Every week in the Toddler 2 Classroom we have an opportunity to incorporate a white coloured tuff tray into our curriculum experiences. This is a new and exciting addition to our room as we regularly have a black tuff tray. The white tray provides an opportunity to showcase more vibrant and distinctive colours as they can be seen on a light background.
During the month of November, the toddlers have displayed an interest in not only sensory exploration, but also their knowledge of colours! The white tuff tray has been the perfect tool to provide play opportunities for these two keen interests.
One of the experiences that the Toddler 2 children engaged in with the white tuff tray was an exciting but cold sensory, art experience!
The tray was set up with paint brushes and water colour paints along with various sizes and shapes of ice cubes.
The children were invited to explore these materials as they could paint and add colour to the ice. This experience nurtured the children’s creativity while we also practiced our descriptive language and colour recognition.
“Orange!”, Thomas exclaimed as he dipped his brush into the colour palette.
“It’s cold!”, shared Violet.
Some toddlers took the activity a step further as they stacked the ice and built with it!
“It’s stuck!”, explained Felix as he discovered that the ice had melted and stuck together.
As we engaged in small groups the toddlers participated in collaborative art which provides opportunities for personal expression and communication while also improving children’s social skills and boosting their self-esteem/self-confidence. The toddlers were observed sharing not only the materials but also the space as they worked cohesively with one another.
Painting on ice allows for the children to utilize their sense of sight and touch while they engage in process art.
Process art focuses on the act of creating, making, experimenting, and discovering, rather than the art product itself. Toddlers use exploration as a means to discover new materials, techniques, and tools in an open-ended way that encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative learning.
Overall, our white tuff tray experiences fostered the toddlers desire for sensory play while also enhancing their fine motor abilities.
