First Grade Tap Root Prints: Pinkalicious

These are the artifacts of a first grade investigation into tap roots. Looking at all that glorious pink, I'm guessing beets were involved. Take note of the compositional variety between each print and think about everything these first graders must have learned about a beet's inside and outside! It occurred to me that it is not that often you see a large board displaying so much pink in a school. Lucky us. 

It got me thinking about how pink often inspires passionate commentary. Either in favor or against. I love pink but bemoan that it is stereotypically relegated to girls. My son loved it until he hit 4 and my husband wore it at our wedding! I remembered a refreshing essay by David Byrne about pink that I read a few years back. In it, he discovered that pink was a color designated for men prior to 1950! (Similarly blue was the color for women-thanks to Queen Victoria who loved indigo-until I don't know when). Gender biases and assignments aside, Byrne also discovered an interesting fact about pink: in a study, it lowered the heart rate of prisoners. Whether you like it or not, pink is a pretty powerful color! These prints, whether its the pink or the thought of the children engaging with beets in this way, definitely lower 

my blood pressure. 

Pre-k Paintings

In Jacqueline and Pauline's room they hang student's paintings vertically on the walls in stacks. Each stack belongs to one student and each time a student makes new painting, it is placed on the top of the stack, becoming the new image seen. The display is dynamic, ever-changing. I love these daily changes but I especially love the endless variety of the individual paintings. 

For example, some children love edges and symmetry. And they might explore the viscosity of paint.

Some children stick to the center, mixing colors. They might become aware of the marks made by the motions of their arms. I think I see a blue face too!

Some children work in layers.

Some work fast and energetically.

Some keep their shapes separate and use the white of the paper like its a color.

Some make all shapes touching and they fill the whole page.

Some create dense masses.

Some explore lines and shapes. Circles usually come first. Dots are often popular at this stage.

I'll bet some of these paintings have a story. But I know some of them don't. Some of them are about the joy of paint. Thank you, pre-k teachers for providing ample opportunity for our children to paint. 

Do you paint? What are your paintings about?