This activity turned out to be a perfect example of why I teach through open-ended activities and exploration and play. Each house turned out completely differently. I enjoyed seeing how each child who chose to paint explored their ideas in a different way. (And not everyone did paint - another key to activity teaching - choosing what to do or whether do it at all.)
"M" created a picture that included the shape and the paint. Her house is lovely and a more literal interpretation of the idea. Would she have painted this picture on paper that wasn't this shape? Probably not.
"B" decided to explore stripes and patterns. This is a common painting technique with my kids. She liked the house shape but painted in a way that had no relation to the shape itself.
"C" painted some wide blue stripes, exploring the brush and the paper shape. Then, after creating a design, she used the orange to fill in the open spaces. She explored form, shape, and color interactions.
"A" created a solid orange roof and a blue house body. She said she was finished and then changed her mind. She painted orange over the blue and announced, "I made brown." Then she painted blue over the orange roof to create more brown. She explored how colors and paint interact.
"H" also decided to paint stripes. However, he approached the process in an entirely different way. He painted blue lines, spaced apart. Then, he asked me to wash the brush so he could use the same one again. He painted orange lines between the blue ones, creating a striped effect. It looks similar to B's house but was created in a different way.
In early childhood circles, we often hear "process is more important than product," the doing is more important than the result. And this week I was able to see that in action. Each child's thinking was challenged through the process of painting on a house shape. And while the results are all different, the process to get there is the important thing the child is taking away from this activity.
