Light Table Exploration (Krista)

This week was our final week of color and light exploration at the light table. This was a time for the children to use all of the tools that they've become acquainted with over the past month, and some new materials, as well.

Our offerings included liquid watercolor, shaving cream, gelatin molds, tissue paper, diffusing paper, construction paper and various sizes of bubble wrap.

As they have done over the last several weeks, the children worked in small groups. Because they were familiar with the tools and materials, they were comfortable and had more freedom to create, and their creations and conversations reflected this.

It's important to note that, on the surface, these explorations are all about color and light, but there is much deeper work being done. The children are Scientists and Explorers. New vocabulary is learned, collaboration is happening, problem solving skills are enhanced, fine motor skills develop, and literacy and math concepts are explored (for example: several children drew letters in the rainbow-colored shaving cream, and we often counted the number of pipettes, water colors, brushes, etc. in both English and Spanish).

Comments from the light table:

Mia S: (upon hearing that we would be working with bubble wrap at the light table) "Oh, I'm really looking forward to that!"

Anika: "Let's turn the lights off so it can glow in the dark! The paper feels like wetness when we put the water colors on it!"

Corbin; "The paper turned to color!"

Jason; "This is a snake! I painted it green."

Alaira: "Oh, this is starting to blend. The blue and yellow are making it all green!'

Anika: "Let's see what happens when I put more paper on top of this wet paper, will it stay dry?

Lucca: "Let's share the pink now Sophia--look at this Ms. Krista, we shared the pink!'

Gwen: "Look at all those spots I made with the pipette--I am squirting them out of here, do you want to see this?"

Sophia; "This is awesome! I write an S for Sophia!"

Anika; "Let's see how I can write my own name."

Jalie: "I'm going to work to cover EVERY bubble with paint!"

McKenna: "It makes a squeaking sound when we use the brush!"

Mia G: (singing while painting) "Painting, painting, painty painty paint, paint! We love the light table because we get to share the paint!"

Atticus: "This is the color world that we have!"

Mia S: "I am making a canvas!'

Damon: "I've got red hands with all this red jello that we have here! I'm going to crush it up and then we can just toss it up in the air and it comes down on this light!"

Ava: "this gel stuff feels really cold and smooth like a river stone."

Natalie; "Thank you for letting me have fun with this light and cream Ms. Krista! I had fun getting messy with friends!"

Comments from the classroom:

Corbin; "I'm following you around because i LOVE you Ms. Krista."

Alaira: "When I get bigger, I'm going to go to work and Jason will take care of the kids."

Light Table Exploration Photos [Color Blending and Shaving Cream]

Adding some more photos from last week's exploration with color and shaving cream.
Color blending and Gelatin pics coming soon!
























Powerful, isn't it?

light Table Exploration (Krista)

This week, we continued our exploration of color and light. We worked at the light table with clear gelatin molds and water colors, and it was very, very exciting.

I feel so lucky to be observing and recording the children's experience with these materials.

The shear joy that they feel while exploring the texture, sights and sounds of the gelatin and watercolor is apparent.

Here are a few quotes, and Andrea will post photos soon:

Corbin: " This is FUN Annika! How about you come here and try this too--it's like jello and you can break it up with your fingers!"

Jalie: "It feels so cool....COLD EVEN!!"

Sophia: "I got a big piece--let's use our hands, oh it's very beautiful!"

Lucca: " I want another color--it's in my hands now!"

Gwen:"There are so so many pieces of this pretty stuff!"

Jason: " It's cold!"

Damon: "Look! I'm a jello man, look at this stuff here!"

Mia S: "We can put color in and then we can just cut it with the pipette--I made a big bunch, a big bunch of colors!"

McKenna: "I'm going to put this yellow in here like this right here."

Alaira: "This is the light color area and here is a dark color area to work with."

Natalie: "Watch what I'm gonna do--I'm putting the pipette in...what's this stuff called?"

Atticus: "Here is the green part!"

Sophia; "This green is a fish--it's nemo."

Eddie: "This is a funny cookie that I made for my mommy."

Mia G: "This is fun sharing, isn't it guys?"

**We took some time to wish Ms. Kellyann well today--we know that we will see her again, but ohhhh how we will miss her sweet presence in our daily experience...

Light Table Exploration (Krista)

We continued our exploration of color and light this week. As promised, we began working with shaving cream and water colors on the light table.

The children really went all out with this exploration. I learned quickly that the best way to go about it was to abandon shirts in favor of the artist's smocks. By the end of the week, the children were rushing into the atelier and excitedly stripping off their shirts in anticipation of the 'color so so fun work' as Alaria calls it.

