Melody set up a painting provocation for the infants to paint their educators. The children were unsure what was happening at first, as the educators looked different. To get the paint party started, Melody drew a sun on Celine’s shirt. The children watched with uncertainty at first, but soon joined in, painting the educators and themselves.
Leona quickly dove into the experience by painting her hand, and soon she had her entire hand in the bowl of paint. It didn’t take long before her legs were covered as well. She began rubbing the paint over her hands as though she were washing them. Melody wondered if Leona was exploring the paint like a bar of soap, noticing how it spread and slid across her skin.
Close by, Bennett carefully painted his leg with pink paint, while Isaiah began his exploration by painting his belly purple. Isaiah soon moved on to painting his own hand and then Celine’s hand. With blue paint covering his hands, Isaiah excitedly gave Kerren a high five, leaving a bright blue handprint on her shirt.
Eva joined the colourful exploration by painting her leg and then Melody’s foot with red paint. Melody quickly noticed how cold the paint felt and gained a deeper understanding of why this sensation might not be enjoyable for some children. Meanwhile, Micah experimented with the paintbrush by squeezing paint out of it before using it to paint Celine’s hand.
Curious to see how the children might respond to a different canvas, Celine decided to switch things up and lie down on the floor. Eva quickly responded by painting Celine’s hand. At the same time, Isaiah added even more paint to Kerren’s shirt before giving Celine a high five as she lay on the floor, leaving behind a wonderful blue handprint. Isaiah then continued his artwork by using a paintbrush to draw lines across her shirt.
As the excitement grew, Eva began painting Melody’s hand while Micah added a splash of colour to Celine, sending paint splashing everywhere. Leona continued experimenting with colour by adding orange paint to the blue paint already on her legs. She admired the colourful mixture and then used it to paint Melody’s foot as well.
While moving through the space, Isaiah discovered that the paint trays were quite slippery when he stepped onto them. Luckily, Celine was close by and held his hands to help keep him safe. Standing in the tray, Isaiah continued exploring by mixing the paint colours together. When Celine pointed out the handprints Isaiah had left on her pants, he happily added even more.
Around the same time, Lou was busy covering her legs with purple paint. Isaiah looked at the paint covering his hands and began pretending to wash himself with it. Eva explored the same idea using yellow paint and even painted Celine’s toes. Melody painted Bennett’s toes and hand, and Bennett happily returned the favour by painting Melody’s leg.
Isaiah then walked over to Kerren and began painting her arms. Kerren wondered playfully if Isaiah might be trying to cover her tattoos. Abir crawled through the paint and gave Kerren lots of colourful snuggles.
When the paint bowls became empty, Melody added more paint so the exploration could continue. Micah was eager to catch the pouring paint on his fingers, while Isaiah wanted the paint poured directly onto his hand. Abir continued mixing the new paint on the tray.
Melody then began painting Isaiah’s belly. Isaiah waited patiently and asked her to do more as she continued painting. Once she finished, Isaiah returned the gesture by painting Melody’s knee. By this point, Eva and Melody both had paint all over their hands. Melody lifted her hand into the air as if to give Eva a high five. Instead, Eva gently held Melody’s hand and explored the squishy, slippery paint between their palms. She held Melody’s hand like this for quite some time, enjoying the unusual texture.
Lou became even more immersed in the experience by crawling right onto the tray of paint. Nearby, Celine lay on her tummy while Melody placed the paint that Eva had left on her hands onto Celine’s back. Isaiah noticed Melody’s handprints left behind and was inspired to continue the artwork. Soon, he began painting Celine’s face as well.
Eva continued adding more paint to Melody’s hands while Bennett pulled at Melody’s fingers. Melody wondered if Bennett might have been trying to pull the paint back off.
We don’t know who had more fun during these social interactions—the educators or the children! To extend this activity, we could create a mural, explore body tracing, or paint on a large canvas
.
