Summer Recap

 Every year, I take my summer vacation at the beginning of July so I can complete some big projects to prepare for all our summer activities. I don’t like to travel so going places is never on my vacation agenda. Relaxing is something I find difficult – maybe even stressful – I like to be busy. There are some types of ‘busy’ that I enjoy more than others and my summer projects are high up on my list.

Spring 2022 was so late, so wet, so…. depressing that it was really hard to get excited about summer projects. In fact, it was mid-June already when my husband asked, “What are your summer projects this year?” and I realized that I hadn’t even started making my list. Of course, there were things I wanted to do but nothing that I considered a BIG summer project – just a bunch of little things that I would normally plan as weekend projects.

The most obvious project to put on the summer list was the climbing wall – which I had purchased the supplies for last fall and planned to build as soon as the snow melted and have ready for when the school-age children were here for Spring Break – but it was still ‘winter’ when school was out for spring bbreak. The climbing wall was probably the most noticeable vacation project and very popular with the children all summer.

The second most noticeable project was the roof over the corner house – and I don’t even have a picture of it. Creating the corner house to replace the tipi was one of my 2021 vacation projects that I didn’t have time to complete the way I initially envisioned. I had simply made a temporary lean-to type of roof last year. This year I designed and built a better roof and moved all the bus benches into the corner house. It was a very popular sit spot all summer – I can’t fathom why I didn’t manage to get a picture of it. *sigh*

I also didn’t any pictures of the new layout of stumps, logs, and steppingstones in the mulch area or the enlarged ‘river’ area. I spent three whole days rearranging the pathways to align with the bridges and entrances to the building and digging areas. It was a very labour intensive project but not something particularly noticeable if you hadn’t spent a lot of time in the yard.

The children and I found the new pathways to be much more functional – as did this little visitor to my yard – caught on my surveillance camera, he/she followed the new curvy path perfectly all the way from the back gate to the side yard. LOL

I expanded the ‘river’ area to make space for a new dedicated area for water play. I added a hand pump so the children could get water for creating concoctions. There was a delay in getting this area ready for use. The hand pump I originally chose did not function properly and was eventually replaced with this bilge pump.

The trick here though is that getting water requires some communication as the pump is not near the spouts…

This area is still a work in progress – we hope to add more pipes, hoses and storage for other concoction making supplies. Of course, we are still collecting supplies too! It was a very popular play area this summer.

I also added a new painting panel. We’ve had several built-in plexiglass panels in the past and I have found that they get damaged in the winter. The framework I built for hanging this one is permanent but the panel itself is removable, so the space is still multipurpose, and the panel can be safely stored when not in use.

I love plexiglass for painting on – even better when you can access both sides – and with the garden as a backdrop the artwork is enhanced.

Well, that didn’t seem like a lot of dramatic changes to our learning environment. Certainly not any major transformations. Still, there were enough little projects to keep me busy on my ‘vacation’ and some new spaces for the children to explore this summer. In my next post I will highlight a few of our summer activities.

Yard Art

Last month I brought some clay and plasticine out to the yard.  I put several pieces of each on trays around the yard.  The children explored the textures.  I showed them how to use the heat from their hands to warm the clay and make it more pliable.

We collected various items from the yard and garden to add to the clay to make sculptures;

Of course the process was more important than the product and everyone had their own ideas and methods;

After the children were done with this activity the clay, plasticine, and other supplies were abandoned in the gravel area.  Only the trays were returned to the outdoor art area.  Later that week I brought some painting supplies out and placed them on the lid of the storage box – it is a nice height for the toddlers to use as a table.

Some children prefer to try alternative methods when painting – I thought it looked much more difficult to stand on the back side of the storage box but that was her choice;

It added a physical, gross motor, element to the art activity. Another bit of process over product – it could be described as ‘hanging’ art since her feet were not on the ground;

Over the last few weeks the children have discovered that the clay that was abandoned in the gravel area has now hardened into ‘rocks’.  The plasticine however is still pliable – especially on warmer days.  Of course you have to find it though – there are bits and pieces of plasticine strewn throughout the 400 sq ft gravel area.

