An Invitation to Art

I recently consulted at a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool and was amazed by the thinking and learning being done by the three-year-olds there.  One thing I noticed was there were lots of "invitations" available to children.  The teachers had set up all of the necessary materials and just told the children they were invited to try them out.  I decided to try an invitation to paint today after nap.  My invitation was in no way as creative or ambitious as those at this school but it was a start!  When the girls got up from rest time, I had classical music playing and their watercolors set up on the easel with some white paper.  They walked in the living room and never once asked to watch a show (the usual post-nap routine).  They stood at their easel for almost an hour until Dennis got home from work.  He walked in to find them listening to classical music and painting tulips (Amity) or "blue" (Vivien) and I was cooking dinner.  If only I could say this was TYPICAL at our house!!!  Since it's not, I thought I had better document it with pictures!