In a long corridor in Melbourne CBD’s QV Precinct, Bromley’s ‘Boys Own Adventure Series’ sits next to Kevin Chin’s ‘Away House’. The abstract shapes in Freeman’s ‘Cloud Series’ is balanced with Leonard Long’s ‘Pastoral Landscape’. 

One would be forgiven to think we are describing an eclectic art gallery that celebrates local Australian art. However, these works can be found in Aurora Early Education QV childcare and kindergarten. Like all the other Aurora Early Education services, Aurora QV boasts a gallery of beautiful artwork because art and craft in early childhood education is one of the pillars of our curriculum. 

Aurora Early Education: Where Art and Childcare Come Together

“One of our essential design principles is to create beautiful spaces for our children,” says Sheela Edwards, CEO and Co-Founder of Aurora Early Education. “We include pieces from local Australian artists to build on children’s appreciation for beauty as well as immerse them in culture.” 

Surrounding children with art is an intentional choice to create calm, but provocative spaces for children. The artworks also inspire children to create their own pieces using a variety of mediums. 

Art in the Early Childhood Curriculum

There is an abundance of literature and research that discusses the integral role art plays in early childhood. Engelbright and Berry (2017) refer to Froebel, a pioneering early years theorist who stated that art encourages “full and all-sided development. Frediksen (2010) suggests that art supports meaning making and democratic participation in early childhood environments. 

Closer to home, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) suggests that children’s literacy can be built on through the use of visual and dramatic arts. Indeed, it places arts at the center of all the Learning Outcomes. Similarly, the Victorian Early Years Development Framework 

explains that children create and explore imaginary worlds through dramatic play and artworks. 

Meanwhile, the Aurora Curriculum highlights the importance of art through the key focus area, Self Expression as well as art and craft in early childhood education. 

Self expression and the arts at Aurora Early Education

Being surrounded by art and beauty allows children the perfect space to tap into their own creative instincts. Pablo Picasso famously said “every child is an artist”. Indeed, every child uses a variety of art forms to communicate their beliefs, their experiences, their memories and 

their dreams. 

At Aurora, one of our key focus is art and craft in early childhood education.

Acknowledging the form of expression within the arts is vastly important. Painting is not always simply about the act of marking paper with paint. More often than not it is about which colors to choose and how big the brush stroke should be and how a child feels when they are painting, often the colour choices and brush strokes form the starting point of conversation to inquire about why a child made those choices. All of the layers of this sort experience allow children to express their preferences, feeling and thoughts in a way that is unique to them.

Engaging in art experiences also helps children build on their literacy skills and relationships with each other. Through doing art experiences together, children communicate their ideas visually and verbally, explaining to their peers what they are making. 

Our Theatre and Community Program is an extracurricular activity that we run where we partner with  neighborhood communities to put on drama and musical performances. This gives children a chance to confidently connect with the community around them. 

The Self Expression and the Arts program at Aurora is holistic; the environment draws in children and families and inspires them to then venture into their own artistic adventure. 

Come visit Aurora QV, see our art and explore our early education spaces!