Shapes and Colors

When a toddler recognizes something, it is a pleasure to see it in their faces.
Like a girl who for the first time covers her hands with paint, looking at her hands in a new way, or a child who comes to realize that he can create something from nothing. Or an adult who can find the inner child, and let go of fears and try something different, new. It is why I love teaching.

We have started our playground dates with two different groups, Wednesday group and Friday group.

Our Wednesday group is made of 5~6 toddlers around the age of 2 (couple months younger or older).
Toddlers have an energy that seems like never ending, and when they are introduced to new materials you can see the energy transformation from the materials to the art work. The most important thing for a toddler is recognizing things with their senses. So when I see a toddler trying to taste what has been given to him I am not surprised:). But at the same time I look for motor skills and how advanced they are.
You can also see this energy on their paper when they draw/paint a non-stopping line that covers the paper, until they start noticing that they can stop and start again. When you look at a toddler's doodles you can notice these energy displayed through it. They force the limits of their body, energy, and also the limits of the material. They continue creating with instincts until they get tired or they loose interest. (20 minutes max)
Having these in mind I decided to introduce them with paint, more specifically finger paint. Only primary colors red, blue, and yellow. We first read books and look at images, try to recognize shapes and colors.

Our Friday group is a little bit older, ages varies between 2 to 5. Which is harder to plan a lesson since the developmental stages differ a lot. Trying to address each students developmental needs, I plan the lessons in 3 different parts. Have a part that get toddlers interested in the project, have a connection to their personal lives and the part of art making.

Since Halloween is just around the corner, I decided to have a mask-collage lesson. With different shapes, colors, and materials I am very curious to see the final masks...