Anyone who has ever had a chance to walk through my classroom or home knows that I am an advocate of weaving art into all areas of early childhood education. This week we are learning all about ants. To study the body part of ants we are Exploring Insect Anatomy Through Painting.
MATERIALS FOR EXPLORING INSECT ANATOMY THROUGH PAINTING
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white paper approximately 11 x 14
tempera paint (red, yellow, red, white, black)
painting palette
plastic ants
AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT ENHANCED WHEN EXPLORING INSECT ANATOMY THROUGH PAINTING
anatomy
artistic expression
color exploration
counting
1-to-1 coorespondence
literacy development
EXPLORING INSECT ANATOMY THROUGH PAINTING
Prior to beginning this activity we read many books about ants and are observing our ants in our Uncle Milton Ant Farm. Before painting I set up a painting station for each child. Each station included a painting palette with red, yellow, blue, white and black tempera paint, about 8 plastic ants and a white piece of paper approximate 11 x 14. No need for paint brushes today!
Invite your children to explore using the plastic ants to paint on the paper. As my children painted I focused the dialogue on the different ant body parts they were painting with. “Charlotte, look at the way you are using three of the ant’s legs to mix the paint colors on your paper.”
“I notice Luca is using the tips of the antennae to make small lines on her paper.”
Give your children the space to explore the painting as long as they want. This is not about the end result, but rather about the process of exploring the insect anatomy through painting. Let the paintings dry and then hang on the wall for all to observe.
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