Thursday Group - Painting with Black at Max's House

This week the revised Thursday group met at Max's House to experience painting. We set up on Amy's kitchen floor and let Max, Caleb, Sebastien, and Theo enjoy themselves. I always love to watch as children experience something for the first time. Whether it was total emersion like Theo who ended up drooling black, careful exploration like Max who intently watched others while still manipulating the materials, or playful exuberance like Caleb who in the midst of all the painting took a break to nurse smearing black paint all over his mommy. Watch as Max, Theo, and Caleb discover paint for the first time!

Sebastien's exploration of the paint is changing, during this experience he spent most of his time using the cup and brush together. Whether it was tasting, banging, or waving them he kept one in each hand as he explored both items. In the series of photos below you see Sebastien first try a taste of the cup, then he looks at them both, and finally tires the brush. He did this over and over again.

What struck me about this exploration with the paint was that there was quite a bit of social interaction between the children. This could be due to the face that three of the four boys were crawling. I think young children's ability to engage one another is fascinating and the ways in which they will negotiate materials, take note of one another and mirror certain movements. In the following video, Caleb sees Max waving the tempera cake in the air and finds it intriguing. Taking it from Max he gives it a taste while Max moves on to the brush in front of him. Some might feel that Caleb needs to give it back to Max but I see this as an early exercise in give and take. If Max really wanted the tempera cake he would have protested either by sound or action. Max is also trying to understand Caleb's intentions. If adults take their cues from children then they will let us know when they need us to intervene (Max did get the tempera cake back a little later in the exploration and he continued his discovery).

In this next video Theo notices something on Caleb and gets his attention. Then almost simultaneously they reach out to touch each other. When Theo tries to grab Caleb three adults lunge to make sure Caleb doesn't fall but the children manage the interaction without needing the adults to intervene.

Other Favorite Captured Moments:

Max curiously looks at Theo...Is he thinking "what's all over your face"?

Theo finds some black water droplets...could it be drool?

Caleb shows Kathy his black tongue!

A bit of a traffic jam. Theo and Caleb both explore Sebastien.

Friday Group - Painting with Red

When we began painting last week my intention was to paint for several weeks, starting with black and then using the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). Even though the main mode of exploration for children 8-12 months old is through their senses (and mostly via their mouths) I always want the children to have more than one chance to get to know the properties of a material so they can begin to build their knowledge of what encompasses the material. This idea, however, was called into question as I watched the children engage in the paint for the second time.

When I worked with infants in a school setting we had a special room called the Rainbow room where most artistic explorations took place. This was a place where children could freely come to on their own accord or if brought there by us could leave to play elsewhere if they were not interested in the material. What I discovered about our playgroup is that the materials I present are in the same place where I have all the other toys set up and I usually move all the other toys off to the side of the area so the children have plenty of room to explore the materials presented. When we paint the area is transformed even more by the addition of plastic overlays to protect the carpet. When I present the children with painting although it may be intriguing, it is their only choice. It is also so encompassing that the child cannot easily transition to a new activity because they are covered in paint and usually some cleanup is needed before they are set free to explore elsewhere.

So I am left wondering, how can I structure playgroup so that children can choose to engage in an exploration? While painting might be fun and exciting to some children and they could spend a great deal of time with the material, others may not be so inclined to spend as much time or even choose to come to the material at all. Of course, the one or two minutes one child spends with a material might be all they need get what they need out of the experience. I do look towards the length of time a child engages with a material as a sign of interest and want to follow the children's interest as much as possible. This was the second week Kaia had shown me that maybe I needed to wait until all the children are mobile and can choose to come to the paint because she showed hesitation and uncertainty in the painting experience. Yet in the past she had shown tremendous concentration and interest in other materials I previously presented.

It's not that she doesn't interact with the paint as you can see in the video above, but it is the way in which she seeks her mother and withdraws from the group shortly after she interacts with the paint. Kaia is usually moving everywhere and is especially interested in Sebastien and what he's doing. They tend to play practically on top of one another.

While Kaia observed from a safe distance Sebastien and Bryce didn't waste any time exploring the red paint. Sebastien really enjoyed waving the brush but also noticed the red on his fingers and has a little taste. Behind him Bryce diligently works to get the tempera cake up off the plastic and then catches sight of Sebastien's brush waving through the air. Bryce even manages to add some red to our canvas!

Toward the end we could tell the children were beginning to lose interest in the paint and Kaia was still staying very close to her mother. Kasey suggested adding some water and ice on the plastic surface to try and reengage the children but it didn't bring on the splashy excitement we had imagined. It did however get everybody wet and washed off some of the paint.

Thursday Group - A Change of Location and a Few New Faces

This Thursday was a little different. Since two children in our usual Thursday group were out of town (and will be for two weeks) we decided to meet at Theo's house and invite a few friends that we usually spend time with on Thursday mornings in impromptu gatherings after story time at the library (pictured below left to right, new friends: Caleb, Phedra, & Max). Theo had missed our previous experience with contact paper and I thought that the other children would enjoy the experience so I brought over the contact paper with cellophane and fabric items to set up on Annelise's floor. As expected, the cellophane was the biggest hit with all the children.

