Putting on a Performance
"They put on shows of their own. My daughter puts on performances for her dolls."
- Denis Archambault
Children and performance are such a natural combination that we rarely stop to think about it. Singing, dancing, acting and learning how to make believe are universal to early childhood.
Why?
Mostly, because it works. "The arts are like play at its best," says Liz Reid of the Little People's Parent Participation Preschool in Vancouver.
Here's an idea…
"When I move from one place to another with the children, to keep everything calm I 'transform' them. I tell them, 'Watch out, friends. Abracadabra! Now you're tiny mice.' Then they move noiselessly on tiptoe and there is no shoving. I change the animal or object from one time to the next."
- Geneviève Provençal
Denis Archambault of Au Jardin d'Alexandre in Gatineau, Quebec, agrees. "We started doing small theatre productions because we like theatre, and the children liked it, too," he explains. Sitting down afterwards to evaluate the results of those first few productions, he and his partner, Marie-Josée Portelance, quickly realized that they had touched on every area of Quebec's early childhood education curriculum.
That was the start of a long run of two big shows a year at their family-based centre. "When I look back, I can't believe how well we did," says Archambault. "It became a very special moment for the children and their parents."
Acting things out is a very natural thing for children, explains Archambault. "They put on shows of their own," he points out. "My daughter puts on performances for her dolls."
Children perform so naturally that it can be shocking, adds Geneviève Provençal of the Centre de la petite enfance À tire d'aile in Drummondville, Quebec. "My influence as a role model really came home to me when the little girls in my group started picking up my mannerisms, even my way of standing."
Here's an idea…
"When you are in a place meant for children, spend a day playing on your hands and knees to gain a greater understanding of a child's world. That is really getting down to their level!"
- Denis Archambault and Marie-Josée Portelance
She takes advantage of this to get the children to sing. "I love to sing and I sing badly," she says.
The quality of the performance matters little, she explains. "The other day I taught a song to my group. My colleague Chantal, who is a good singer, came up to me afterwards and pointed out that I had sung the words to the wrong melody. I thought, 'Oh well. They will all sing it my way now.'"
The associations adults have with performance tend to blind them to what children experience, Archambault adds. "Risk is an adult concept; children simply don't think about it," he says. "That explains why adults have to be present for children's attempts at performance: to create a social environment, a civic environment, where the dangers have been anticipated and minimized."
When to Perform
One very important lesson for children is learning when it is appropriate for them to perform, says Geneviève Provençal of Centre de la petite enfance À tire d'aile in Drummondville, Quebec. "The key is to focus on when it is a good idea to perform rather than when it isn't. Children respond well to being told what to do rather than what not to do."
Provençal clearly establishes that there are certain places and occasions when performance or other activities of this kind are appropriate. "I say 'We sing our silly songs inside in this area.'" She then reinforces that with her own behaviour. "I never sing this type of song in the playground outside. I only sing inside."
The children also learn to ask before singing silly songs, she adds. "Children love to sing some pretty silly songs and you want them asking before launching into them."
One effect of this is that the children look forward to the time when they are allowed to sing. "They often make up whole songs just so they can sing them," says Provençal.
But children do experience stage fright, as an adult might, he stresses. "The first time they appear in front of an audience, there is a brief moment when it sinks in that they are in front of these people, but that's all," he explains.
To make this possible, Archambault spends 15 to 20 minutes a day with the children preparing for the public performances that he and the children put on. "Children develop confidence slowly; you can't push it," he explains. "After every practice, everybody applauds and jumps into one another's arms - it's quite an experience."
In addition to confidence, children acquire all sorts of other skills, often unconsciously, while performing. Singing teaches children how to speak not only well but also beautifully, says Provençal, noting that children often speak poorly because they don't know how to breathe properly. "However, when they sing, they have to breathe, and it becomes a fun way to learn."
Singing also introduces new subjects for children to talk about, adds Provençal, who has collected a binder full of songs to use with her charges. "We just learned a song about a calumet, which was a ceremonial pipe used by Aboriginal peoples. It was a great opportunity to explain what a calumet is and a bit of its history."
Theatre is a great way to help children learn social skills, says Archambault. Most importantly, theatre helps children learn how to express their feelings to others. "Acting is not about simulating emotions; it is about understanding our own emotions so that we can express them. This is an essential part of a child's social development," he explains. (See also "Teaching Empathy Through Music and Drama," "Acting on Their Feelings," and "Kids at Centre Stage.")
Sacks and Baskets
Imagine hearing a story, then being given puppets to act it out and even come up with a different ending. This is exactly the idea behind story sacks and story baskets.
"Story sacks and story baskets expand a story into a creative learning experience for parents and children," says Rosemarie Klein, a member of the Childcare Family Access Network team from Manitoba.
Each drawstring sack or simple basket (depending on the size and number of items collected) holds a storybook (to be read aloud to the children), and puppets and a backdrop, or costumes and props, to fit the story, Klein explains. The sacks or baskets might also contain a flannel or felt board, the book on tape, a game such as Matching Cards and other items that suggest other ways to explore the story.
Theatre projects also teach teamwork and responsibility. "The children all know that everyone else is depending on them," he explains.
The performances at Au Jardin d'Alexandre were quite grand, Archambault admits. "We started with simple productions and built on that base. My professional experience in the theatre helped us to do some of the more spectacular effects, but others could do something just as impressive, particularly people who are self-starters."
The effort is well worth it to see the effect it has on the children, he concludes. "Performing in front of their parents in a show they are proud of is their hour of glory," he says, "a special moment they remember for years."
Big or small, performances can bring all sorts of benefits, many of them not anticipated. Provençal's co-workers often accuse her of being an old person in a young body because she regularly teaches the children songs from days gone by. "One little boy came back to the centre all excited because his grandmother knew the song we sing before story time. Just think about it," she says. "That song became something that the boy, his mother and his grandmother got to share. That's wonderful."