Middleton Musings: Using swabs to paint autumn leaves

     How do you get 26 kids to use swabs to dab 4 colors of tempera paint onto trees they painted last week?

     Answer? I'll let you know if and when I figure it out!

     I put a little bit of red, orange, yellow, and brown paint into cupcake containers, 2 per table. I added a handful of swabs into the empty spots. I talked to the students about using one swab per color, so as not to mix the colors, since everyone at each table was going to be working with the paints. I demonstrated at each table how to dab the paint, not smear or paint with the swabs.

     We talked about how we aren't using the swabs in our ears. Evidently, also reviewing not sticking the swabs into other orifices should have been covered as well. You think you can predict kindergarten behavior, but you're wrong... they are so creative, they'll find a way around that rule you just laid down.

     The perk, I had thought, about using swabs was that there would be less paint mess. Less paint in the tins, less surface area to soak up paint, less spray of paint off of swabs. In practice, not so much. So glad I laminated those place mats for the kids - so much easier to clean up later.

     I will say that some of the art pieces were amazing. The smears were minimal. They really did dot (mostly) their trees and ground with an autumnal symphony of colors. The idea of including falling leaves was appealing as well. They dotted piles of leaves beneath the trees. And most of them even allowed for the lack of green paint, for grass, and blue paint, for sky. Conveniently, there was yellow for that sun in the corner though. Phew!

     Actually, other than the fact that the kids were really wired, we had a good conversation about poking the teacher. We talked about how it was a cleanliness issue - having been raised by a woman in whom the words "tempera paint" instilled instant terror, I have now inherited that concern. And yes, I have a smear of red paint on my shirt hem. we talked about keeping our fingers away from others in general because that was not a "good choice". How many times was I poked? Probably fewer, but at least I could turn around and say, "Did you just poke me?" to which the student would admit the action, and then I would smile and say, "we'll keep working on it."

     And that's the truth... we'll just keep working on it.

     Next week is Halloween. Hmmm, what to do, what to do...

      The kids got to take their work home, so pictures are on my phone again. Will upload when I can. Thanks for stopping by.