Child Activity: Paint on the Easel to Music
Maple is the free, all-in-one household management app on iOS, Android and web. Try Maple now by clicking here.
Guest Post: Tinkerwonderplay
This Afternoon Activity is part of an ongoing series between Maple and Tinkerwonderplay. Join us on Instagram LIVE once a month on Thursday with your toddler as we explore new activities and play with our kids…
Easel painting is as important as building, reading books, dramatic play, science or any other aspect of the foundations early childhood. They provide endless rich opportunities to learn in science, math, language, and visual arts.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Today we decided to provide a different experience by placing the easel outside while playing classical music.
✔️Butcher paper, paint, and brushes on an easel
✔️Music
Before diving into more of the benefits of easel painting a couple of tips to help with the mess:
If painting indoors place a table cloth or mat on the ground to catch the paint. You can do this for outside to but I usually just hose it down with water.
Provide children with apron to wear over clothes or a rain coat/boots.
Place a bucket of soapy water and towel nearby for a quick clean up if a sink is no where near.
Children who paint learn to think with an open mind, to look at situations creatively. Working on the vertical surface puts a whole new spin on the experience. They learn to express themselves more deeply through their art and their words. They develop critical-thinking skills and must make decisions about what works and what doesn’t on their own, how to mix colors to create new ones, or how to make certain movements to create designs. By learning to paint, children gain a skill which they can be proud of. It gives them a foundation to look at the world with the confidence they can accomplish a goal.
Physically they are using the large and small muscles of the arm with easel painting. Simply moving the brush from the container to the paper requires focus and control which enhacnes fine motor skills. Large motor skills are used when the easel works the shoulder and entire arm of the body. All these movements enhance their hand-eye coordination as well. Continuous exposure to these movements through easel helps control their marks later on.
Visual art deeply affects children, for it is one of the most important forms of communication. Painting at the easel has a fluidity that is different from other art media that children use
because there is no right way in the arts. When children simply paint, they are proud to be unique and to express and honor their creative artistic style.
Tinkerwonderplay is run by Yasmeen Kamrani. Yasmeen is the Administrator of three preschools in Alameda, CA. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources & Marketing, a minor in Human Development specializing in Early Childhood Education, as well as a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education. She has 20 years of combined experience in the classroom and administration. She believes children thrive in an environment filled with intention, beauty, curiosity, and wonder. Her goal is to provide resources to empower educators, parents, and anyone for all things Early Childhood.