The Creative And Formative Role Of Poetry In The Pre-School Tuition

Abstract

In the children's literature, poetry has a very important place. This type of literature expresses an artistic message with images, a concentrated language, translating affectivity, rhyme language, rhythm, etc Unlike "the book with pictures", poetry involves direct contact with “the art of the word" through the poetic function of language and the proper organization of the verbal material. The process of guided learning with the help of poetry, which begins at pre-school age, introduces the child deeper into his universe, gradually revealing his ideological and emotional content as well as the ability to use the word. The research tries to demonstrate that provoking the children to a permanent intellectual effort and their abilities for learning properly, represents the most effective way of teaching pupils in order to achieve active and conscious attitudes for reaching success. Affordable notional content obliges to use a vocabulary known to children, novelty and charm coming from the mastery and originality of word combinations. Impressed by the vivid colors of music and play, children look for similar elements in poetry: visual and auditory images, simple, but full of dynamism and power of suggestion, musical effects made by various processes (onomatopoeic words and expressions, rehearsals, imitation harmonies).

Keywords: Childrenliteraturerhymepoetryfolklorepreschool

Introduction

An integral part of the literature (national and universal), children's literature is addressed not only to children but also to mature and educated people, because "childhood never disappears from inside us, it is the permanent source from which all the moons of our lives take place. An exclusive adult literature is limited, false and specialized. And same for children only" (Călinescu, 1964, p. 274).

Without realizing it, the child has already prepared the aperceptive background by associating various rhythms, sound or not, with the mystery of words in the swing song and various other adult refreshes in their games with children.

In the children's literature, poetry has a very important place, this way of literature to express an artistic message with images, a concentrated language, translating affectivity, rhyme language, rhythm, etc. Approaching poetry children from the earliest years of life is explained by the attraction rhythm, the exuberant play of rhymes, the suggestion of onomatopoeias, the intrinsic sound of words and word associations.

Unlike "the book with pictures", poetry involves direct contacting "the art of the word" through the poetic function of language and the proper organization of the verbal material. More than in the book with poems , poetry enters the child's life - and the child enters the world of poetry - by associating the game itself with the play of the versed words, by associating an actual playful action with the playful play represented.

Problem Statement

The poetic and, paradoxically, intertwined function, the metallurgical function are very important creative functions for the formation of the little child. Words are considered by the child to be some kinds of "objects" that save them with joy, enjoying their hearing and inventing new unknown but harmonious vocabulary and sounds.

The early need for poetry also explains the existence of a children's folklore, in verses and not in prose, which includes: "songs - formulas, numerals and some species related to the literature itself (verses played accompanying the dance, the recited lyrics accompanying the fairly complex playing games, pranks, language tricks, etc.) " (Istoria literaturii române, 1964, p. 178).

Research Questions

Does children's folklore, by its artistic content and form, contribute to cultivating the aesthetic and moral sense of the children?

Folklore of children vs. mature folklore. (Through the particularities of interpretation of verses - recited at a certain pace, sung or gesticulated in close connection with the game, and the themes and methods of artistic creation, crystallized over time in collective practice, distinguish this kind from mature folklore).

Adult folklore footage has undergone, in the process of assimilation and adaptation, certain transformations in content and form, to meet the needs of new performers and new assigned functions?

What is the role of poetry in developing children's creativity ?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to underline the importance of teaching the lyrical text in the preschool tuition for developing the creativity of children.

The entire poetry for children, as it is received at pre-school age, can be understood by reference to the specific structure of counts, whose rhythmic schemes continue, in fact, the first short, rhythm of childhood games.

Their mechanism is a spoken magic wich cannot be taken apart its sonority and which the child discovers with joy, playing with the sounds, and attaching sense to them only afterwards.

Research Methods

We will use the analysis of the lirical text as a means of research form the formative-informative value.

