"I don't want to use a brush!"

Today at the easel we had the traditional set up: paint pots and paint brushes. While I was searching through a bin for an entirely different reason, one of my 2's took one of the utensils out and said she wanted to use it in paint. I thought she meant at the paint table, but she meant the easel.

We removed the paint pots and squirted paint directly into the tray.

This caught the eye of other children, who also wanted to paint with different utensils, so I just sat the bin on the floor and let them choose.

They even painted together. 

I love these moments when they change what I had planned! Being flexible is important.

2 Year Olds Love to Scoop and Pour!

We usually do all our scooping and pouring at the sand/water table with our 2 year olds, but last week I placed individual trays at the activity table.

I provided small spoons and 2 containers.

Lots of concentration!

And yes, lots did end up on the floor when I got distracted and left the table. Great experience for them to practice their sweeping skills, though!

Bread Baking

Today we made bread with our 3 year olds. I mixed and kneaded the dough last night (well, my KitchenAid did!), put it in the fridge, and let it get to room temperature this morning.

It rose a bit while in the fridge, and continued to rise as it warmed up.

Each child got a ball of dough to knead. For some, this was very soothing and they sat for quite awhile pushing the dough.

I placed each child's dough ball in a section of the muffin tin (generously sprayed with cooking oil). I covered them and set them in our warmer storage room for about 15 minutes so they'd rise a bit more.

They were baked in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Oh, the smell! We used the oven in the church's workroom. I'm sure the staff just loved us with that delicious aroma....or not, since we didn't share.

Cut a slit, add a bit of butter, and yum!!! 

Shamrock Marble Painting

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you might recall our love for marble painting. 

Set the marbles in a tray of paint and let the children spoon the marbles into the box where the paper is placed.

I love to watch their concentration as they carry the spoon of paint and marbles from the tray to the box.

Then, lift that box lid (or whatever type of container you have), and tilt side to side, watching the marbles leave paint tracks across the paper.

It gets the whole upper body moving! My energetic boys especially love this project. And we have a lot of energetic boys this year in our 3's class. (We have 3 girls and 7 boys, to be exact.)

Happy Shamrocks!

Salt Paint Shamrocks

More shamrock painting with the 2 year olds! This time we added salt to the paint for some added texture and sheen.

And, as I've mentioned before, we just place them all on the table and let them move around as they wish. Many times one shamrock will be painted by several different children throughout the morning.

Simple and fun.