Following a child’s recent interest in ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ book at The Priory, we decided to extend their learning with a painting activity. We supplied the children with paint brushes of different shapes and sizes and demonstrated how to use them. The bigger paint brushes could be used for bigger areas such as the body and the smaller paint brushes could be used for finer details such as the eyes or the legs. The children identified that the caterpillar has 3 different colours (green, yellow and a red/brown). When we brought the colours to the table, they asked “Where is the colour for the caterpillar’s face?”. We showed the children how to make a dark red/brown colour by mixing green and red together. We explained that the more green paint you add, the darker the red will be, and it will start to turn brown. The children interpreted their caterpillars very differently and some chose to start off with the body whilst others started with the head and worked their way down. They chose the correct colour and asked their friends politely if they could borrow that colour after them. Once the children completed their caterpillar bodies, it was time to draw the legs. Together, we counted how many legs the Hungry Caterpillar on the book had. The children used a smaller paint brush to draw small legs at the bottom of their caterpillar bodies. They really enjoyed this activity, so we kept it open after lunch for the children to try it again. We even challenged the children to paint the food that the caterpillar had eaten in the book.
This activity covered 3 areas of the EYFS:
- Maths
- Literacy
- Expressive arts and design
Making bird treats at Mornington House