PRETEND PLAY & MAGICAL THINKING

This week, our task was to choose an inanimate object and bring it to life.

Art word of the week: colour

• According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), "it's based on the passage of light (visual sensation of light caused by stimulating cones of the retina). When the light source changes, so does the colour. If there is no light, then there is no colour."

I present to you, the tortoise and the hare.

Names: Benny & Jenny
They're fraternal twins and live way up high in a magical castle on a cloud. Both of them are legendary creatures who speak Latin.  
Jenny is a lazy hare who likes to sit on the couch and spend endless hours watching television. Her favourite hobbies are sleeping and eating. She occasionally goes to the park to sit on a bench and admire her natural surroundings.
Benny is an active and outgoing tortoise who can't seem to slow down! He daily routine consists of a quick run in the morning, working throughout the day, and taking a relaxing dip in the pool after work.

These characters were created using colours of the real animals because I wanted people to be able to make a quick connection to them as colours should make you respond with a feeling. Did the characters Benny & Jenny make you feel perplexed? As educators, we know how important colours in the classroom are because they evoke certain emotions. Although we are not interior designers, we must think twice before painting the classroom walls in particular colours!  

The little details are what makes my day, and Neil Pasricha has written a book listing some amazing things that can make one person's day that much more awesome! I found #280 extremely relateable to this post: http://1000awesomethings.com/2011/03/25/280-when-little-kids-get-really-really-excited/

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

GROCERY SHOPPING WITH A TWIST

This week, we got to have some fun with grocery shopping!
Art word of the week: shape
According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), it is the outside form of any object with its own qualities and characteristics.

First, we chose a category of food to focus on. 

I chose... fruits.

Next, we made list of 15 foods that met the criteria. 

Here goes: apples, oranges, tangerines, pears, peaches, bananas, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, watermelons, mangos, papayas, cantaloupe 

Now to let's check out some similarities and differences between these listed fruits!

• apples: round, red or green (sometimes a hint of yellow), shiny, smooth
• oranges: circular, round, orange, pebbly-skinned, firm
• tangerines: similar to the orange, but smaller in size and softer
• pears: round - smaller at the top and wider at the bottom, green or yellow, smooth 
• peaches: fuzzy, orange/yellow/red mix 
• bananas: long, yellow, smooth
• cherries: deep crimson red, smooth, round, small
• strawberries: bright red, black specks of seeds, green leaves on the top
• blueberries: very small, deep blue, squishy
• raspberries: very small, red
• grapes: purple or green, round, soft, translucent inside (some with seeds, others seedless)
• watermelons: big, green and white skin, heavy, round, smooth
• mangos: oval shape, orange
• papayas: long oval shape, yellow and green skin, smooth
• cantaloupes: rough, net-like skin, round

Finally, we picked 3 out of the 15 food items to sketch.
    

Okay,but you're probably wondering how does grocery shopping relate to early childhood education? Taking your child with you to a grocery store can be a fantastic learning experience! Very young children are able to listen to adults simply labeling different every day objects, hence acquiring language. Language acquisition is a very fascinating process involving the child, the adult(s) and the environment. If you don't believe me, watch this enticing clip below!

 

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.