In the Burrow this week, we have been experimenting… Would you ever have thought of putting ice cubes on a tray or table and letting the children paint them?
This simple activity is a great activity for all ages of children, it can develop children’s gross motor skills whilst learning about the science behind colour mixing. I have had lots of observations, as the words, sentences and conversations flowed between the children, about temperatures of the ice, observing what happens as the ice melted in our hands, watching it drip onto the table and mixing the colours together.
We have used a large table, this allowed the Burrow children to easily access the activity. Children were very eager to join in and get painting.
We used red, yellow and blue paint, as the colours started to run into one another the children asked about colour mixing and I asked them if they knew what happened when yellow is mixed with red. These simple questions created discussions and helped the children learn more about colour mixing.
This large scale activity enabled children to group together with their peers, developing their personal, social and emotional development. Offering creative activities can build on many areas of children’s development whilst also helping them to develop new skills.
As this activity is so versatile, I was able to incorporate a vast amount of EYFS areas including…
Physical development, using our bodies to develop our fine and gross motor skills, from painting using small strokes, pushing ice cubes from one end to the other with our peers.
Mathematics; I used groups of ice cubes, to create different quantities, encouraging counting and differentiating between quantities. Reciting numbers and showing interest in number solving problems.
Communication and language-developing new words, encouraging language and interaction between peers. Understanding questions, how, what, why, where and who.
Personal and social development- interested in others play and starting to join in. also seeing the children seek out others to share their experiences.
Crack open your freezers and get creative.
Thank you for reading.
Jemma