There is always excitement when someone finds a piece of plasticine amongst all the gravel.  It is even better when they can collect enough of it to create another sculpture;

The sunlight and shadows add even more artistic opportunities.  Even though the process is our goal, some of the products are pretty amazing too;

Best of all, this plasticine is reusable.  With a wide variety of nature items in the yard there are endless creative opportunities.  Like all the loose parts in the yard, the plasticine offers the freedom to explore, imagine, and invent.  It is all about the process.

Art Areas

It was the summer of 2013 that I originally planned to create an outdoor art area on the upper deck but we ran out of time so it didn’t get completed until this summer.  Since our most recent indoor renovation meant giving up the sunroom as a dedicated art area the indoor art area and dining area now share the same small space.  This made creating the outdoor art area very important. This is the new outdoor art space;

It can be used rain or shine and I even have some plans for wintertime use ;-) and the addition of some woodworking supplies too.  All summer the school-age children spent ‘quiet time’ here while the little ones were napping.

Of course the little ones like to do artsy stuff too so I had to make sure they had some space too.  The indoor dining/art area is easily supervised – unlike the dedicated art space we used to have in the sunroom – so the little younger children have access for independent art activities throughout the day.

However, because our indoor space is very limited I knew I was going to miss having a big art table for group activities with the little ones during the long winter period.  So, of course I came up with another ‘multipurpose’ idea.  This is the bench where the school-age children sit for meals and independent art activities;

During the school year it is not used between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm – seems like a waste of space to me.  Now I can flip open the top;

Add a table cloth, and the school-age bench becomes a toddler art table;

It’s the perfect size for the little ones to paint on;

Do some lacing;

Or much more….

Indoors & Out

We’ve endured some frigid weather in the last month.  Some days with the windchill it has felt like -45C.  Our daily trek down to the end of the street to meet the school bus has been daunting.

Luckily my back yard is sheltered from the wind so it has not felt as cold as the open areas and we have played outside for all but one day.  The children are dressed appropriately for the weather and do not complain – in fact, some of them are disappointed when I say it is time to go in.

On the coldest days we’ve stayed outside for only about 20 minutes.  Our ‘extra’ indoor time was used to explore what happens when we put paint and paper in a salad spinner and spin;

or shake if you prefer;

We’ve also investigated a bin full of bird seed;

However, we still prefer to be outside – discovering how slippery the old cookie sheets get when they are cold.  Some enjoy ‘skating’ on them;

Others take them to the little hill and try to ‘snowboard’;

Some have tried using the pipes to ‘ski’ down the slope;

The wok toboggan is another option – love that it has handles so friends can help out;

So, indoors or out, we’ve been busy.

Painted Pumpkin

Halloween 2012 is now history.  It was a very quiet Halloween night – we only had about on third of the trick or treaters that we normally get around here.

I will admit that Halloween is my least favourite of all the holidays but that doesn’t mean that we don’t celebrate it.  I did have most of my decorations up early this year – three weeks ago.  I also bought the pumpkins early but we didn’t do anything with them until yesterday. Part of the problem may have been that, of the 11 full or part time children that attend, the ones that are most interested in Halloween activities are not the ones who are here much.

I like to use pumpkins as a sensory activity for the children and we like to bake with them too.  We usually choose a pumpkin decorating activity that doesn’t involve carving it so we can still use the innards for food.  I found some really amazing pumpkin decorating ideas here.

However, with mostly just infants and toddlers here for the day any elaborate decorating techniques would not be developmentally appropriate.  So, instead we simply painted a pumpkin.

I found it amusing that the biggest problem I had with this activity was getting the little ones to stand up to paint.  Usually the messier the art activity the more likely they are to want to run around.  This time however  just sat, holding their paint brush, and stared at the pumkin on the table.  When I stood them up so they could reach they promptly sat down again.

Eventually they caught on and started painting the pumpkin.  The red paint did not show up well;

The blue was vibrant against the orange of the pumpkin;

We even managed to do some color mixing;

Of course by the end of the activity the pumpkin was mostly greyish brown but we were most interested in the process not the product.

