Formative Expressive Behavior in Children’s Artistic Play Activities

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the process of children’s formative expressive behavior. The study included artistic play activities with four- and five-year-old children, recording the children’s behavior with a video camera. The observation and video analysis yielded several conclusions. First, it was observed during the activities that children used tools and materials in original ways to create various shapes; this behavior demonstrated growth in their sense of identity. Second, the children’s formative expressive behavior exhibited diverse characteristics, such as material play, pattern making, sign making, and image making. Third, the process of the children’s expressions, having various features, could lead to their subsequent expressions, thus hinting at the continuous and developmental nature of their expressive behavior.