Did you know that riding a tricycle is a rite of passage for most children in the early years? When young children ride a tricycle they learn, develop, and benefit from so many skills. When a child rides a tricycle it improves their coordination and balance moving various muscle groups, promotes development of hand-eye coordination, and enhances their arm and leg coordination as they maneuver getting on and off the bike. All these gross motor movements are great for promoting continuous physical movement and development.
Today we combined riding our trikes with some Action Art. After placing butcher paper on the cement, a good amount of tempera paint, we invited the children to ride their tricycles through the paint!
Action process art involves art activities that are hands-on active movements 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…” from Action Art.
Engaging children with a combination of art, science, and gross motor action is a dynamic way to teach and expose them to a style of painting where there are no mistakes or boundaries.
When children use out of the norm tools to paint they become more thoughtful and creative about the techniques they use as they experiment. They flick, splat, drip, swift, squirt, and move through so many different ways which enhances both their fine and gross motor skills. Exploring art, color, gravity, movement, and different techniques of creating, will only enhance and open a child‘s way of thinking creatively while helping them cover so many domains of learning.
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