In the Atelier: Pine Needle Painting

We've had a good rhythm this week (so far). The best thing is that it's not last week's arctic weather. The children and I went for a nature walk and collected some pine needles which were intended for our painting activity.
Our weekly collaboration was inspired by this book. The book is all about teamwork and creativity. We finished the book in 3 reads...it's pretty lengthy - at least for the littlest ones.

In this activity the children got to:

• express themselves using new and interesting materials
• practice fine motor skills by controlling a pine needle as a brush
• work together to create one big masterpiece

* One child used the pine needles to paint her area, then dipped her finger in the paint to make dots, therefore creating a different kind of design.

At first the children looked unsure what they should do with the material (pine needle), after one child picked up the pine and began painting, the others followed without words/commentary.

The children all found their own methods of gaining a secure grip on the pine needles, and held the "brushes" with precision as they painted the surface. 

Christmas Around Here: Collaborations / Easy Festive Paper Plate Craft

Another weekly collaboration...
We are all under the weather (that's actually an understatement). However, nothing keeps us from getting crafty, and playing, chatting with friends.
Gather your paints, paintbrushes, stencils, tinsel, scraps (wrapping paper, tissue paper, etc), yarn, glitter, glue...anything and everything. Give the kids paper plates in various sizes, and colours and let them loose.

One last thing... don't forget our wonderful giveaway  for 2 $25.00 gift certificates from Baked from the Heart, a local vegan bakery. If you haven't already entered, now is your chance. 

Weekly Collaboration : Weeks 3 & 4

Pieces of Nature Collaboration (#3)

 #4
Vegetable Glitter Soup

See our other collaborations here.

Weekly Collaborations #1 & 2

Introducing the Weekly Collaboration Series. This is a simple project, but oh so fun, and I cannot wait to see where it leads.

How did it begin?
Our curriculum is not a one size fits all. After all , aside from being perfect individuals, the children range in age. They also have unique knowledge and abilities. Since we have a small group, it works wonderfully.
Many activities and invitations to play are set up in a way that the children share the space in learning, however, they are encouraged to explore at their own pace, and in their own time.

As we begin a new year of discovery, I thought it would be wonderful if the children to tackle one creative task together.  I've been thinking about it since the summer when they collaborated on their first mandala together as a group (see here)...

I came to the conclusion that an open-ended simple activity would be a perfect and non-stressful way to allow the children to work together, in a collaborative manner, at least once a week. 

Last week, I laid out various painting materials and invited them to create a masterpiece together.

I began by letting each child choose 2 paint colours. I put a couple of feathers, a popsicle stick, and a sponge, and I left them to their devices - without instructions.
This is what they did (Week 1)...

Week 2

We created apple trees.

They used
toilet paper rolls
green
red paint (thumb prints were fun)