Invitation to Paint Floating Ghosts

Spooky season is here and today we invited the children to paint floating ghosts which made for some fun filled action art and BOO-tiful creations! To set this invitation we filled our Discount School Supply paint cups with Colorations® Fluorescent Paint. The floating ghosts were made out of balloons, white paper tablecloths, and tied with fish wire to some branches on a tree. The children were invited the children to paint

Action art involves processes that are fully body experiences where the focus is on the process rather than the finished product. “Action Art projects result in products to be enjoyed and admired, but it is the process of exploration and experimenting that stimulates the child’s learning from discovering and creating." This process invited so many amazing conversations, while encouraging collaboration and cooperation while navigating the space as they painted. This type of art also promotes honoring their complete creativity because they are in an environment where innovation is honored, there is freedom to explore, and there are no rules.

All aspects of the painting process from gripping and re-gripping the ghosts to manipulate it to stay in place, painting all sides of the 3-D ghosts, balancing to reach in order to paint, standing upright, holding the paint cup in one hand while painting with the other gave the children an opportunity to be completely immersed in the process of creating while building and challenge so many physical and cognitive skills. Due to the ghosts hanging and not staying stationary, this activity was great for enhancing hand-eye coordination plus moving not only their hand but whole body to simultaneously accomplish the task of painting. This process also encouraged the children to use bilateral coordination, using both sides of the body at the same time, while each hand is performing its own task. 

Every time we provide the children with the opportunity to create art in innovative ways, we are reminded of how engaging, beneficial, and important process art is in the early years.