the moment - on the children's terms. Now that art and play have become a natural part of their everyday lives, several also say that being an educator has become more fun and easier to follow the children's tracks and initiatives.
Book Lego art is based on and disseminates knowledge from a number of research projects carried out under the auspices of the project of the same name. Lars Geer Hammershøj is the project's research coordinator, and it began in 2019 and will continue until next year. The project involves a series of programmes in which up to 20,000 children aged o-6 are exposed to arts and culture in day care centres in 23 municipalities across the country, and there are seven associated research projects across six educational institutions.
Ulla Voss Gjesing is both the centre manager at Kulturprinsen in Viborg and the project owner. She has developed the project in collaboration with the teacher education programmes at five professional colleges - KP, Absalon, UCL, VIA and UCN - with DPU as coordinator of the research.
Lego art disseminates insights and knowledge from this research to educators, staff, managers, artists, cultural mediators and other actors in the field of day care. With this book, it is hoped that the concept of 'play art' will be expanded and become a general concept for the work of promoting play and education in children.
Laying art: Play, education, art and culture in day care
By Lars Geer Hammershøj (ed.)
Published on 10 November by Samfundslitteratur
250 pages | 300 DKK (retail)
Contact:
Camilla Høg, Project Manager in LegeKunst: choe@kulturprinsen.dk - Phone: +45 26 89 14 15
Read more about the project LegeKunst at www.legekunst.nu.
