Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Painting with a Squish

No Texas childhood would be complete without the reading of Tomie dePaola's The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.  This classic tale explains the proliferation of the wildflower and the origin of its name.
 
In days of yesteryear, Little Gopher, was a painter.  Due to the scarcity of Walmart, he had to make his paints from crushed berries and rocks.  This notion of "no Walmart" is always fun to teach to small children.
 
 
So, what did we do after reading this story?  Made our own paint from berries.  With nine children.  Alone.  In a carpeted dining room.  I promise I'm not crazy.
 
 
Each child was given a bowl and spoon for squishing blueberries and strawberries.   The end result was a bit messy, but so much fun.  I have found that most things worth doing with children are.
 

Some of us may have eaten most of our berries pre and post painting.
 

All in all, an excellent, hands-on activity for preschoolers.  However, I do think the finished masterpieces will attract extremely "pesty" art-lovers.

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