A New Perspective

Ethan, Ben and Joseph looked at the world from inside the easel today, and seemed to get a big kick out of squeezing into close quarters and performing a bit for the surprised audience. They also experimented with making art from the inside out. All in all, an avant-garde activity.

Using our whole body to draw!

Drawing at the easel takes a lot of skill, you have to stand and reach your arm up and down in order to create your design. Often times drawing at the easel and at the art table are lumped together of both being fine motor activities but Adam shows us here how easel painting can be a whole body experience as he reaches up high to get the tippy top of his paper filled in. I love seeing how he lifts his back leg up to keep balance. Nicely done Adam!

Painting at the Easel

We introduced the easel in the Keshet classroom today.  You can see that Harrison is experimenting with color mixing right on the paper.   Joseph has some bold strokes of distinct color on the other side.  At times during the morning, there would be one child at the easel.  Later, a second child joined the first and they were painting side by side.  The children seemed to enjoy painting together, as all of the paint cups ended up on one side of the easel.  As they create, the children are working the muscles in their shoulder girdle in a way that they don't when working at a table or on the floor.  

Problem Solving at the Easel

Many artists visited the easel today in the Kohavim class. Dylan and Zack agreed to "partner paint." Partner painting can be a challenge as it involves two children painting on the same side of the easel, sharing brushes and paints, and negotiating space and ideas. While painting together, Zack and Dylan had a big problem: Who would take home the painting they made together?





We asked some of the other children playing nearby. They had many ideas about how to solve the problem:
       Eliza: You could cut it in half.
       Lily: But then you would break the painting.
          You could keep it here at school.
       Eli: Hang it up on the wall.

After hearing all of the children's ideas, Dylan and Zack agreed that Zack would take home the painting and they would make another painting for Dylan to take home. They proceeded to do a whole series of partner paintings together. Only the first day and the children in the Kohavim class are solving problems together!

The Pincer grip

Last night's presentation about the physical development required before a child learns to write was so interesting! Just this week, the Rainbows have had a few opportunities to experiment with the pincer grip. They used shortened paintbrushes and water to create artwork on chalkboards. The chalkboards were mounted on the easel to achieve the proper angle to encourage proper hand position. The short handle on the paintbrush also made it difficult to utilize the palmar grip. The children also worked with eye droppers as they experimented with color mixing on some absorbent coffee filters. You can imagine those hand muscles getting stronger...

Rainbow Artists

Whether painting with others or painting alone, the easel is a popular area for the Rainbow kids. Some children prefer to paint on their own while others do not mind if another child comes to join them. When several children are painting the same picture, lots of cross-talk can be heard about what they are painting, what colors they are using, and where the paint should go on the paper. Important skills are being developed such as turn taking, cooperation, and sharing. When the children are asked what they are painting, some interesting responses are usually heard. When I asked Audrey what she was painting, she said, "I'm painting a cat; not an angry cat but a friendly cat, and it's not scary." Such dialogue promotes language development and back and forth exchange between the teacher and child. The dialogue also promotes development of children's imaginations.

Painting with Partners!

The Tel Aviv class LOVES to paint and more recently we have seen children wanting to paint with a friend. Today Rachel and ax painted on one side of the easel while Dylan and Jacob painted on the other. Max and Rachel enjoyed maxing all three colors together and watching the colors blend into one. Dylan and Jacob shared their paper well. Jacob painted a train while Dylan made handprints below. Jacob got so excited about Dylans hand prints that he started to paint Dylan’s hand’s too! It was a group effort. We love having so many creative kids in our class!

Collaborative Art

Over the course of just a few minutes this morning, there were at least five different configurations of young artists at the easel. Whether working alone or as a team, the Rainbows are eager to express themselves through drawing. Working at the easel rather than on a table, the children strengthen the muscles in their shoulders as they draw.

Drawing at the Easel

At school we use all kinds of materials to write and draw including markers, pencils and crayons. Most often, we sit at a table when writing or drawing.

Other times, we take the opportunity to stand at the chalkboard and draw. In this manner, we use our whole bodies to create our pictures.

Jacob Shaw has drawn some airplanes flying above the horizon.

At the Easel

When you are painting or drawing at the easel sometimes it's fine to be alone and sometimes, it feels just right having a friend working along with you.