Watercolor Fun!

Etzim class has been experimenting with watercolors! We learned the steps of watercoloring. First you wet your brush, then you swirl it around in your color then you paint! Adding more water makes the color lighter and adding more paint makes it darker! We have been using beautiful watercolor paper to play with this new medium. They have been loving it. The colors are vibrant and they are enjoying using such nice materials. They also enjoyed  watching their cup of water change color each time they rinsed off their brush. Lots of rich learning happens while experimenting with a new medium. 

Abby was saying that adding water makes the paint, "melt. " Julia was saying that she was, "starting to paint on top of colors. it makes different kinds of color that could be your favorite color!" Understanding how to use water and pigment to create your desired effect is exactly how using watercolors works. So neat to see that they are enjoying the watercolor exploration process. 

Pairs of Painters at the Easel

Painting at the easel has taken on a whole new way of doing art. In the Levana class we have opened up both sides of our easel so that two children can work at the same time. The children are very aware of a friend painting around the corner. Besides having to wait for the easel to be free when only one side is open, the children invite others to paint and on occasion trade sides at the easel. As our children mature, we see them becoming more aware of and desiring connection with one another.

Small Muscle Development

Olivia and Sydney are painting paper dreidels with thin watercolor brushes. Notice how they hold their brushes. They are using what is known as “proper pencil grip”. Their small muscle skills are connected to eye-hand coordination, development of the whole body and thought processes. They will continue to develop in the more specific motions needed to twist, squeeze, pinch, button, snap, zip, pour and cut. All these skills are leading to the achievement of readiness to write.