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You’ve seen them in magazines – maybe even at Ikea. Perhaps a friend has taken the plunge. Let’s face it, your mediocre art collection could be starting to get you down now that you’re no longer 24. If you’re looking for a fast way to apply a pop of colour and design to some blank walls in your Preschool, Kindergarten or home, consider using wall decals. (Also referred to as wall stickers, wall tattoos or vinyl wall art.)
Here are some options if you’re looking for temporary solutions to decorate a child’s room or playroom. Most of these wall decals are not reusable once removed; however, some are.
Surface Collective - a Vancouver based firm – call their work wall tattoos. Their unique collection includes some children’s designs.
If you’re looking for some designs inspired by nature, check out the offerings at mydigitalprints.ca
Dalidecals has a wide range of colour options that can be applied to cut-out/silhouettes. (A note about getting a 10% discount from Dalidecals.)
For some colourful, bold patterns check out Wallnutz.com’s collection.
For the nature lover who likes floral and nature inspired decals (some of which are repositionable) check out the British collection at Allposters.co.uk
Ferm living is a Danish company whose decals have a clea, woodblock print feel and colours that pop. They also have a children’s collection.
A search for decals on Etsy.com will reveal a wide selection of decals offered at a wide range of prices.
An appealing option for a child’s room is a custom made decal available from Figgy Wink (on Etsy.com)
Dvider.com offers “a mix of hip and playful vinyl wall decals designed for the young, or simply the young at heart. Baby your baby and stick em in the nursery, the playroom, the children’s bedroom…”
If you’re looking for unique, cutting edge, clean and simple lines, check out domestic.fr – a French company. (To progress to the next design company click on a name above the images.)
How to make your own decals
How to apply decals. This is a useful video if you’re ready to take on the “I hope this won’t be a sticky nightmare” wall decal challenge.
More Design for Children
Not long after uploading a post about graphic design for children, I find a portion of a website that is literally dedicated to design for children. Yum yum. I love it. It must have been the funky, groovy design elements I was exposed to as a child in the 70s. I don’t know. But I have a keen eye for and appreciation of good quality design for children’s products. In particular I am very interested to learn about innovative designs for educational settings.
Good design is also about function. Troll through this site to find useful information about new products such as the amazing Lullabub crib rocker.
Today I happened upon the Presidiacreative.com website where I found a number graphic design images that would appeal to children. (Click on the image sources to see larger versions of the artwork.)
The website itself is a great source for information about art and graphic design.
What do people think about the concept of empathy? A quick review of the tag “empathy” on Flickr produces an interesting variety of images. During her first year of life, my baby niece took part in the Roots of Empathy programme. In this programme, a mother and child visit young children in an elementary class over the course of the year. The programme is designed to reduce levels of aggression amongst school children by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. By all accounts, the programme has been a remarkable success. The children, and the baby and mother taking part, benefit. The Emotionally Intelligent Schools website focusses on creating school-wide programmes that encourage recognition of emotions, understanding the cause of emotions, labeling, expressing and regulating emotions. Although it may come as a surprise, the very young are capable of showing signs of empathy. In the following video Dr. Marc Brackett discusses how to teach children social skills, including the ability to experience another person’s emotions. However, Dr. Brackett advises that empathy may be taught from age two and up.
As an adult, empathetic listening does not always come easily. Different people have different empathy skill sets, often due to their early years experiences. Whatever your capabilities may be, when you are tired, feeling stressed or self-focussed, it is easy to be a poor listening and not empathetic. A video entitled “Got Service”, even when taken from a secular perspective, is a nice reminder that we should try to empathize more with the individuals in our midst, seeing them as members of our community rather than sources of aggravation and competition. For a nicely thought out entry on Empathy, see the Demandmore.org the website.
While watching a documentary on the Peto Institute and their approach to working with children who have cerebral palsy, it occurred to me that it would be exciting to operate an early childhood centre equipped with both Peto learning equipment and an ECE programme such as Montessori or Reggio Emilia.
This type of education – called conductive education – is available in Canada; however, specialists must be flown in from other parts of the world.
Full CBS article
Another link for the Peto Institute
First photo source
Second photo source
As the summer goes by, parents around the world will start to prepare their child for pre-school and kindergarten. Many of these children will be attending an educational programme away from home for the first time. Parents can help make their child’s first experience a success by assessing their own feelings and expectations, and by looking at how they can reinforce skills that the child is required to have at school. Articles about starting pre-school and kindergarten often focus on what parents can communicate to their child as a preparation for starting school. Looking beyond these conversations, there are other ways that parents can prepare themselves and their child for school.
- Parents can consider and discuss amongst themselves what they think the first day and week of school will be like. Do they know the routine that their child will follow? Do they have a plan if their child cries and does not want them to leave during the first few days? Are they feeling emotional about this first day? Will they experience separation anxiety after their child walks through the classroom door? Sometimes these emotions come on suddenly and unexpectedly; however, a parent will often know the answer to these questions well in advance off the first day of school.
- While touring the classroom and school in advance of the first day, parents can consider the classroom, playground, lunchroom and bathrooms facilities. They can imagine their child functioning in these areas. Are there ways in which they can help support their child as she develops skills to look after and change clothes; function in a setting with other children; use a washroom independently; and, eat in a group setting? Has their child spent time away from the parents or a family member? Does their child know how to listen to and follow instructions? Can their child remain focussed on a task for a specific period of time?
- Parents who feel anxious about this new adventure can talk to parents of children who are slightly older than their child. They can ask these experienced parents how their family adjusted to the new routine at school. Once school has started, a parent can make an effort to get to know other parents and socialize on and off the school grounds.
- Parents should pay close attention to the expectations that the school has of their child. Their child will be expected to bring in and care for belongings and items requested by the teacher; complete homework carefully and in a timely fashion; show up and be retrieved on time; be well rested and fed; and bring a nutritional lunch. Parents are expected to fill in forms and even sign up to help for events or to help out. An efficient and thoughtful approach to these requirements will help to create a firm foundation for a child’s education. The interest that a parent takes in their child’s education communicates a message to their child – that the child’s education is a priority for the parents. Recent research findings indicate that a child is well served if the parents focus on the child’s efforts at school rather than beliefs about the child’s level of intelligence. By making a concerted effort to pay attention to the many tasks connected with school life, the parent can set an example of how one can make an effort at school.
- It is not uncommon for parents to relive old and sometimes negative feelings about their school experiences when their eldest child starts school for the first time. If one or both of the parents disliked school or felt uncomfortable in educational settings, these old emotions need to addressed. Attitudes towards teachers, administrators and homework need to be reassessed with a fresh eye so that old patterns that may have affected the parents’ school years do not return to haunt their child.
- Most importantly, once parents have selected a school for their child, they need to put their faith in the teachers and administration. Pre-schools are often privately owned, and in many cities open boundaries allow parents to choose from a number of public kindergarten classes near the family home. In more restrictive school districts, some parents will move to neighbourhoods so that their child can enter a school within a catchment area. Ideally parents will choose an early learning environment that has an educational philosophy well suited to the beliefs and values of the child’s family. Many conflicts between parents and schools could be avoided if a careful matching of school and family took place during the screening process. As an example, if parents want their child to engage in free play in the pre-school and kindergarten years, they would be ill advised to enroll their child in a traditional Montessori programme. At a time when pre-school/kindergartens compete with other educational institutions down the road for students, it is often up to the parent to discern if the marriage of family and school will be a happy one.
Subject: Listening 
Active listening is a skill that both students and teachers need to develop during their time at school.
Subject: Enfance / Childhood / Emmanuelle Beart
