Watercolor Letter Activity: An Experience with Open-ended Projects and Learning Through Play
By Lea Altea Winnen September 24, 2024
I am working on a photography letter book, and I wanted to include my sons in the play as part of the project. They love to engage in sensory play and get messy, so I drew out large letters onto paper and put out some watercolor paints. Both my sons were more than happy to dive into a world of mess and chaos! I placed the paper letters onto the sidewalk outside our house with a tray of different colored paint. There were 4 different sizes of paintbrushes to use. I had 6 letters that I used in this part of the project. My oldest son James, engaged in choosing the largest brush and then painted the sidewalk and his legs. He is very sensory orient and when he paints, uses markers, or any other sensory material, he will put it onto his skin or body in some way. He is forever coming home from school with marker lines drawn a crossed his legs and arms. My youngest Gabriel is at an age where he will copy what his brother is doing. At this point, I had to model the action I wanted them to take, by painting parts of the letters myself. I was doing this while trying to take pictures with my DSLR camera and keeping them engaged in the task. Getting down for the shots and showing them what I wanted them to engage in, was dual-tasking at its finest. I had to juggle getting close but not too close because I did not want paint on my camera lens. My kiddos finally engaged in painting the letters on the paper. Trying to juggle my boys, the painting project, and my camera was maybe not the best idea, but happy to say, I did get some great shots!
As they painted the letters, the ground, their arms, clothes, legs, and at some point, the house, James had the idea to mix the paint to see what kind of colors he could get. He became like a mad scientist talking out his monolog to his assistant (Gabe) and pouring paint from one cup to another, “This will make black! No…it’s brown…green…My favorite color is black.” He was engaging in a form of social interaction and language play, which is crucial to social-emotional development. Gabe was able to respond with a few grunts and “Bra Bra” (which is Gabe for brother). I was able to get the shots I wanted for my book, but this painting project became more about them experiencing the science behind the paint. The focus shifted from painting to mixing the watercolors, seeing what colors would come up, and how it felt and looked on different surfaces.
The beauty of keeping projects like this one open-ended gives children the choice of how they want to proceed with their engagement. How do they want to experience the components of it? What is it they can learn through play by choosing the outcome? Yes, I had a particular journey in mind when this project started, but they took the steering wheel and moved it toward something else. So course, I was expecting some form of mixing and leg painting from the onset, but the self-talk from James and the interplay between the brothers took this project in another direction.
This activity covered sensory play, fine motor, and gross motor skills, social-emotion interactions, as well as, covering language, literacy, art, and science. With paper letters and watercolor paint, my boys were able to dive into mess and chaos, but also, an assortment of other areas of development too. So when you are thinking about activities or projects you might want your kiddos to engage in, think about how the project can be opened up into different areas of learning. Children learn best through engagement and play!
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