The sound of the cellophane was an instant attraction. In the following video watch as Max shakes, grabs, pulls and claps the cellophane together, while Phedra works to get the red up and finally does and just isn't satisfied with only one so she finds a piece for each hand. Caleb discovers the sticky contact paper as he assesses his surroundings.

There was a slight tape malifunction as it didn't stick very well to the floor but allowed for other explorations. As exhibited by Theo, who found the tape was just as sticky as the contact paper and he wasn't too sure about the sticky feeling on his feet.




This next video shows two children exploring the material very differently. Sebastien is orally feeling the cellophane while Max is trying to get a piece of cellophane off the contact paper. Watch carefully as Max makes a subtle gesture for help from his mom who is sitting next to him. You'll see Max hit something with his right hand (her foot) and then his mother responds by offering a ribbon. The ribbon wasn't necessarily the item he was after but he was satisfied with the ribbon and with the fact that he was able to get a response from his mother.




Many times during an exploration children will repeat the same actions over and over again. This is the way they encode information into their brains. Watch as Phedra, works to have a piece of cellophane in each hand as she did earlier and then take the exploration further by excitedly shaking the pieces.



I always love the small moments that we can easily miss when we care for our little ones. In this next video Caleb experiences the contact paper up close and in another moment searches for the next item to explore. He even checks in with mom by grabbing her toe all the while surveying the materials, this is when Phedra's yellow cellophane catches his eye and he reaches for a blue piece. It's amazing that a simple touch can give a child the secure feeling to continue to discover the world around him. It is the relationship between the child and the parent that is the foundation of confidence and security. Each child will continually rely on that foundation as they enter into new territory and make new discoveries.

Friday Group - Painting with Black

With the enthusiasm that accompanied the Thursday Group I was so exited for the Friday Group to dive in to the painting experience. As always the children (even my own) surprised me with their interest in the paint. The initial interest was thoughtful and careful. Sebastien started exploring the back of the brush yet kept a close eye on what his friend Kaia was doing. Meanwhile Kaia made a bear claw print after she had manipulated and tasted the tempera cake. I think the combination of not being too sure of what she just put in her mouth and sleepiness led her into the comforting arms of her mother because she wasn't too sure of the paint after that. Bryce was completely enthralled with the paint and explored each painting device thoroughly starting with the container. Isa joined the group a little later after she finished eating with her mom.

Once Isa joined she wasn't too sure about what this was all about and tuned into the other adults and children as she cautiously explored the materials. What she did find interesting was the liquid puddle that would form if the container holding the tempera cake was dumped over. Isa hadn't been to playgroup in a month so she was continuing to develop her trust in the people and materials.


There was no disputing that Bryce found the paint wildly fascinating. He spent the longest amount of time engaged with the material and explored the container, the tempera cake, and the brush fully. He even dove forward to experience the paint from another perspective.



Sebastien finally was able to get that tempera cake up and into his mouth which eluded him on Thursday.

Thursday Group - Painting with Black

The first moments the children spent with the painting materials were infused with pure enthusiasm and curiosity. Besides eating when do children get to experience the thrill of having something wet and slippery on their bodies? Plus, that black color begs to be touched. Xavier begins by finding the perfect canvas, Sebastien and wants to paint on him (which delights Sebastien). He then uses his fingers to touch brush bristles ever so gently. He then observes Sebastien's exuberant motions of banging the brush on the canvas and tries it himself. Zadie closely examines the brush, trying it in her mouth. Later, she clangs the container and brush together adding to the other sounds being created. This all within the first 30 seconds of the experience!

Both Zadie and Xavier take a moment during the exploration to share the experience with their mothers.




Back to business, Xavier has discovered the tempera cake and has been manipulating it. He then notices that his hand is black and examines it before continuing to make marks on the canvas as he moves the tempera cake up and down.




Sebastien is working very hard trying to pick up the very wet tempera cake in the middle of the canvas and during his quest he is continually distracted by Xavier's exploration. Sebastien gives Xavier a little paint on his feet before turning back to the task at hand.



In this last video, you'll see Zadie placing her attention on exploring the properties of the shaving brush and then when Dara places her closer to Xavier, Zadie is motivated to touch his painted face but in the end is satisfied with just holding his hand.

Painting with Tempera Cakes

Why Tempera Cakes

As our time with exploring textiles finished, I thought a lot about what next? Clay, drawing, paint? With all the children still so oral in their explorations I felt that paint would be an appropriate next step as it has high visual impact whether applied on a canvas, a little body or in a mouth. I decided to begin by using Tempera Cakes which are solid concentrated versions of liquid tempera paint. What is so nice about tempera cakes is that you spray these with water and then paint so the color can be very vibrant and dark or wash into lighter hues. In this form the paint also dries quickly and you can continue to moisten them as the children continue to show interest. This can also sometimes result in the paint becoming a liquid form which can be splashed! Part of the draw to using tempera cakes is that there are 3 different items the children can manipulate; the cake itself, the container that holds the cake (washed single serving applesauce container), and the shaving brush. Each item in and of itself can make marks and spread paint.

