Hoping to mix things up a bit, I decided to present a black drawing surface and different writing utensils; pastels (both Wednesday and Friday group) and chalk (just the Friday group). Just as the children experiment with the items I present to them, I too, experiment with what and how I present the materials to the children. The experience I set out sometimes has variations from group to group but my ultimate goal is to have the children experience the materials in a multitude of ways which takes individual expression into consideration. Each child is unique in his or her development and might see the materials as being useful in exploring what happens when the pastel rolls off the table or how it can be transfered from one spot to another.
Having the easel ready and waiting offers the children another option to suit individual interests and exploraitons. I notice that the easel makes for more vertical and separate marks when the children choose to use the different drawing utensils there.
What I love about pastels and chalk is that they look similar to each other but make very different marks. Chalk feels hard but quickly dissipates as you use it while pastels are soft to the touch and feel like they melt into the paper. Watch as Theo very briefly looks at the pastel after using it. Hmm...what is he noticing?
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