For my learning theories project I chose to follow the Learning theory of Jean Piaget. He focused alot on cognitive development. The cognitive processess in the creative part of my project was evident in the kids I was working with. The acitivity that we chose to was listen to classical music and draw what the music made us think of. I did this with a little girl named Trinity who is 4. One of her favorite movies is The Barbie Nutcracker so I chose some music that would be familiar to her. As she sat down with crayon and paper I set my CD player to begin playing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. She drew many beautiful pictures of The sugar plum princess and the nutcracker. Then she began simply drawing lines that showed the way the music flowed through her. I really liked this project as it gave her an oppurtunity to sit back and merely listen to the music. She expressed her liking as well when the CD ended and she told me to begin another one. We listened to several more classical songs while she drew what they made her feel. This was a great cognitive learning activity because while it seems simple it takes alot for a small child to merely sit back and listen to the music that is playing. It also begins to create an appreciation for classical music.
