I thought it'd be good for us to do at home still, so I got some paints, found short chubby brushes at the art shop and made an easel from a pice of cardboard propped against her climbing gym and stripped her down to a nappy. I am making her an 'art smock' but until then bare skin works well.
I put the paints out, and the paper and watched to see what Addie would do. At first she decided to paint the climber, but once I put a single dot of paint on the paper she felt free to paint on it. What impressed me was the way in which she thoughtfully but freely put brush to paper, refreshed her paint when the brush ran dry, changed colours and played. It took her a good 15 min to even eat the paint.
It would have been really easy for me to make it a horrible experience by directing her moves, making sure that she didn't paint anything else etc, but she figured the whole game out by herself. I know that probably no one else thinks her painting is special but I see a masterpiece!
Actually, it's a very pretty painting.
ReplyDeleteIf she wants to paint and you don't feel like cleaning up that day, my kids always like to 'paint' with a paintbrush and water in a bucket. It keeps them entertained for hours.
So much fun!!! It is so great to see kids experimenting and playing. She's done a fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteEsther, I love the idea of just giving them brushes and water... I don't specifically remember doing it as a kid, but I know I would've loved it. Hey, how about letting them 'water paint' the kitchen floor? Save mopping so frequently?
Cleaning? Thats what the outside on the concrete bit is for :) I avoid cleaning at all costs! Thanks for the water tip Esther. I think I need to get a big frame to display the painting of the week :)
ReplyDeleteActually I like the painting. She's done really well. The boys I work with start out painting fairly well and end up smearing it all together until the paper is just plain swamp green.
ReplyDeleteAnd good on you for keeping it a great experience for her. It's so easy to enforce our ideals onto others when it's not necessary.
And 15min before putting it in her mouth...that's impressive. Go Addie. Think there's some artist inher.
Yeah, I really like the painting too.
ReplyDeleteThat little girl's focused she did great. Sabrina gets board with the paper after two splodges and smears the paint all over her hair and anything else she can reach.
ReplyDeleteWay fun!!!!
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