Friday Group - Liquid Tempra Blue Paint

This was the first week that Hannah experienced the paint. Sebastien was excited to have her explore a material he loves so much. Sebastien spent some time making a blotting motion with his paint brush while Hannah explored the paint cup and brush. After some observation and thought Theo comes over to the canvas and grabs a paint brush. As much as I wanted him to just enjoy the brush and give him the freedom and space to do so I also try to have a few limits in regards to where the children can paint. The balance between limits and creative freedom is delicate and I'm not always successful at finding it. As the children have become more skilled with the paint and their intentions made more clear, I have noticed myself becoming more verbal in my descriptions of what I see the children do.

Hannah caught on very quickly on how to use and what to do with the paint. She spent the longest amount of time with the paint of all the children. She concentrated very hard on one particular spot layering paint over and over again. She was very focused and intent as she explored the paint.



Bryce, in his usual finesse waits until everyone else is finished before he dives into the paint. He's tickled that he can make sound not only with the brush on the canvas but with the brush on the container. What I love about Bryce is that he has these moments of pure joy as he explores and the smile that crosses his face in that quick moment is delightful.

Wednesday Group - Liquid Tempra Blue Paint

This was the first session where I felt the children were moving further into the painting experience. They were making very purposeful marks. This is the first time the canvas is filled with mostly strokes of paint and not feet or other body parts smudging the paint (not that I think that immersing yourself isn't an important part of exploring paint). Zadie began by working on some long strokes in an concentrated area but then she spotted her toes... well you know what happens next. While Zadie paints her toes Sebastien watches closely. A short time later he tries it for himself.

Sebastien again tested the boundaries of where to paint and when Caleb arrived Sebastien was happy to return to painting with a friend. Having shared experiences with another friend leads not only to closer relationships but also more in-depth learning. You're not only learning from the material but how someone else uses the material. Caleb tested for himself some other areas of the play space that he thought needed some paint. This is just the beginning of children testing limits!



This last video is just a few close up shots of the children's paint brushes in motion. I am not an artist or painter but I am fascinated with how many different ways you can hold a brush, make marks with a brush, and move the paint with the brush. Each time the children interact with the paint their relationship with it evolves. When we first started paint was everywhere in the play space but now it is becoming more concentrated on the canvas. I can't wait to see where the evolution of painting takes them.

Friday Group - Sand Play

Due to a shipping error that left us without a canvas, I interrupted our painting session and brought out the sensory bin filled with sand. A new friend, Hannah also joined us during group this week. We are happy to have some female energy to our boy heavy play sessions. Sebastien and I have been exploring sand together now for a couple of weeks and I find the sand so calming and soothing when we play in it together. Sand is used by many mental health professionals when working with young children because it is a creative medium that children can use to express themselves and with the right props recreate situations the child may be struggling with. Sand is also fun. You can dump, pat, sift, form, scoop, and pour it. Sand has endless possibilities. Theo, Max, and Bryce weren't too sure about the sand itself but found the wooden tools particularly interesting.

In true Theo style, he liked the handles on the wooden tools and carried them all around the play area. He did touch the sand a few times but wasn't too sure about it. Max checked out the tools in a similar fashion but preferred to throw them back into the sensory bin. You can see Max pick up some sand but he quickly let it fall back into the sensory bin. Both boys spent short periods of time with the sand but this is typical for a first exploration.

Bryce spent more time with the tools, practicing a stirring technique. He also used the tools to make sound. Toward the end of the video he uses the spoon to push the sand on the edge of the sensory bin. Sand allows for many ways to be explored... "the what happens if I" cause and effect experiments that go on inside a child's head have many possible outcomes.



The tools also pose interesting challenges to the children like, how do I hold this tool to get sand into it? Both Sebastien and Hannah try to figure this one out although it just looks like their intention is to simply move the sand. What you don't see is Sebastien moving his spoon over to dump out what he thought should be in his spoon into a bucket. Then toward the end Hannah opts to grab a tool that already has sand in it to touch and explore the sand inside.



As I watched the video I shot I was particularly interested in the children's vocalizations while playing with the sand. Watch as Sebastien and Hannah have something to say while playing with the sand. They are both completely engrossed in what they are doing.

Wednesday Group - Painting with Red Liquid Tempura

The evolution of painting is becoming more and more of a social activity, whereby children are drawn to and stay longer when other children are involved in the painting process. This really can be seen in how the children are learning from one another and trying out different ways of painting after observing a friend. Sebastien is really beginning to push the boundaries of painting, looking to define places he can paint. During this session he tries to answer the question "what happens if I paint a friend?" He also deliberately paints his toes after watching Zadie paint her toes last week and again this week.

Along with painting her toes, Zadie practices big, long strokes with the paint brush on the canvas. At one point after she spreads some paint, she transfers the paint brush in her right hand to her left and then reaches down to move the paint with her hand. She did this several times during her exploration both on the canvas and on the plastic tarp. Understanding the properties of paint is a hands on experience and there's nothing like the feeling of slick, wet paint.



Caleb takes a little time to warm up to the paint. Starting slow he works his way from the canvas, to the plastic tarp, to his hand, back to the canvas and then onto his leg. When he touches the paint with his hand, he shakes it. It seems like he's not too sure about the texture. When he paints his leg I love his little cry of displeasure at the feel of the paint but Niko is so encouraging and accepting that he actually tries it again. His exuberant use of the paint brush and the large red painted section of the tarp shows that within the safety of his mother's words and presence he can more freely open himself to the painting experience.