Some children have brought home papers with tracks of paint criss-crossing the page. This is the result of a physical knowledge art project called marble painting. As opposed to representational art (self-portraits, for example), physical knowledge art supports children’s understanding of their impact on objects, as well as the objects’ physical properties.
To start, marbles are placed in cups of paint. A child writes their name on a paper and flips it over into a box. Spoons are used to drop a marble onto the paper, and the child lifts the box and tips it to move the marble. They have to grapple with the sticky paint, adjust to the marble’s faster movement as the paint is shed from it, and they get to see the track the marble makes on the paper.
It’s a great way for teachers to gauge and support sequencing and motor planning skills. The steps involved are many, and the coordination of movement is challenging.
We’re voting on a new playhouse setup! It’s a slightly complicated process, since this decision affects both the AM and JK groups. We surveyed both groups for ideas last week, then narrowed them down to things that are different from the ice cream shop play we’ve been doing (taco shop, hot dog shop, etc are essentially the same thing in action), as well as being within our capabilities to create. We’re down to 6 options: light tables with pictures to trace, a castle, a flower shop, a museum, a salon, a cat house.
We made a voting chart with space for children to attach their own photo next to their top choice. As we have moved through this week, we’ve asked children to hypothesize about which option will get the most votes. Many children optimistically suggest the choice they’ve made will get the most votes, even if the numbers do not add up that way. Some JK children have been able to do the math required to make predictions about options that will have the most votes if everyone who hasn’t yet voted chooses one option or another. We will finalize the vote at the end of this week so we can begin construction next week!
