Colour Dropping on the Light Table

We decided to put one of the children's favourite activities on the light table in order to add a new dimension to the experience. After covering the table with a plastic cover, we placed clear trays filled with water and the primary colours on top.

We invited the children to transfer the water in the trays using clear pipettes.

The light from the table illuminated the colours on the trays and helped children to distinguish between very light and dark shades. It was scientific art making!

The children were so engaged with the experience! Their conversations were rich with language describing the process and product of their work together.

They also shared colours from one tray to the other, working together to create new colours.

Beautiful! That smile says it all!

Tin Foil Sculptures

We love to create art with a variety of mediums in our classroom. We also love anything that strengthens our children's fine motor skills, helping them to become strong writers! Today the children worked with tin foil, sculpting it into unique creations!

The foil was so easy to work with as it was pliable and could be made the exact size and shape the children wanted. It could be cut with scissors and coloured on with markers.

Just look at how hard those fingers are working!  Remember our favourite saying! Busy fingers equals busy brains!

Their creations were so interesting!

 

Sign In Survey

Friday's sign in survey asked children to place their name under their favourite colour. We used post it notes that way children did not have to cramp together in a small place to write their name, and the names could be removed from the survey and placed in children's portfolios for record keeping.

Many of our children used their prior knowledge of a VENN diagram to indicate their preference for more than one colour. Notice the placement of the name in between two colours and with arrows drawn to indicate both colours!

This survey inspired others during play time. One child surveyed his peers to see who wanted to be a police officer in the newly built police station in the block center.

Another child decided to create a graph showing who was and wasn't present at school that day. 

Salad Spinner Painting

We thought it would be fun to engage the children in a way of painting using movement - especially considering how interested they have been in helping to make things move in our classroom (e.g., marble runs, water runs, ramps and balls). 

Children were encouraged to drop paint onto a piece of paper that was in the bottom of a salad spinner. We decided to use up the left over paint from the easel since we were cleaning it for the weekend.

Children could choose whatever colour and amount of paint they wanted.

Once the paint was selected, the top was placed tightly on the spinner and the child was encouraged to spin it as fast as he or she could!

Once finished, the lid was lifted and voila! Instant spin artwork! Beautiful!

The children were intrigued with how different each child's art was, even when the same colours of paint were used. They were impressed that the paint moved and swirled together, even when no brush was used.

Shaving Cream Structures

The children engaged in one of our favourite activities today! Building structures using shaving cream! The shaving cream acts as a very strong mortar, holding the blocks together enabling the children to build taller, more unique structures than if they were just stacking the blocks on top of one another. This activity also appeals to children because of the sensory nature of the shaving cream. It's just so much fun to play with and smells so good! It's also very easy to wash out of the children's clothing and off the blocks. 

So much fun!