The child creates mysterious words on his own, as in a spell, and, creating them, he names things around him. We associate seemingly free sounds (ala-bala) with lyrics where interjections rime with vaguely meaningful but evocative vocabulary, as in the onomatopoeic language: "buf în puf" or more complex: "Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken / Come to my chest to hold you tight. "

Findings

Usually the counts are formed by the succession of clear images with other fantastic aureoles through their nonsense, all summoned by a succesion of rhymes, alliterations and word games: "Butterfly, butterfly, butterfly, butterfly on the flower, / Butterfly under the flower. / Butterfly, Butterfly, / Butterfly climb on, / Butterfly get under the bridge. " (Andrei, 2006, p. 61).

The child associates the mysterious images, including unknown words, around the clear picture: butterfly on flower, and without knowing why he is delighted with the varied resumption of the same consonant group in butterfly and flower as well as the butterfly alternation "parallel" with the "put" and "bridge" alternations.

Paul Éluard characterized them in a suggestive way: "Through a versatile counting, the child jumps with his legs tightened above the world, about wich he only knows simplifications. He juggles delightfully with the words and is enchanted by their inventive power. He takes his revenge, makes himself a part of the forbidden pleasure of imagining" (Éluard, 1952, p. 89).

Indeed, counts are communicated and enriched as a collective creation, transmitted by the word of mouth and from generation to generation, in play, and more rarely with the help of adults. It is a world of poetry without borders for imaginary and often somewhat opposed to the adult world. In nursery it would pe possible to create the most suited atmosphere for cultivating this poetic inclination of children if the teacher knows how "to go into play", at least to train the children.

The structure of "counting poetry" is, in fact, the basis of the first verses reproduced by the little child: the same light rhythms, with the play of words that do not say too much alone, but in verses produces the necessary chanting, around an infant image. This is how things happen, for example, in a text like: "Kitten, kitten, / I dreamed you last night in my dream, / Washing, combing, / Red outfit put on you ..." (Andrei, 2006, p. 67).

The feeling involved here can then be replaced by the attitude by which the child mimics the role of the adult: "Doggy doggy, / steals the duck from the cottage, / He swears that he does not steal, / But I caught him with a duck in his mouth ... "(Andrei, 2006, p. 68)

The play of the lyrics can produce a funny representation of the fictional world, as in the lyrics: "A little dwarf, / He was bathing in a pot ...". Or a picture of the world of the children themselves: "I am the youngest in the kindergarten, / With the short little dress / And with the hair cut / I forgot what I learned. / I like the candy, / The balloon game, / Everyone spoils me and calls me : "Donkey." (Andrei, 2006, p. 67).

These creations also contribute to the development of the memory. The children try to memorize them and tell them by heart. By keeping them in mind, they strive to pronounce them correctly and to enrich their vocabulary and speech expressivity.

Through their playfull role, through humour and lyrical expressivity, the poems and their verses are attractive and lead to the development of the children’s fonematic sense and eliminate de speech errors.

By age, on the basis of individual evolutions, but especially in the kindergarten friendly group, from one group to another, children can be introduced into the world of other poems. The transition occurs naturally, through lyrics of everyday life, about children and animals, be they affectionate, such as "The puppy dog", or jokes and even satirical, in the sense of preschoolers, as in George Topirceanu and many authors today wich write poetry for children.

As with the picture book, the preference for friends "in the world of the non-word" is obvious. Animal poetry is perceived by children as anthropomorphism, so that these friends are a kind of alter ego of children that emphasizes their own self in these stories, with everyday plays and duties. In the same category falls also the poetry about animals and children.

Apparently paradoxically, the "poetry of swinging songs", with its affective and moral load, can be introduced only in the first childhood (although the aperceptive base was already created for the assimilation of it’s sonic incantation) in the perception and memorization of the children. G. Coşbuc, Şt. O. Iosif, Elena Farago, O. Cazimir, in our poetry, offers such songs, easy to memorize, through the organized game of lyrics and images. One more step and the child can evolve to a poem like "Sleepy Birds", thematically related, but with another imagistic sphere and other type of verse.

