Whole Child Development
Here’s a fun and noisy way to paint without much of a mess.
To start, you need large containers with lids, paper, and paints (I used craft paint just because I had it and need to use it up. It’s more permanent on clothes, but most of the mess stays inside the cans, and I was doing this on a messy clothes day anyway. You could certainly use the more friendly tempera paint.) Oh, and you’ll need rocks! Lots of little rocks. Doing this activity outside is certainly helpful!
I recently got a great compliment from a parent. At least I think it was a compliment. She said, “I love that you have these random art projects!” Now, as I said, I do believe she sincerely meant it as a complement, but it got me wondering. Certainly I can see how creating collages with seeds, fingerpainting with colored shaving cream , and dropping colored water on coffee filters may seem a little random, but random as compared to what? I think when most people envision preschool arts, they see the paper plate snowmen, the construction paper alphabet train, and woven paper place mats. These aren’t actually arts, they’re closer to crafts. Now I’m not saying crafts aren’t appropriate for preschoolers, I quite enjoy making paper plate snowmen and I think the children do to. I just hate to see crafts used at the exclusion of art. Let me explain how I see them as different.
Art trays are fantastic! What’s an art tray you ask? Well, once you use one, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without one. An art tray is any tray you can use to contain mess and define space while the little ones work on their creations. You could get the fantastic ones from Oriental Trading that I have (click on the picture above to link to their site), or use old cookie sheets or plastic trays from your own collection or your favorite thrift store. Just choose something that is leak proof and large enough to contain your general project size, yet small enough to accommodate the space you are using. Set the art trays down, put the supplies on the tray, and let those little fingers go to work!
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