Watercolor Wednesdays

Today was our first 'Watercolor Wednesday' during playschool.
Our family has been working to complete painting materials for Waldorf inspired watercolor technique..painting boards, paint pot holders, a long handled and wide brush...

I barely know anything about the hows or whys behind Waldorf Watercolor painting, but I'm learning through books and friends.
Pop Pop graciously helped us cut, drill, and sand the painting materials during his last visit. We purchased 2x4's a our local hardware store, a saw bit to cut holes, and a whole lot of sanding paper.

It was labor intensive, but the outcome is beautiful.
This Fall, we are beginning with the color Yellow. We will paint with yellow for about a month or more; fully appreciating the color, telling stories about it, and really experiencing the brightness. On a sunny day like today, it was perfect.

While the children sat, I modeled painting while slowly telling a made-up story about a giant yellow sunflower. this sunflower grew so very tall and the bumblebees loved to sit upon it. The birds sometime ate the seeds and dropped a few on the ground as they flew away....in that space, a sunflower grew and grew. Wouldn't it be lovely if every bird in the world dropped a sunflower seed and a flower grew? The whole world would appear...so yellow:)

The children were so quietly introspective about this process..even toddler W.
I look forward to sharing this experience with them every week.
Lastly, a bit of knowledge I gleaned this past summer at Sunbridge while we participated in a Waldorf watercolor painting session; as if we were the students..
The teacher ked us to our spots at the table which were tall enough so we could stand while painting. This was a very different experience for me. She also had the brushes places so the bristles were facing the student..

This ensured that when the student picked up the brush to paint, it was already in a comfortable and "correct"position in their hands. (try it- you'll be amazed. Also, place the brush facing the opposite way and experience how much more work it is to get the brush in position for painting!)  Learning to grip a writing utensil isreally hard to do for a child who isn't developmentally ready. I've seen kindergarten teachers come up with all kinds of tricks to get children to hold a pencil correctly.. attaching a rubber band somehow, using a rubber grip, etc. Doesn't it just make sense to wait until they're physically able on their own?
...Wishing you a joyous week.