The children continue to develop thinking for watercolor painting and have been strengthening their skills of representation with these tools. We have continued to discuss different brush strokes and how it affects our paintings. Together we decided to add a different element to our investigation. Bringing the opportunity of a new movement - Having the paper move instead of the paint brush itself. To help develop this idea, we used a Large Rolling Easel and a few Lazy Susans to move the paper with ease to see how our representations changed.
Reem explored both movements on the Large Rolling Easel and the Lazy Susans. She discovered that it is challenging to paint when the paper is moving. During both situations, she would try and stop the paper so she could finish her work. When we used the Lazy Susans, Reem painted her own work, but discretely explored the movement on the larger Lazy Susan to see the effects.
Together Reem and Jenna worked on separate areas while talking about the different lines that were being made. The lines seemed to be the focus of representations while using the Large Rolling Easel.
Antonija explored the movement of the easel before beginning to paint. She discovered that she has to put a lot of pressure on the wheel to make it move. When she moved it while painting (middle picture) you could see her excitement and interest in what was happening.
The children didn't discuss much at first - their focus seemed to be on the movement and the designs from their actions. They did do a lot of observations of each other and discussed their creations toward the end.
"The paint is going around in a circle. I can make it stop and go."
"I want it to stop so that I can paint. It's hard to paint when the paper is moving a lot."
"Look, it's easy. I don't have to move my brush."
"It's moving so fast! I can make it move even faster."
Throughout both of these investigations, the children recognized the movement of their actions and how this different experience affected their paintings.
Together, they were strengthening their ideas of representation, enhancing their thinking of movement and spatial awareness, and continuing their skills of fine motor. These are goals that have been ongoing throughout these investigations.
As the semester goes on, we will use these skills to represent a specific idea or object. The children are becoming more confident in using watercolor paints to get their ideas across.
