Don’t mind the mess… the children are learning.

We’v all seen that quote right – “Please excuse the mess, the children are learning” (or something of that nature).  This is so true in my classroom.  At home, I am a neat freak; everything has a place, and it should always be in its place unless you are using it.  I learned early on that this does not work in the classroom, nor do I want it to.  Not only do I have far too much to do to worry about each and every item staying in it’s correct spot, but children learn best when they experiment, when they use different materials to create new items, or make up games using pieces and parts from different centers.  Clean up time is when we put everything back.

I also love kinesthetic art projects. I have a classroom full of boys, and sitting at the table painting a picture just isn’t going to cut it for them, which is fine with me, because other kinds of art projects always turn out so cool!

We had some balloons left from our Leprechaun friend, so I took a leap of faith that my students would be able to handle this, and said “let’s paint with them”! Honestly, it was awesome.  They laughed and giggled the entire time, and the end result was so cool.  Yes, it absolutely made a mess. There was paint on the walls, paint on the chairs, and paint in their hair, but that’s why it’s washable right? If you don’t want to clean up the classroom then you absolutely have to try this project outside when the weather gets warmer. We’ll definitely be doing it again!