Presentation of Materials

I presented the children with one canvas in the middle of the floor with a moistened tempera cake in a container and a brush with paint already on it. They could then choose how they would use the materials. I began our painting experience with the color black because it has maximum contrast and visual interest when used. By only presenting one color at a time children can focus on 1 visual variable at time. You can easily see the hand print left in the canvas or fabric imprint left from a little knee crawling across the canvas. I also chose to have the children work around one canvas to promote interactions and a sense of community knowing that the much of the exploration would only accidently end up on the canvas. The children's exploration of the materials would be the main attraction not getting the paint on the canvas.

Friday Group - Contact Paper

With the small size of the Friday Group I thought I take a moment to look closely at the children's explorations in the context of Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development. From birth until about 18 months children learn about their world through their senses, reflexes, and physical activity. They are in what Piaget calls the sensorimotor stage of development. By manipulating materials children experiment with cause and effect and become more confident in their abilities to discover and make an impact on their surroundings.

Watch in the following video as Sebastien & Kaia work to pull up different materials from the contact paper and also use their mouths to further explore the fabric. They are both very industrious and exert a lot of physical energy in their exploration.

Children begin to categorize and reorganize information in their brains based on what they have discovered with their bodies. Ever wonder why a baby will do an activity over and over and over again? They are using their senses to unravel the mysteries of life that surround them, basically, their brains are encoding physical input from their movements and activity into information they can utilize. This is why they pull up on the unstable basket, drop an item from their high chair, or put every toy in their mouth time after time. In the following video, both Kaia and Sebastien perform actions that we have seen in the previous playgroup sessions. Kaia plays the "where's Kaia" game while Sebastien gives the velcro another taste. I found it interesting that this interaction was both children's first moments with the contact paper and that they replayed previous interactions with the materials.

Thursday Group - Contact Paper

I've had a lot of time to think & review the Thursday Group's exploration of the contact paper since we've been on a two week break and I'm finally getting to my blog entries. What I noticed most clearly about Zadie and Sebastien's interactions with the materials is that Zadie is still learning to trust me & the environment while Sebastien is uninhibited because he's in his own home and I am his mother. With this in the back of my mind as I watch and remember the interactions between Zadie & Sebastien I am drawn to the work Erik Erikson's and his Stages of Psychosocial Development. Erikson believed that for the first year of life children are in the Trust vs. Mistrust stage of development. During this stage babies are developing both the "external belief that significant adults will be present to meet the baby's needs and internal belief that they have power to effect change and cope with a variety of circumstances" (Mooney 2000, p.40). This is extremely important in the child's attachment to primary caregivers as well as in my work with them. My role is to provide a consistent and safe environment in which the children can freely explore and test their own sense of trust.

In the following video you will see Sebastien very enthusiastically engaging with the contact paper and other materials. Zadie, on the other hand, is interested and actively seeking interactions but is unsure of Sebastien's intentions and so she observes and adapts her intentions based on Sebastien.

In the following photos you will see that Zadie finally gets that yellow ribbon she was after and is actually quite excited about it. She then takes the opportunity to interact with Sebastien by giving him a little grab. Zadie then really began to trust herself, and her actions exhibited more persistence in her desires.

Even when the cellophane was hard to get off the contact paper, she kept trying to pull it up. Both her mother and I would offer assistance when needed (placing a new blue piece nearby) to help her achieve her desired task. Thus, building her trust in us to support her during challenging moments. However, she soon went back to trying to get that elusive red piece (which she was half sitting on) off the contact paper by herself. She eventually did get it but we had to subtly give her a little scoot off the cellophane.

Contact Paper

Contact paper is a medium I have used often with infants and toddlers. When placed sticky side up it allows for many different types of explorations. As children become more mobile they discover the sensation of sticking to something and when they get older the contact paper becomes an excellent medium for collage. It takes away the need for glue which can be overwhelming for a young child and yet still gives the child the freedom to stick an item down and then take it back up again if they want.

I placed the contact paper, sticky side up, on a large clear storage container lid. I purposely chose a surface that was low to the ground and could be placed on the carpet so the children could really move all around on it.

I also thought that having something big enough for several children to be around together would promote more interactions with the material and each other. Under the contact paper I placed a picture of each child in the group to entice the children to touch the contact paper. This really drew the children further to make full contact with the material.

The familiar cellophane and fabric materials were also carried over into this experience so that the children would have a chance to try manipulating them in a new way, either to pull them off or stick them down. Both on Thursday & Friday only one other child was able to join Sebastien at the playgroup but the intimate setting allowed for the children to make deeper connections to each other and the materials.