In celebration of the Chinese and Lunar New Year, the toddlers engaged in a creative experience that had them taking part in making their own lantern decorations. Using recycled paper towel rolls we used our fine motor skills to paint them with red and yellow paint, which the educators shared are the traditional colours of Chinese lanterns. The educators also shared with the tod squad that traditionally, lanterns were made of bamboo, which is a very strong plant and the outside of the lanterns are made of a special fabric called silk or paper and are decorated with red and gold designs. These colour combinations symbolize warmth, happiness and good fortune. As we combined these two colours together, we noticed something happening…red and yellow when mixed created another colour! “Friends what colour are we making? What colours do you see?” asked the educators. “I see red, yellow and orange!” said Reid excitedly. “I see them too! Red and yellow mixed together make orange” said the educators happily. Using some books and the iPad as a reference we looked at some pictures of different lanterns and then continued on creating our own lantern versions. This process art continued in the afternoon once the paint on our lanterns had dried. As the toddlers were invited once more to the creative tables to apply glue to their lanterns and decorate it with some precut pieces of coloured tape, which created a fabric like texture. As they explored with the gooey sticky glue and used their brushes to spread it overtop of their lanterns, we identified the colours that they had chosen and how the fabric felt beneath their finger tips. “I have red and white tape!” said Reid excitedly. “I have yellow tape!” exclaimed Eva. “Oh no, my tape is sticky!” said Lainey attempting to pull the tape free from her fingers, until finally the tape was freed and she was able to place it on top of her glue covered lantern. “There” she said softly to herself proudly. The educators also helped the toddlers to string on some decorative beads, giving their lanterns a unique look. This sensory and creative experience gave the toddlers the opportunity to explore at their own pace, which instilled at sense of belonging and engagement for all involved. They were then hung throughout our classroom for everyone to enjoy and hopefully bring us some good luck!
