Easel painting....outside!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this morning and took our art outside. I set up an easel with cups of paint and brushes. Our little ones are used to painting on horizontal surfaces so I was really curios to see how they would do painting on a vertical surface.

F was the first to come out and walked right to the easel...


She chose her first color...


The first brush strokes...


R came and joined the fun...





R added a few strokes of blue...











Confession: this is my favorite picture of the day!






Once we were done painting, we decided to wash off at the water table...






Have a great day!

Love,
Teacher Lesley

Our Painting, Planting Project--Part 1

First Day of Spring...Earth Day...Warm sunshine & blue skies...These months are full of invitations to celebrate and enjoy nature! Teacher Kristina, one of our Blue Room preschool teachers, brought in a wonderful activity for our Green Room budding gardeners!

Even our youngest Green Room kiddo got to participate in this fun activity:







We painted the soles of their feet, and then pressed their painted foot against the flower pot twice.



The end result? A beautiful butterfly!







What a peculiar sensation to have a paint-soaked sponge dabbed on the bottom of your foot!



Even the cleanup process was a sensory experience in itself, as we washed their feet in a tub of soapy, warm water. E looks like he's enjoying his foot soak!






We painted the pots over a few days and then let the artwork dry before continuing to the second part our project: planting! Stay tuned for part 2 and see how our flower pots turned out!

Thank you Teacher Kristina for bringing this fun activity into our classroom!

Love,
Teacher Katie

Water Babies

Warm weather means it's time for some water play at Creative Minds!




Our Green Room ducklings can't resist the invitation of splashing in a shallow kiddie pool!



Even some of our littlest friends got to enjoy dipping their toes in the water...



...and that quickly turned into a full-body experience!




We added funnels and scoopers from our sand box for exploring the liquid properties of water.




It's not quite the same sensation as shoveling sand!














We also added some foam shapes to the water, which the kids had fun exploring.




The foam shapes floated nicely in our tub and kiddie pool.




They also made good tools for moving the water back and forth.



Plus, the shapes were a great way for the kids to examine how different materials react in water.











Some of our kiddos were napping during our first round of water play. So, in the afternoon, we filled up the kiddie pool again and let them have a turn.












They were a little tentative at first...




...But not for long!




They were also fascinated by the colorful foam shapes in the water.




We played some Raffi water-themed songs like "Baby Beluga" and "Down By the Bay." The kids enjoyed the combination of being outside, listening to the music, and playing in the water.







Enjoy the sunshine this week!

Love,
Teacher Katie

Shaving Cream Shenanigans

We mixed things up in Green Room today and took our sensory play outside!









Shaving cream + food coloring provided a simple yet delightful activity for our kiddos.


















They were fascinated by the texture of the shaving cream, lathering it on their hands and faces and enjoying the foamy sensation.








Some of our friends even opted to continue the rest of their outside play still covered in shaving cream!


















Other friends couldn't get enough of the shaving cream experience!


















What a fun way to explore textures and color mixing!

Love,
Teacher Katie

Earth Day Painting

In honor of Earth Day this month, we wanted our Green Room friends to engage with our earth's resources in a creative, hands-on way. We have some neighboring trees that love to shed their leaves into our back yard at school. So, we collected some of those leaves and tied them together to make.......



Paint brushes!











Then we had a fun painting session using our outdoorsy paintbrushes (and, of course, our fingers too!). The kids enjoyed exploring the texture of these new "paint brushes" and kept asking for more paint.



































We also added shaving cream onto our canvas. The shaving cream on the leafy paint brushes reminded us of snow on tree branches!



























Happy Earth Day, friends!

Love,
Teacher Katie











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