Month: November 2011

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Displaying Your Child’s Artwork

Paint

PaintAt In a Child’s Path, we spend a lot of time creating art. So, what do you do with all the art that gets sent home with your child?

Here are some ideas for using your child’s art work in creative ways.

Wrapping Paper

Much of the painting that occurs at our preschool happens on large sheets of butcher paper. This is perfect for using for wrapping gifts. And, for family and friends who love and appreciate your children, it’s like two gifts in one!

Table Covering

All of that butcher paper painting makes for great table coverings as well. You can put them over kids’ art tables so that they have a pretty covering for future creations. You can use them as table runners for your holiday table. You can even laminate them and make really cool placemats. And, how excited would your child be to see their art on your table every morning at breakfast?

Gallery Style

If you’re more into preserving your child’s art and displaying it on the wall, check out some of these ideas for attractive ways to display them:

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Owl Babies

We love the book called Owl Babies! The children have learned how to recite most of the book.

We decided to make owl puppets one day and we went on a hike down to the lower pasture to find stuff for our Owl Habitat. Oh now that was fun! We found everything from to logs to sticks with thick different colors of green! The children called it hay colored green, grass colored green, one child said it was the green lettuce color from our garden, another said it reminded her of the green tree that is in our yard and in the same breath said “oh but those leaves are yellow now!” I get a kick out of teaching colors to children! I love it when I get to honor what is authentic and real. No color posters here at this school!

Our owl habitat has Sarah, Percy, and Bill. Here’s a conversation starter around the dinner table: Ask your child what Bill the owl baby says!

The Owl Song

You might enjoy this song too (to the tune of Frère Jacques):
Wise old owl, wise old owl
in a tree, in a tree
Whooo are you looking at? Whooo are you looking at?
Is it me? Is it me?

The children are also learning how to sign this song.

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Building Skills – Clear Easel Painting

Paint Brushes

Paint BrushesClear easel painting is a great activity to do with your child to help them develop a range of skills.

Language Skills
A discussion of colors, shapes, and objects can be described by you and your child

Emotional Skills
Children express their emotions through paint

Cognitive Skills
Paint of clear plastic, wipe it off. Children can see through the easel.

Fine Motor Skills
Small details of painting with a small brush

Large Motor Skills
Large arm movements reaching high above the head

When you’re looking for an excellent activity to do with your child, consider clear easel painting.

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Apples, Apples, Apples

Apples

Apples for tastingThis week we learned a lot about apples! We tasted tart, sweet, crisp, sour and four or five great colors. We also added our neighbor Bill’s large Korean pears to see how pears and apples compare. It was fun to find Korea on the world map. The children also looked at the tags on the apples and we found Washington on the map too.

We used our apple peeler and plastic knives to bake apples into an empty pumpkin for a tasty treat. We also made the best applesauce ever! The children were all quite happy each time we added it to the lunch menu.