Music and arts in the children's house

Music and art are ways of expressing one's thoughts and feelings - as is language. If creativity is understood as the creative process in which the child expresses what has arisen within it, then this shows that the child must do this work itself; we can support it, but we cannot teach it. We can, however, provide the tools.

Indirect preparation

To be able to express something one first has to collect impressions. Indirect preparation includes

• "an eye that sees", in particular, work with sensory material, as well as any work that promotes observational skills;
• "an ear that hears";
• "a hand that obeys", and thus the preparation of the hand through all the exercises of practical life, work with the sensory materials as well as the metal inserts; and finally
• "a soul that meditates" - the child's ability to dwell on one thing, his ability to concentrate.

Not only the material, but the environment in its entirety supports the child in its development - the aesthetics that are in the environment and the attentiveness with which we care for it and handle the material. Stimuli are also provided by high quality works of art in the prepared environment. Viewing original works of art and listening to the music of great masters are also experiences of a special kind.

Art

In addition to indirect preparation, the child has a variety of opportunities to learn about and experiment with artistic techniques: an easel, drawing with crayons, pastels or charcoal, clay and modelling clay or various printing techniques. The child is shown how to organise its working process - not what to draw or design.

Music

Music is a basic human need: All cultures make music, albeit in different ways. Because sometimes words are no longer enough to express one's own feelings. Accordingly, music is also an integral part of the children's house. Music is another way of communicating - it must have the same status as language. The child expands its musical knowledge by listening to music by different composers, singing old and new songs, being read stories about composers and learning about musical instruments. With the bells, it composes little songs itself and then gradually learns that it can also notate these songs. The child will then also be able to "read" melodies that others have written down. And finally, it will learn that music has an outer form and follows certain rules - it will learn the "grammar of music".