Finding Joy, Meaning and Confidence in Writing: Using Embodied Arts-Based Practices with Children in the Primary Grades

Abstract

The experience of joy and shared joyful moments benefits children’s learning, development and wellbeing. The arts engage the senses, imagination and creativity in meaning making and expression of ideas. Learning through the arts is often collaborative and embodied. This paper reports on a study which explored the use of arts-based practices in teaching writing with children mostly aged seven to nine years. Teachers intentionally adopted arts-based practices to reconnect with active, embodied and creative ways of exploring content and connect multiple ways of meaning making for children. This research affirmed that children benefitted from intentionally adopting arts-based practices to help facilitate student’s writing.