The month of October brought about lots of fun festive experiences that the toddlers loved using their curiosity, exploration and creative abilities all through play!
For one experience each toddler was given a mini pumpkin to explore and paint on, as they were placed on the tables and in our sensory bin, alongside a variety of colourful paints and paintbrushes. The toddlers eagerly came over and began examining their pumpkins closely. The educators noted that though each pumpkin was the same size, each was very different. Some had ridges and bumps, others had long stems or no stems at all. Some were long and narrow while others were short and stumpy. Some friends chose to walk around the room with their mini pumpkins, and others chose to get right into the decorating and began creating. Using their fine motor skills to dip their brushes into the paint, they moved their brushes across the pumpkin’s surface leaving behind vibrant colours.
It was great to see the children making their own creative choices, exploring colours and textures, and expressing themselves through art. They were also strengthening their hand eye coordination, grasping skills, and control of their paintbrushes as they worked.
We loved watching each toddler explore the activity in their own unique way as they proudly created their very own colourful mini pumpkin.
The toddlers also had a wonderful time creating their very own paper turkeys in celebration of Thanksgiving. We began by placing the colours red, yellow and brown on one side of the paper. Then the children were encouraged to press down on the folded paper to create colourful abstract smudges, which represented a turkey's feathers.
Once they were done smudging and pressing all the colours together, we opened it up, laying their painted creations back on the table and then with paper shapes, they proceeded to add the turkey’s body, eyes and other details, allowing each child to express their own creativity and make their turkey unique.
This tactile sensory experience also encouraged the children to explore colour, and engaged them in a sense of touch through different textures, temperatures, and physical movements. It allowed for them to express their creativity and self-expression, while also supporting fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Most importantly, the children had lots of fun seeing their own handprints transform into a festive turkey.
