Invitation in Green

This summer we struggled to maintain enjoyed the benefits of a bountiful garden. We had more summer squash than we knew what to do with, so we gave a lot away and made a lot of squash muffins (think "zucchini muffins" but with squash...yes, it works, but it's not the same). We also had a lot of okra - yum! And we soon discovered that it was better to pick small okra in the morning because by evening they were too tough to eat (seriously, they grew THAT fast). Anyway, one day we had some giant okra, so I decided to create an invitation in green. We'd already done the Yellow Invitation using the squash so it made sense - why not?!

 I set up an invitation on the light table after collecting a number of green tools for measuring, cutting, writing, and general exploration. Lately Addi shows interest in having a variety of collected items to create with, so I really did include a a lot (last year this many items would have overwhelmed her, so it's important to research your child's individual interests and needs when setting up an invitation).



Addi immediately took the lid off the homemade light table and brought it to the ground along with all the supplies; she always knows just how she wants to play, lol. Then she set to work pouring the paint into the translucent cups.  She noticed the cups with paint were now opaque and explored how to completely cover all the cups...the green popsicle sticks worked well.

"I can see through these, but not that one. Can you help me? Oh, I got it."

This summer her interest in letters grew, so I try to include them in most invitations. I didn't know how she would use them in her work; she started off by painting around them while singing a song from one of her favorite books (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom).

"Weeee said D to E F G I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree."
"K is out of bed & this is what she said, dare double dare you can't catch me..."

And she painted her hand, around her hand, and made a hand print.



"I'm painting my fingers, not your fingers. Is that cool?"

Luckily there was quite a lot of paint on the ground because Addi LOVES to spray and wipe up...well, she loves to spray. And she likes knowing she can get her own cleaning cloths out of the closet.

I make my own cleaning products, so she's welcome to spray away!

Researching our children's interests can be a fun challenge as long as we don't set ourselves (or our children) up for failure. There are several ways to do this:

• Does your child work more deeply with a few items or many?
• How does lighting affect his/her play?
• Include your child's favorite colors
• Include an object your child visits often (lion, letters, etc.)
• Consider a theme: color, animal, letter, medium (art, sand, water, etc.)
• Give yourself a pep-talk before setting up a potentially mess-making invitation, "This is going to be messy and fun. The more mess the more learning. I will ignore the mess until after dinner if I have to, even until after bedtime." If you start to panic, focus on the sheer joy on your child's face!
• Keep your sense of humor and playfulness.
• Follow their lead: if they want you to play you can whisper, "what should I do?" Otherwise you can simply enjoy the show.
• Jot down their reactions and responses. Their facial expressions and words can bring new and deeper meaning for everyone.
• Let go of how you want the materials to be used and instead notice how your child chooses to use them - become curious! "Why did he paint the cup rather than the paper? Interesting: she took apart the light table before using the other materials! I wonder why she included the horse?"

Raising children is full of magical moments when we are able find within ourselves the time and space to watch and listen. I hope you'll find some today...or tomorrow!

Paint Roller Painting

DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT STAINS.

My son has always loved using the paint roller - even just to pretend.  He played a role in painting his bedroom as well as his playroom.  Recently, he has been taking out the roller to pretend to paint, so I thought I would set up an invitation for him.  We tackled this on a small scale one morning....painting the back porch........

Painting the back porch.

Our back porch is stained and the paint washed off nicely.  We used a basic washable tempera paint.

Today I set up an invitation for him to paint the driveway.  It was a huge hit, but didn't wash off as easily.  There is a very slight stain, but I'm confident it will fade with time.  

I would not try this on surfaces that are highly porous.  

Invitation

.....and then my camera died.

- AK (MESE, MECD)

3D Painted Picture Frames

This is probably our all time favorite paint recipe.  You can see the paint recipe HERE.

It is typically done on cardboard like our cardboard Christmas cutouts seen HERE

I always want to hang these after we are done and I could never figure out how I wanted to do it.  I found a solution!  I had no clue if this was going to work but what a fun adventure it was!  

Materials used:

Liquid watercolors... seen HERE

Self-rising flour

Clear condiment bottles from Walmart (kitchen section)

Salt

I'm going to post the recipe here as well because I know none of you are going to click on the above link.  :-P  

Recipe:

MICROWAVE PUFFY PAINT

• 4 Tbsp self rising flour
• a few drops of food coloring or liquid watercolors
• 4 Tbsp salt

Add water to make a smooth paste. 

OR

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• food coloring

Add water to make a smooth paste.  

Pour into bottles or apply with a paintbrush.  

Microwave for 1:30-2:00 minutes.

When you do these on cardboard you only need 20-30 seconds.  However, it took a lot longer to puff on the glass.  

The Invitation

Puffy paint and picture frames from Dollar Tree.