The children worked in small groups at the light table. They each began with their own little mountain of shaving cream and the color of their choosing. The exploration always began quietly, as each child worked individually, playing with the texture of the cream and saturating their portion of shaving cream with color. And then, one child would venture beyond the individual experience, pushing his/her colored cream into a friend's cream....once the barrier was broken, well, let's just say that it was ON!

The pace of the activity picked up, as the friends made broad, sweeping strokes with their hands, blending and mixing colors with their friends.

Here are a few quotes ,and Andrea will follow with our photos...enjoy!

Ryland: "I'm just going to really smooth this smooth cream out without getting too dirty...how about that Ms. Krista?"

Damon; "I'm making a waterfall, and LOOK! you can make CIRCLES! They're eyeballs. They belong to a snow monster!"

Jalie; "It's fun to get all messy!"

Corbin: "I'm just going to mix red and brown for a loooooooong time! If you keep doing it, it makes a kind of purple."

Sophia: "Look what I am doing! It's the color purple, too! Just like my husband's (Corbin's)!"

Mia G: "I LOVE THIS!! It feels like ice cream and soap mixed together. You can rub it on your hands and arms! It also feels like clay and soft playdough!"

Gwen: "Look at this, I can put paint on it by drumming it on!"

Annika: "Let's switch colors so we can make a rainbow color"

Lucca: "I want MORE!"

Eddie: "Look at this Krista! I'm making a window with mine"

Corbin: "Yep, and now I can wash Eddie's window for him"

Alaira: "This that I made looks like a castle, and we can make anything we want out of this stuff because it's ours"

McKenna; "My daddy has shaving cream, too"

Natalie: "Thanks for letting me do the shaving cream Ms. Krista. Look! I have the same colors as Jalie Bean!"

Allie: "I'm putting peanut butter on this and this pipette is the knife"

Jalie: "This water color is getting a huge puddle"

Alaira; "I'm making a rocket ship with my hands"

Atticus; "It's creamy stuff and it's squishy. I am doing this."

Mia S: (Squeals of joy each time she added color to the cream) "These are clouds!"

Ava: "My hands are covered with this! It's like gloves that go all the way up"

Jalie: "Or maybe it's like sleeves that go all the way down."

Light Table Exploration (Krista)

This week we started our series on color and light. You may have noticed the light table offering of clear glass containers in various shapes and sizes, liquid water colors and pipettes (droppers).

Each day, the children were invited to work in small groups at the light table.

I gave them guidance around manipulating the pipettes and color blending, and asked them to be open to sharing colors and containers with their friends, and then I observed their experience.

I've offered this activity before, when I taught in San Francisco, so I knew from experience that this type of exploration is appealing to children, but when I say that the Terra Luz kids loved the experience, I feel like I need to write it in all-caps with sparklers and flashing lights around it. Friends, they LOVED it!!!

A common statement that became a chant was, "Look what's happening!" The children dropped colors into the water and watched as the color swirled to the bottom of the container and then dispersed, turning the once clear water into vibrant, technicolor liquid. They mixed and mixed colors until the jars and bottles brimmed and spilled over or the water became muddy.

Some of the children abandoned the containers and mixed colors directly on top of the light table, creating "rainbows". It was a JOY to witness. My job was to keep the water colors coming and to re-fill the jars when they got too full or the water turned murky.

I am passionate about taking a theme and building on it, and so, for the rest of this month, we will continue our light table exploration of color, using different mediums. This week, we used water, next week, we'll use shaving cream. The following week, we will use clear gelatin, and we'll finish up with tissue paper. Stay tuned...

Here are some quotes from this week, and Andrea will post some of our photos later:

Annika; "Look at mine! It's changing colors!"

Allie: "I'm stirring it!"

Jalie: "I'm making a deep purple cake"

Alaira: "Mix, mix, mix, mix..."

Mia G: "I LOVE this stuff...see this? Look what I can make!"

Corbin:"I squeeze the top (of the pipette) and color goes up, then i squeeze it and the color goes right into the water!"

Jason: "I want this one, the red!"

Mia S: "I filled it with so so many colors up to the top!"

Mia G: "These are fun, can I make more colors tomorrow?"

Lucca ; "I'm making a rainbow"

Natalie: "Oh, this is so beautiful!"

Sophia; "Look Ms. Krista, I make a dark red, and now it's a mushroom (referring to the color dispersion)"

McKenna: "This is so fun, Ms. Krista. This is orange, I made it with color!"