This week we continued our discussions and explorations of emotions and feelings as well as color. We talked about how colors make us feel or what we think about when we see colors. We played music for the children and asked how it made them feel. We started by playing the song, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, which many children said they had heard many times before. They said it was a happy song and many of the children got up and started dancing. The children looked at all of the paint colors we had in the classroom and picked the ones they thought were happy and went with the music. They chose red, yellow, blue, orange and purple. Many friends smiled and laughed while painting and others continued to dance. We also played ukulele music while they painted and Eugene said it reminded him of Hawaii.
Color Hunt
We continued our exploration of colors by searching our neighborhood or going on a color hunt. Prior to leaving, we listed some colors and decided which ones we might be able to find. They were excited to see Robot Park as it was filled with so many of the colors on the list. They were also excited to see Teacher June as she was wearing purple, a favorite among the children.
After collecting discovered items from our color hunt we talked about what we should do with them or what we could make. Wesley suggested that we put all of the materials on the table the next morning so everyone could have a chance to work with them. Mia suggested pressing the pieces that we found into the clay to see if they would stick. Many of the children were excited to offer ideas and said they were looking forward to making something with the pieces.
Collaborative Clay Piece
The next day, we put all the materials we found on the hunt on the table. We added more colorful materials (wooden beads, tiles and buttons) on the table and tried to identify some new colors- light blue, purple and pink among them. As Mia suggested, we used the paper clay as the base of our creation and decided to stick all the different colored materials onto it. Some children described the clay as "wet," "cold" and "soft" as they kneaded it and put the clay together.
Claire suggested that we make a face on our artpiece and that is what she did using an empty tape roll and some blue hair (string). Next came the really fun part! The children collaboratively added all the different materials onto the clay and filled the entire area, which was a both colorful and sensory activity. What a beautiful, colorful creation!! The teachers were so proud of the children for working so hard on it together. What great artists we have!
Claire suggested that we make a face on our artpiece and that is what she did using an empty tape roll and some blue hair (string). Next came the really fun part! The children collaboratively added all the different materials onto the clay and filled the entire area, which was a both colorful and sensory activity. What a beautiful, colorful creation!! The teachers were so proud of the children for working so hard on it together. What great artists we have!
During Circle time, we reflected on how we made our wonderful creation and many friends were able to point out different colors. We could not seem to find too much orange, so we will continue to add to our clay piece once the clay dries.
Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day)
On Thursday, we celebrated Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri). The teachers displayed some special hina dolls (representing the Emperor and the Empress) in the classroom and the children touched and looked at them with interest. Many of them said they had seen something like this before in our library upstairs, at home, or at TAC. We made our own hina dolls using photos of our faces. We talked about the boy doll wearing a special kind of hat and holding a baton while the girl doll is wearing a crown like a princess and holding a fan in her hand. As the hina dolls are wearing beautiful kimonos, the children decorated their own kimonos using special tape and markers.
For snack, we ate hina arare (colorful, bite-sized Japanese crackers) and a big, flower shaped Japanese cracker which James and his mother brought in for us. Thank you to James and his mom for bringing in such a yummy snack. Many friends said they wished it was Girls' Day everyday so they can eat these special snacks regularly!
Moody Paintings
To end the week and delve further into our paintings and feelings, we listened to music that was much different in comparison to Monday's "happy" music. We played some moody songs such as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Pachelbel's Canon and the children talked about what the music sounded like. Many of them said the music sounded sad. They chose some colors based on the way the music sounded. A few friends chose blue, because they said that rain makes them sad as they cannot play outside when it is raining. James said that gray makes him sad and when he found that there was no gray paint on the table, he suggested that we mix black and white paint, which we found really did make gray!
It is interesting to note there were some big differences in the paintings while listening to "happy" and "sad" music. The strokes varied as well as the mood, conversation, and pace of the paintings. We look forward to displaying the children's artwork so you can see their paintings filled with emotion!
It is interesting to note there were some big differences in the paintings while listening to "happy" and "sad" music. The strokes varied as well as the mood, conversation, and pace of the paintings. We look forward to displaying the children's artwork so you can see their paintings filled with emotion!
Beads, Wire, and Ribbon
As we continue to observe colors, the children resumed an activity that they had begun a while back which invovled stringing beads on pieces of wire and ribbon. They children were interested in all of the colors and concentrated so well while using their fine motor skills to place the wire and ribbon in the tiny holes on the plastic and wooded beads. It wasn't long until they had created long, rainbow-like masterpieces. We will continue to build on our branch next week and will display it proudly soon!
Thank you so much for a fantastic week. Enjoy the lovely weather everyone!
-Julie and Natalie
-Julie and Natalie