I was kinda nervous that the glass was going to crack in the microwave but it survived!  

My oldest (3.5 years) applying paint to the glass frame.  

"I'm going to make a dinosaur"  

My middle girl (29 months) having a go.

Hard at work. 

This picture cracked me up.  My 29th month old closed all the tops and wiped them down after she was done.  However, for all the people that know her... she ALWAYS has stuff on her face and is a little ragamuffin.  She'll wipe down paint off a table before she wipes her own face.  :-P

"Can you help me with the green please?"  

This was my oldest's after she was done BEFORE it went into the microwave.  

*****MAKE SURE YOU JUST MICROWAVE THE GLASS... NOT THE FRAME*****

The glass will be a little hot so wait a minute or two before you remove it.  

Here they are after they were microwaved.  My youngest woke up so I ran to get her out of her crib.  When I came back my oldest had taken her finger and was smearing the paint all over.  On the inside I was thinking "Ah man... what did you do???"  A pure example that it's about the process NOT the product!!  After I held myself together (LOL),  I looked and she had the biggest smile on her face.  We all laughed and hung up her masterpiece to enjoy.  

Since my 29 month old saw how funny it was to run your fingers through.  She had to give it a try, too.  

My 29 month olds.  These also look great in the window. 

My 3.5 year old.  

I love the texture her finger smears gave it!  

Next time I may have to throw in a few tools to use.  :-)  

Here is another one that my oldest did.  Pre-microwave.  We were running low on paint so I added a little more water.  As you will see below, this one puffed a lot more.  Next time around we won't make the paint so thick.  

"There is a lady bug in the middle!"

Up on the wall.  :-)  

RL  

Push Light Planets

I always try to follow the interests of my son when planning fun activities.  My hopes are to inspire him to delve deeper into learning about things he already loves.  He has been interested in the planets/solar system for months now.  He even requested Saturn (his favorite planet) as one of the paintings on his bedroom wall. 
 

He requests this book at bed time quite often….

This is the book we read a lot - and used for inspiration.

This morning I thought of using push lights to paint and illuminate the planets!  Dollar Tree sells push lights, but in my experience – they stink.  I bought this pack of 4 (small) push lights at Walmart for under $4.00.  The batteries that come with them are horrible, and we had to replace them the next day.

I bought 3 packs of these

I used glass paint (also purchased at Walmart for under $2.oo a jar).  Be aware that slathering on too much paint may cause the push lights to stick after dry.  Ours did not, but I can see how it could happen.  We also discovered that glass paint apparently doesn't adhere well to plastic.  When we pushed the lights to turn them on/off, some of the paint was peeling off.  I sealed it with Mod Podge and it hasn't happened since.

Paint

I initiated this activity by asking my son if he would like to help me put batteries in the new push lights.  He played an active role in setting up the entire activity.  We took the time to flip through each page of the book to see which planet he wanted to paint first – Jupiter.

The invitation.  My son played an active role in setting this up.  We paper clipped opened the book for inspiration.

Painting Jupiter.  I asked him why he was painting the sides and he said "because Mommy, the whole planet has color, not just the top".  I stand corrected.

We talked about the colors in each planet, he chose the corresponding paints, and he counted out the number of brushes needed.  He painted one planet at a time at his own pace.

Mars

Saturn

Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter - completed, dried, and illuminated!  Cool!

Earth

Venus.  The OCD in me wanted to tell him that the black on the left side of the planet in the picture is a shadow....but this is about so much more than "doing it right".   I think he did an amazing job!

Neptune

 Here are the 6 planets we have done so far.  My favorite parts of this activity was the dialogue it inspired, watching my son become so engaged in painting (something he RARELY does), and seeing him glow with pride.

painting Uranus with Daddy

Painting Mercury

Painting Mercury

Painting Pluto (and yes, Im aware that there has been some controversy as to whether Pluto is really a planet.)

The Solar System through the eyes of a 3 year old.  He still wants to get a big push light to paint the sun.

AND FINALLY.....THE SUN....

Its been about a month since we created the planets with push light and today he was finally ready to add the sun.  I asked him if he would like to use his book as reference and he said, "No thank you.  I know what the sun looks like".

Painting the sun

Beautiful sun

"Let's count them."

The sun and planets

This is how my son set them up when we were talking about the sun being the center of the solar system and all of the planets revolving around it.  AWESOME!!

MORE IDEAS:  

·         Buy different sized push lights to really represent the size of each planet.

·         Add glow in the dark stars to the wall with the completed, illuminated planets.

·         Encourage reading by using a label maker to label the back side of each planet with its name.

·         Encourage further reading and knowledge by printing fun facts about each planet onto sticker paper sheets and then adding them to the back of each light.

- AK (MESE, MECD)