Weekly Wrap-Up

It has been a busy week and for the most part it has gone by quickly.  The early start to the day (five children arrive before 6:50 am) has limited my writing and prep time in the morning.  However, the cats are quite enjoying having so much company first thing in the morning — then the baby arrives and they do this;

We’re still working on ‘be gentle’ so at this point a hug looks more like a bodyslam.  The garden flowers probably wish they could run away too;

The older children make a daily trip around the yard to collect spiderwebs to add to ‘soup’ and building projects.  I’ll admit it makes a good glue but I don’t like the web ball collections;

The girls’ favorite ‘toy’ has been a dead bee that they found.  Each day they build homes for it;

They made sure it had a pillow for its bed;

They love that it is “so soft and fuzzy”.  Together they go on many adventures;

We’ve done some art projects indoors;

And outside we painted the wood pieces from the loose parts area;

They created some wonderful designs – I was impressed by this color blending done by a four year old;

It is just tempra paint and this wood stays outdoors so I’m not sure how long these designs will last but they are beautiful;

Temporary or permanent these paintings will add some colour to the building projects and if the paint fades or washes away we can paint them again.

Sponge Art and More

Yesterday the preschoolers experimented with sponge painting.

I provided some shaped sponges, paint and paper and a brief explanation of the process.  The rest was up to them.

Interestingly it was the youngest member of the group that seemed the most confident – instantly diving in and working independently.  He was the first to start and the last to quit.  Honestly he probably would have been content to do this all day if the others hadn’t been so persistent about quitting.

The older children were more focused on the product they were trying to create.  Some put so much time and effort into applying the paint to the sponge that by the time they tried to stamp it on the paper most of the paint was already dry — leading to a bit of frustration with the project.

Others complained about the jagged edges of the shapes and insisted on doing touch-ups with the paint brush to define the shapes better.  In fact, they prefered to skip the sponge part and just paint with the brush instead.

The finished results were as varied as the methods of the individual artists.

The window sill in the sunroom is the perfect place for leaving the artwork to dry.  The abundance of sunlight is also great for other things too — like later in the day when I was summoned to come and see this discovery;

Yes, that is amazing isn’t it Even more impressive because you discovered it without assistance.

Painting the Day Away

It was back in 2005, when I began working on my CBA portfolio, that I first saw a painting activity that used clear acrylic panels for children to paint on.  I thought this was such a fabulous idea that I just had to find a way to incorporate it here.

I love painting.  When I paint I become completely immersed in the activity.  I’d love to give the children the opportunity to paint all the time.  Sadly I had not been able to.  Certainly we do paint but not nearly as often as I’d like to.

I do have a designated indoor art area which the children use freely but it only has paint when we are doing a group art activity.  The reason for this is because there is so much set up and clean up involved with paint that it just isn’t feasible to have it available all the time.

Sure, I can involve the children in the set up and clean up – some of them would enjoy that.  The biggest problem is that no matter how often I read ‘washable’ on a container of paint I know from experience that they are lying.  In fact, I’ve had better success cleaning up after painting the walls in my house than cleaning up after the children have painted with ‘washable’ paint.

So, painting becomes an activity with too many rules.  I loathe painting rules.  Rules and creativity are antonyms.

Paper is the other issue with painting – more specifically, wet paper.   Some children enjoy creating elaborate creations with painstaking detail that requires the precision of a surgeon and hours to complete a single piece of artwork.  Others take mere seconds to cover a piece of paper in paint and then make another and another and another until there is no where left to hang any more.  Then there are the ones that like creating texture with their paint – piling it on so thick that it will be at least a week before the paint will dry.

Now I’m back to the clear acrylic panels for painting – it would solve the paper issue but what about the mess.  Then it occurred to me that the once place where we never worry about messy play is outside.  So this spring I incorporated a clear acrylic panel to the ‘manger’ (nickname for the covered seating area).  Located between the gravel area and the deck it can be accessed from either side allowing many children to use it at once. The addition of a garden hose with both hot and cold water and a laundry tub which drains into the gravel makes clean-up super easy too.

We have used it often this summer;

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

In fact, I’ve now run out of paint!