Social Institutions and the Early Years and Art and Music Assessment

Oxford Dictionary defines a blended family as, “a family consisting of a couple, the children they have had together, and their children from previous relationships.” A blended family is “a family where one or both partners have been married previously, and they bring with them children of a previous marriage.” (Browne 2005, p.228)
My understanding of a blended family is that it forms when, for example, a father who has separated from his wife brings his children into his new relationship with a woman who has separated from her husband with her children. Separation is not the only reason behind the creation of a blended family. There may also be cases which involve a deceased …show more content…
The children will use their creative thinking to design their family members as imaginatively as possible using art and crafts materials. Children can use their minds to portray how they see their family members. They can be left to their own devices with the toilet rolls which will give them a sense of independence instead of being told what way to create these figures. Toilet rolls are such a simple material to use for arts and crafts which really involve children. They are given the opportunity to be somewhat responsible in having to go home and collect some empty toilet rolls, if this is the way in which the service decides to do it. There are also a variety of extra materials within the setting that the children could use. For example, matchsticks can be used as arms and legs. Pipe cleaners could be shaped to be used as hair. Cotton wool could also be used as hair by pulling it apart and gluing it onto the toilet rolls. Our brief was to create an activity that supports children within a blended family, but to also ensure that every child within the setting can take part. Each children will get the opportunity to tell their fellow class mates about the figures they have designed. This will make them feel included and let them see that everyone’s family is different as not each child’s “toilet roll figures” will look similar. This activity also links into Aistear’s theme of …show more content…
As I was allocated with a blended family I was given the task to design my view of what a blended family is using arts and crafts materials and methods. Firstly I painted the shoe box two different colours; one half yellow and one half orange. The different colours symbolise two different families. I made family members using plasticine. I made a father and his two sons, using green plasticine, and a mother and her one daughter, using pink purple plasticine. I have an image in my head of the two different families coming together because of a new relationship revolved around love, therefore a created a pink love heart using pink plasticine. I joined all green figures hands together and attached the father’s hand to the love heart and joined the purple figures together and joined the mother’s hand to the love heart. This shows how the two family are coming together through the parent’s loves for each other. Sometimes children may not be fully on board with the idea of a new family but if they love their parent they can slowly learn to accept a new mother/father and siblings. Parents need to be aware that it will not be an easy transition for their children. On the inside of the lid of the shoe box I decided to write words that I felt were associated with a blended family, for example, stepsister, stepfather, love, new start, new relationship, divorce,