We invited the children to put aside their normal paint brushes and use skeleton hands instead as their tool to create. We provided butcher paper, paint, and skeleton hands galore !The children jumped right in and loved exploring the different ways they could use the skeleton hands in order to paint on the butcher paper.
Working on the vertical painting surface puts a whole new spin on the experience. Physically they are using the large and small muscles of the arm with vertical painting. Simply moving the skeleton "brush" from the paint bucket to the paper requires focus and control which enhances their fine and gross motor skills. All these movements enhance their hand-eye coordination as well. Continuous exposure to these movements through large scale vertical painting also helps control their marks later on.
Children who are provided opportunities to paint regularly learn to think with an open mind, to look at situations creatively, develop critical-thinking skills & make decisions about what works and what doesn’t on their own, how to mix colors to create new ones, or how to make certain movements/techniques to create designs and get the paint on the paper. Painting freely has a fluidity that is different from other art media which in turn make children more empowered and confident to express their creative artistic style. Through painting, children continuously gain so many skills which gives them a foundation to look at the world with curiosity and wonder.
