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*

A visit from the Lion Dancers

We were very excited to have Chinese Lion Dancers visit our school on Friday!!!  The children have been talking about it and it finally happened! (Now they believe me that it wouldn't be a real lion coming to our school!).

We prepared by making our own Lion Dancing masks, inspired by photos of real lion dancers:

Then we used our masks and our play silks to make a Lion Dance parade! 

Since real Lion Dancers have more than one person in each costume, we tried to do the same! The children did great in this activity. I was surprised--but not.  These children can execute group activities in a harmonious manner like no other group I've seen before. 

We prepared some thank you notes and put them in red envelopes so that we could feed them to the Lion! 

And the big moment! The real Lion Dancing!!! 

They were amazing! They played music and did some very acrobatic moves. They explained traditional elements of the Lion and the performance in the context of Chinese New Year.  The whole event exceeded our wildest imagination!

We were so grateful to have this beautiful performance at our school!  

*Stephanie*

Painting: Squeezing and Squishing

{{{See my latest post on the power of narrative in the classroom}}}

This idea comes from Sheryl at Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds (original inspiration by Teach Preschool).  To the untrained eye, this looks like "just painting".  There is a lot going on here, though.

Physical development (fine and gross motor control)

It takes the right amount of pressure to get the desired stream of paint. Too much pressure=globby paintings.  Too little pressure=inconsistent paint flow. For some children, this process is random, for some it's very calculated. 

Continue reading below...

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The speed at which the bottle moves around the paper also makes a difference. If you watch a two year old do this activity, it will be all about observing the process.  Squeezing as hard as they can, and probably either staying in one place on the paper or moving around really fast to see what will happen. This group of children uses more intentionality and measured movements.

Focus, control, planning.

Execution.

Cognitive reasoning skills

Eventually, the experimentation continues.  

How fast can I make it come out?

Can I use two at once? (and notice she's covering her paint with small pieces of paper rather than one big one.)

Can I make patterns without the paint mixing on my paper?

Which direction/how hard/what duration of pressing the painting will yield my predicted result? Or is there a predicted result? Maybe it's just "let see what happens when I do this".  

Eventually, spatial predictions and decision making had to take place as they decided whether painted hands was worth pushing the paint carelessly out of the wax paper layers.

How can I make these figures keep their form? 

What if I just set the paper down without pressing? 

What if I pull from the sides without touching the paint? 

Not much, so I'm going to go for it!!!

Cutting their own

And the inevitable fold.

Social skills were used as well.  

"Can you pass me the yellow paint?" "Look what I made!" "Look what happened to my pink and yellow paint!" Exchanging information, getting needs met, engaging in purely social dialogue.

All of this learning took place within a completely open-ended activity.

Happy Sunday!

*Stephanie*

I linked up at Kids Co-op!

Dr. Seuss Day: A scavenger hunt and my thoughts on hollywoodization

A Scavenger Hunt that corresponds to One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. 

As we read the story, children can circle or cross out 

the pictures they see in the story.

We're doing it BINGO style!

I write this post with just a little uncertainty about how it will be taken.

I hope you can see my point, even if you don't agree.

My courage to click the "Publish Post" button comes from this quote, often referenced to Dr. Seuss though its origin is up for debate:

Be who YOU are

and say what YOU feel

because those who mind don't matter

and those who matter don't mind.

Last week, the teachers and I decided to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday.  The day after I sent out an announcement about our celebration, I saw a commercial on television for the upcoming movie, "The Lorax".  A dark cloud drifted over me and my husband asked "What's wrong?".

I tried to explain to him why I will never be able to read The Lorax to another group of children without them all calling out "I've seen that movie!".  They will arrive at story time with preconceived notions about the the story and characters.  They will fixate on the characters rather than the message. Why? Because the movie business has spent millions of dollars researching how to sell products to children through movie and television characters.  Not even to mention how corporate sponsors will capitalize on this children's movie.  Can we not keep corporate greed out of a movie based on a book whose target audience is young children????

Those teeth! I love those teeth! 
I still remember the first time that I read this book. 
When I got to this page I laughed out loud!!!
Ah, great memories of Dr. Seuss books. 
They are something worth celebrating!

I felt the same way when Where The Wild Things Are came out in a movie. I haven't seen the movie and I'm sure it's great. However, I haven't been able to bring myself to read the book to the children for the same reason I don't like reading books about other heavily commercialized characters.

I was so impressed with my ability to copy Dr. Seuss' art.

I'm sad that for money and without even an iota of concern for what will benefit children, commercialism has begun the consumption of the great Dr. Seuss.  Teacher Tom offers some great insight on the topic as well.  Tomorrow we will celebrate the legacy that is Dr. Seuss and all of the pure and good that comes from his works.  But I had to share my sadness about the possible loss of The Lorax from the Beansprouts curriculum henceforth.  And I can't help thinking that by celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday, I am somehow helping to build it into a great big holiday where all of the CVS and Toys R'Us chains start stocking their shelves with crap for us to buy, as everyone tries to capitalize on this new "holiday".

~~~

I promise, PROMISE, that my next post will be a HAPPY one!!!

~~~

You have brains in your head

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

-Dr. Seuss

from Oh! The Places You'll Go!

If you're feeling how I'm feeling, scoot on over to The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and help take a stand against hijaking The Lorax movie for commercial gain.  

*Stephanie*