In this outdoor painting space, I wanted the children to be able to use all of the skills that they had learned about painting indoors and apply them in a different way outdoors. I used 2 artists easels because they are easy to put up, collapse and adjust. Plus they give the children some experience of the equipment that a professional artist might use. To stand on the easel and hold the paper I had 2 pieces of thin plywood cut to size for me at B+Q. To cover the board, I used lining paper from Wilko’s as this can be as large or small depending on the preferences of the children. To make the paint you will need Bowls … Read More
Texture Kitchen – Transient Art
It is important that children have opportunities for art, design and creativity outdoors as well as indoors. Ideally in your indoor space you will have provision for children to make, model and paint. If you put one of your easels outside with some pots of paint and a couple of aprons then you are just recreating the same indoor opportunities without the ceiling. Although some children might really enjoy painting outside, a key question for me is ‘what unique creative experience can outdoors offer them?’ There will be more about outdoor painting later in the week! We want children to be able to transfer their indoor skills and apply them to different resources and experiences that are strongly linked to … Read More
A Learning Journey Approach to Display.
This week I am revisiting a blog post from way back in 2013 that focussed on a method of taking children’s learning journeys into display. It was a really popular post and since then I have seen the display replicated in many different ways on my travels all over the world. Thanks to Ladybrook Primary for being the initial inspiration! At Ladybrook they had a version of this in both Nursery and Reception This is Reception. A large display board has been divided up so that each child gets a large(ish) square. The whole thing was really well thought out from the backing paper to the mounts that the photographs were on. The display starts with a photo of the … Read More
Self Service Dough Area!
Every Tuesday on my Instagram account (abcdoes) I invite an Early Years Practitioner or setting to take over my page for #TakeOverTuesday. I have had takeovers from all over the World that have shown a huge range of Early Years provision. Pop over any Tuesday and have a look for a bit of interest and inspiration! This week on #TakeOverTuesday, it was the turn of Laura and her team from Yarm School in the North East of England. As part of her takeover she posted some photos of their self service dough station, which she had made after reading one of my blog post. Her takeover photos got a lot of likes and interest, so I thought I would share … Read More