Our School-age 2 has been full of excitement over the festive season this month. We started the month with some creative holiday activities and everyone seemed to enjoy the challenge of making a semi-structured project with the flexibility to create and add their own touches. We’ve made gingerbread houses out of brown paper bags, snowy scenes using cotton balls, wreaths using paper plates and strands of green paper, and even elves sitting on shelves with our faces on them (just to name a few)! Each child’s work has ended up unique, a one of a kind piece of artwork!
We started getting the question, “What are we making today?” and could see the excitement behind the question. These activities have clearly sparked a whole lot of creativity and have supported the children to express themselves through visual art. Beyond working on listening to and following instructions, we have seen plenty of social development fostered through these activities. Our small groups share their ideas of different ways to add to their art pieces, and they are excited and to show each other their creative discoveries. They help each other when someone gets a little stuck, and we have worked on taking turns with supplies. We have also heard a lot of encouragement and positive affirmations from peers when someone shares their finished pieces.
So what’s next? We have already had discussions with the group as to what they want to create next and were met with all kinds of ideas. We have a whole lot to prepare for and can’t wait to see where our imaginations and creative abilities take us next!
