What children learn from....
PAINTing
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Great for developing fine motor skills as children learn how to control a paint brush or their fingers.
Mark making - how an action leads to a result. Identifying different colours Begin to explore how colours change when we mix them. An awareness of the world around them and how different objects can create prints of different shapes. Children begin to learn how to order shapes and lines which leads to the start of mathematical understanding. PLAY TIPS: Encourage the children to express themselves when they paint - it's about the journey not just the finished result! Help the children to identify the colours and talk about how they change when mixed together. Encourage them to explore different textures Tell them not to worry about getting messy! |
gluing & Sticking
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Children can exercise choice by choosing what to stick where.
They get the experience of handling lots of different materials They learn to start making judgements about size, position and balance. PLAY TIPS: Let the children experience the feel of the glue if they want to. Encourage children to use their own imagination and judgement - it can be hard to hold back but try to remember who's artwork it is! |
Play dough
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Children learn about volume and quantity
Mathematical ideas about conservation - when they see that the same piece of dough can be used again and again to make several different shapes. Using dough helps to develop fine motor skills and strength/skill in the hands and arms. Great for encouraging imagination as they mould shapes. PLAY TIPS: Let the children knead, stretch and physically pound the dough. Encourage children to make lots of different shapes from the same piece of dough Suggest things for them to make - balls, snakes, cubes Encourage them to use imagination by making up a scenario to go with the play Talk about things being small/big, big, bigger, biggest etc. |