We have been enjoying the onset of recent rains.
We rummaged through a big crate of last years clothes to find Immy’s raincoat and enjoyed time playing outside in the rain, watching our yard transform before our eyes. Sandy patches turned to mud, puddles perfect for stomping magically appeared on the lawn and the snails (oh, the snails!) came out to play as the rain subsided.
We are fortunate to have a large undercovered area and this is where Immy’s easel often stands. Inspired by the rain and some drippy painting I saw on Playschool (an Australian produced children’s show) recently, I asked Immy if she would like to makes some drippy paint and have a go.
We mixed water into ordinary children’s acrylic to make it nice and drippy and used big brushes to hold as much as possible. Needless to say, it was delightfully drippy!
After she had been painting for a little while, Immy said, “I need something to stick.” Luckily I had some coloured tissue paper (which I quickly cut up) as I am not sure that anything else would have stuck to our thin, wet, drippy paint!
“Learning to ‘see’ – with all the senses – is the starting point for learning about the world, the starting point for making images.”
– Ursula Kolbe, Rapunzel’s Supermarket, 2001
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
Read the comments or scroll down to add your own: