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 a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
What fun! Yesterday, my 5 1/2 year old made leaf rubbings alongside a favorite tree. It's fun to take our creativity outdoors.
Love the painting and how quickly you reacted to her request. The end result is rather nice!
gorgeous creation…. love that drippy paint!
it sure looks like fun, you cannot teach things to your child without getting their hands dirty or doing some mess. i think its a great way to learn plus have fun!!