Plexi-painting in preschool

I wanted to share with you another way we used the plexiglass window books in my preschool classroom. This time, we used them for a little blot painting….

In case you missed how we used the plexiglass window books before, you can view the post “Looking at our world through a window book” by clicking here. After we used them as window books for nature, we rinsed and dried them off for plexi-painting…

For “plexi-painting” the children squirted paint from our paint bottles onto the plexiglass. We talked about using the paint to make lines and circles or different types of designs before they got started…

I hope these photos do this process justice because the results of the painting process amazed the children and amazed me too…

After the children had painted on one inside panel of their window book – they closed the book and pressed down to spread the paint – kind of like you would do in blot painting only for this process, you can see through the window and watch the paint spread out…

And then the children would open their window books to view the print on both sides of the panel…

For those who wanted to make a print of their painting, they simply put a piece of paper inside the window book and closed it back up again…

Of course, this left a print on both sides of their paper so we had to hang the papers up to dry.  For those who wanted to add more paint, they continued the process of adding paint, closing the book, and opening it again.  I think this little one spent 40 minutes exploring this process…

The window books could be challenging to open once they had so much paint on them but the children were up to the challenge…

We had all kinds of results from this process and using the plexiglass made the entire process unique and fun…

Once the children were finished exploring this process, I closed up all the window books and set them aside to rinse off later…

Now we will see what other new process we can explore with our window books!

FAQ

I often get asked these questions so here are a few answers…

1. The squeeze bottles we are using in these photos come from Walmart in their kitchen section.

2. The plexiglass came from Lowes and I bought in pre-cut rectangles then taped the edges of two panels together to create a window book.  Lowes will cut the plexiglass to a size you want if you ask them to.

3. I used clear packing tape to tape the panels together.

4. The edges were not sharp but the children still used the panels with care.

5. The panels can be washed and used over and over again.

6. I use washable liquid tempera paint for most of the activities we do in our classroom.

7. We wear smocks on occasion – depending on how messy the activity is.

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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