Hello my fellow home educators – today we are sharing our process art activity done on the fence. A simple activity of paper and push pins enjoyed by the children in my daycare. I would love to encourage educators to use what you(you don’t need an outdoor easel), be a powerhouse shifting from the desire to purchase every kind of materials or furniture – children really don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to have fun. The are happy with what you have.
What sparked the activity?
One of my preschoolers said, ‘Miss Sue, I want to paint people outside!’ – Well guess what I did? I grabbed some paper that was donated by a parent, some paint, and brushes and I added them to the tray and they painted. If you’ve been with us for some time you know how much we love playing outdoors. Our outdoor classroom is not fancy – it is very rustic however, the children experience many learning opportunities in our home daycare. I love to relive my childhood days living in Jamaica, I am very privileged to have that again.
As home educators we know children start painting one thing then quickly invent something else. It doesn’t bother me, I give them ownership of their art. Here is an example of one preschooler making letters notice however, that he did make a person or two. He has been very curious about letters, numbers, writing, spelling and I happily scaffold him especially when he asks, during our story time and when we are deep in our one to one conversations.
I know some early years educators are skeptical about using paper outdoors but I love to use our donated paper outdoors. I would suggest tapping into the parents resources and ask your families for donations – paper, box, recycle items, you name it. Parents have been my supply chain for many of our loose parts and other supplies. Another place to check for FREE paper is your local printeries. Printeries – at times they throw away paper. Notice the edges of this paper? You guessed right – a parent who worked at a printery donated it to our school.
May you have beautiful days playing outdoors, using your outdoor classroom in abundance and may your children happily play some more.
Until next time xoxo Miss Sue
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