This study involves the conduct of a qualitative analysis of preschool children's representation skills as exhibited during food art programs. To this end, the following research question was established:
What changes did preschoolers' representatio...
This study involves the conduct of a qualitative analysis of preschool children's representation skills as exhibited during food art programs. To this end, the following research question was established:
What changes did preschoolers' representation skills undergo as a result of the food art program?
The experimental group consisted of 6 five year-old children (3 boys and 3 girls) from S Kindergarten located in K City, Gyeongnam Province. Based on a consideration of the period needed to grow plants and preschoolers' exploration and representation skills, the researcher selected educational themes that revolved around seasonal food ingredients, and planned the activities in accordance with the related educational contents. The research was carried out over a 34-week period spanning from the second week of April 2009 to the third week of December 2009. The food art program was implemented two or three times a week for 30-40 minutes at a time.
The research materials were amassed using such methods as the recording and photographing of the children's activities; the collection of materials related to the representation activities; and the gathering of the children's portfolios, teacher's journal, and the children's observation records. The analysis was carried out based on four criteria, namely verbal, physical, musical, and artistic representation. The results of this study can be summarized as follows:
First, the exploration of the food ingredients using the children's five senses was found to help them with their verbal representation, in that it encouraged the active expression of their thoughts and feelings in both a spoken.
Second, where physical representation is concerned, the children were able after exploring nature to express their thoughts and feelings through gestures. The study also found that the preschoolers enjoyed engaging in integrated physical expressions with the peer group.
Third, as far as musical representation is concerned, the preschoolers were able to express their thoughts and feelings in a rhythmic manner during the exploration of nature. Such representation was further expressed during active musical activities such as the making of songs, the changing of words in songs, and singing and the playing of musical instruments.
Fourth, in terms of artistic representation, the preschoolers' exhibited improved observation skills and self-confidence during painting and creative construction activities. This was found to contribute to the development of preschool children's creative expression skills.