Back To Basics

Sometimes, between Pinterest and my obsession with preschool blogs, I lose track of the simpler things that children can enjoy each day.  Over the past couple of weeks, and in the wake of our holiday curricula for Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and Purim, we're getting back to basics.

Good Old Fashioned Painting

Sensory and Science Play

(this is the remnants of one afternoon of dropping liquid colors into slime--exactly the type of mess that reflects the development of scientific inquiry!)

Sand Play 

(we finally re-created the sandbox and the children spend lots of time there, as this picture depicts well)

While we haven't been keeping current on our blog, we're still here doing fun things with the children each day (and of course, pinning a bazillion things on Pinterest!).

Until Next Time,

Stephanie

American Flags Collage and Open-Ended Art

DISCLAIMER: I have not been my best blogging self lately. It's usually a matter of scrounging up photos that I happened to take during an activity.  I wanted to post about this one so I could pin it on my own Pinterest board for July next year : )  I tend to organize my boards by month so that it's easily referenced according to seasons and holidays.

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Bl brought in an American flag for "America's birthday" on Tuesday.  This inspired the children to make American flags of their own, with their unique creative twists, of course.

Our star hole punch was indispensable here.

One of my long time friends and mentors, Diane, used to say that when we put out activities that are open-ended, they will appeal to children of all ages. I find this to be very true, and children use the materials according to their level of development. 

The following are the "final products" of a 3.5 year old and a 5 year old. Can you tell which is which?

Guada also found this to be true when she put out a shaving cream block activity.  She presented the materials and the idea of sticking the foam blocks together with the shaving cream. Which do you think is made by the 3 year old versus the 5 year old?

Who do you think had more fun? Who do you think learned more from the activity? 

Well I can't say for sure, but they both stayed at the station for an extended period of time, indicated to me that fun and learning were taking place!

I think I'll try to practice a little open-ended thinking myself today.  Letting go of models, expectations, products.  Welcoming spontaneity, new ideas, inspiration.

*Stephanie*

Robot Paintings

Random metal stuff from the junk drawer and cups and trays of metallic paint made for a fun exploration in robot painting!  And, of course, it was fun to see how they put their own spin on the activity.  Having a model for an activity does children such a disservice. Their ideas always go beyond my wildest imaginings!

Floral inspired art

This idea originally came from my friend Kim, who may very well have the deepest sense of aesthetics of anybody I know.  She first planted the seed in my mind that aesthetics and beauty have a place in the preschool classroom years ago.  She inspired me by setting up activities and the classroom with beauty and often an unnecessary yet beautiful embellishments like flower bouquets or framed photos.

As most of you know, Beansprouts Preschool occupies half of my home. The most beautiful part of my house is the classroom!  There, I prioritize beauty (colors, organization, arrangement, natural materials) because I believe children deserve (and appreciate) it.

This activity, offering children a bouquet for inspiration but not instruction, and a few paints from the floral palette, will definitely be one we do often during the spring as children develop a connection between nature and art.  We will see how it unfolds in the weeks ahead.

I will post a few photos of our floral inspired art and then bid you adieu until next week, when we come back from our spring vacation.

Happy Easter!

Mix-it-yourself paint!

I've been noticing that the children don't know a whole lot about the result of mixing primary colors.  Not that this is essential knowledge or something they won't pick up later on, but it told me something about this group.  They get too many fancy paint colors around here!  Time to get back to basics.

Today's activity offers:

blue, red, and yellow paint

white paint

baby food jars

little plastic brushes

This activity resulted in some beautiful colors...ones that you cannot buy from our usual paint supplier.  Not only was it a great way to get back to basics, but it was also a great way to explore new varieties of colors that we already know. 

With each child and each color added, I tried to infuse the dialogue with open-ended questions about what the children thought would happen as a result of what they were adding to their jars.  Not to "teach" them, but to invite them to fully engage in the process on a cognitive level.

If a teacher would have approached the table and asked questions like, "what do red and blue make" or "how do you make orange?" (you know, like quizzing the children), I would have kindly invited that teacher to leave the art table.

They enjoyed the many different colors available, and added colors to other jars of paint that they found pre-mixed on the table.

About halfway through, there were lots of primary and secondary (or tertiary) colors to choose from.

With little guidance on "how much" or "which color" to add for a specific result, we let them explore.  I admit, I did ask some of them to save some paint for the other children.  

We contemplated offering larger brushes so they could mix more efficiently, and then decided that the smaller brushes invited more focus and persistence to a group of very motivated children.  They weren't going anywhere simply due to slow mixing times. They were fully engaged. 

We added the butcher paper to the table to invite another level of messiness rather than confining the exploration to an 9x12 sheet of paper.

Hmmmm, there's no brushes shaped like that...

Of course! And the paint colors mix just beautifully right on the hands.

 The only part of this activity that I got to experience was my own process and whatever was happening out loud or in a jar, visible to all.  What I didn't get to experience was the internal processes of the children, the sense of joy and wonder in getting to choose paints and mix and explore, or the curiosity and scientific thinking that was occurring quietly, in the private world of each child.

Independent thinking, fine motor control, anticipation, cause and effect, even disappointment at getting a color that differs from the desired result.  Very important things happened at our art table today.

Could anyone not feel a sense of completion after experiencing this today?

And let's not forget to mention what is not pictured in this post today.

The final products!

Because this activity was all about the process.

*Stephanie*