Finally, closely related to the poetic scheme of "counts" and having the same folkloric origin with them are riddles. It is noticed that they combine the effort of passing a good test, with the pleasure of poetry, of rhythms that carry surprising associations.

The process of guided poetry, which begins at pre-school age, introduces the child deeper into it’s universe, gradually revealing it’s ideological and emotional content as well as the ability to plasticize the word.

Children have a sincere attitude, open to life, human relationships, fully and seriously connected to everything they experience, both in the realm of reality and in the world of books. At the same time, however, they are very demanding with what they are being offered.

In order to cultivate the poetry of children, the creations in verses must meet certain requirements. The poems chosen to be presented to the children must have a varied theme, circumscribed to their familiar universe, adapted, on the one hand, to age peculiarities and, on the other hand, to the objectives of the instructive-educational process.

Another particularity and an important requirement of children's poetry is the intertwining of the epic element with lyric, in order to facilitate the process of conscious and sensible reception of this difficult literary genre.

An accesible notional content obliges to use a vocabulary known to children, novelty and charm coming from the mastery and originality of word combinations. Impressed by the vivid colors of music and play, children look for similar elements in poetry: visual and auditory images, simple, but full of dynamism and power of suggestion, musical effects obtained through various processes (onomatopoeic words and expressions, rehearsals, imitation harmonies). Children like poetry following the laws of classical prozession (arranging verses in stanzas, keeping rhythm and rhyme). An indispensable element is humor, a key factor in facilitating the understanding of poetry with ethical and satirical content, and then the fabula.

This sort of poems is a great pleasure for children. A poetry must be both intellectually and emotionally matched and according to the child's level of development.

The little ones find it quite difficult to stay quiet for longer periods of time, instead of enjoying action and movement. "The progress at the perceptive stage is associated with the development of motricity, the attracting of attention due to the age. " (Mitu, & Antonovici, 2005, p. 7). In order to reconcile one and the other, the poetry destined for them must contain rather rapid image changes, not descriptive lines but action.

The child must "see" the action in poetry. Every verse that the teacher reads out loud must paint a picture of words that a child can picture in their minds. If poetry has musical qualities, so children can sing or beat their hands, it's even better. Rhymes are also desirable in children's poems. Because rhythmic words are those that appear more clearly in a poem, they should also be meaningful for content, making it easier for children to perceive meaning.

Poems must be short, with simple ideas, to refer to real experiences, objects, animals or people with whom children are familiar and towards whom they show positive attitudes. Of course, more importantly than anything, children's poetry must meet the same perfection standards that are expected from adult poetry.

The earlier the poetry is introduced to the child, the more the child becomes more receptive and even more critical: he will know what he likes and what he does not like. However, as children come from different family backgrounds, sometimes from other kindergartens where they have had different experiences in terms of poetry, it is good that at first the teacher should seek to know the quality of these experiences. It is quite possible that some children have been subjected to "intensive treatment" in their families or in other school units, where they have been “forced” to memorise poetry, in order to perform in front of guests or parents. Undoubtedly, these children have developed a great aversion to poetry, and any changes have to be tactfully made.

What will greatly influence children's behavior towards poetry (and literature in general) will be primarily the attitude of the teacher. She or he must show clear joy when reciting or reading a poem or when talking about it. Lyrics can be used at any time of the day: there are poems that refer to sleep or awakening from sleep, the way you need to wash, eat, behave. For very young children, they are excellent to cultivate their ability to sense rhythms and rhymes. There are also poems that refer to feelings or spiritual experiences. Just as there are teachers who write  poems themselves.

Poetry does not require special occasions to be recited or heard. If kept only for occasions, children might miss many wonderful experiences.

One thing is important to remember: children should not be forced to memorise poetry by heart, but they have to be explicitly appreciated and praised when they do so. Essential at this point is that the preschool child is aware about poetry and he opens his mind to it.

