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.

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.