Once a positive attitude and strong motivation appears, motivation wich stems from the pleasure of listening to poetry, the child's desire for poetry, the pleasure to recite it, appears. Children like to listen to the texts they are familiar with again and again. This trend (stemming from a necessity of development) can be used by teachers in order to help children memorise the poems.

Using various occasions to re-recite certain poems, expressing their joy whenever hearing them or reciting them themselves, the teacher will gradually motivate the children to retain the lyrics, so they will offer themselves to say one or two lyrics, even to help or correct the teacher when he or she "will forget" or "will mistake" the lyrics. This is a relatively long process, but there is enough time for it, especially during pre-school education. In addition, this method will avoid the stress of the school shows, when other activities are left asid in order for the preschoolers to be bombarded with poems to be learnt by heart, compelled to memorize in a short time words that they do not understand and will forget very quickly, often even when they are on stage. Instead, learning the lyrics in time, over several weeks or months, repeated from time to time for the group's pleasure to hear or recite, will provide the necessary "stock" of poetry for any festive event.

One can even set up a "Day of Poetry", in which any child who knows a poem is called to recite it, in which the teacher or a parent or another adult, older children or even guests are reciting. A child who does not know or can not recite a verse can bring from home poems taken from a book by any of the family members and written on a sheet of paper, poems to be read by the teacher. The child will feel proud of his poetry, and on the next occasion he may be able to recite something from it. This way, the frustrating feeling of not taking part actively to the event will be removed 

A "Notebook of Poetry" can also be set up, in which the teacher will write, in the presence of children, the poetry that was brought from home. On this occasion, children will learn that poems are found in books or journals and have an author. Some children may also wish to write poems. The teacher has to encourage them by all means, to find time to write the words of the child as he dictates the poetry he composes. If he wishes, he can draw drawings to accompany his words and thus have his own book of poetry. Let's recall here that there is a rich literature for children, created not only by well-known authors but also by the children themselves: it is the so-called folklore of the children that the teacher must know. The teacher can make up a repertoire of such poems (including, of course, any other kind of poetry) that can be used on various occasions.

The next step is moving from the immediate understanding to other fields and literary approaches, but of course, starting with the present level of the children of the group, their capabilities and their experience. This does not mean that reference is made strictly to children's critical understanding ability. Poetry is an expression of emotion, and this emotion can be noticed before you can really appreciate a poem. In addition to reading or reciting poems by the teacher or another adult, cassette or CD auditions can be used.

Conclusion

Children's poetry offers various and effective opportunities to support the instructive-educational process. Through the variety of themes, children acquire precious knowledge from various areas of life (nature, life, childhood). The more abstract notions (country, historical past) begin to emerge, to become clearer through simple representations, starting from what is familiar to children (house, parents, kindergarten, city, etc.).

The well-oriented text deciphering stimulates a series of intellectual and affective-volitional processes, develops the taste for art, sensitivity and creative imagination. The richness of children's poetry is based on the profound understanding of the infant universe, its aspirations, its constant thirst for knowledge, its receptivity to everything that is good and beautiful.

The Romanian poetry, written or not for children but accessible to them, occupies a significant space in our literature, approaching a wide thematic area and rising, value wise, to the universal one.

References

1. Andrei, M. (2006). Introducere în Literatura pentru copii [Introduction in the Children's Literature]. București: Editura Eminescu.
2. Сălіnеѕϲu, G. (1964). Сrοnіϲіlе οрtіmіѕmuluі [The Cronics of the Optimism]. Вuϲurеştі: Εdіtura реntru Lіtеratură.
3. Éluard, P. (1954). Les sentiers et les routes de la poesie [Ways in poetry]. Collection Blanche: Gallimard.
4. Istoria literaturii române [History of the Romanian Literature] (vol. I). (1964). București: Editura de Stat pentru Literatură și Artă.
5. Mitu, F., Antonovici Șt. (2005). Metodica activităților de educare a limbajului în învățământul preșcolar [Methodology of language education in pre-school education activities] Second Edition. București: Editura Humanitas Educational.