Spin, Spin, Spin

When I was cleaning closets in the center, I found a spin art thing.  The staff told me that it was a lot of fun - all you needed was batteries, some paint, and a round piece of paper.  The child would put the paper in the machine, squirt in some paint (carefully supervised by a teacher), and push a button.  Voila!  A piece of art work.  This was used with the children who were in the school age program.

The teachers were amazed when I would not let them use it.  While the children might perfect their button pushing technique, I could see no other value in the experience.  I brought in a salad spinner that I had purchased at a yard sale many years ago for $1.00 that the children could use for spin art.  The school age teachers had a great deal of difficulty trusting the children to use it "correctly", and tried to micromanage the whole process.

Fortunately, the teachers who are now working with the children at the center understand that children need to manipulate, explore, and experience to learn.  They also understand that children are capable of doing many wonderful things by themselves.  A few days ago I went into the four year old room and watched the children have wonderful adventures with the salad spinner.

 

The children loved to squirt in the paint, and used liberally.  There was no teacher telling them not to use too much, or to use all of the colors, since their teacher understood that children need to have control over their own art work.  Even more that squirting, the children loved turning the handle.

The teacher held the spinner steady while the children spun and spun.  When it looked at though they might be tired, they spun some more.  Some of the children spun for five or more minutes.  They spun and spun.  They twirled the basket so hard that the handle popped off and had to be stuck back on (sorry - no picture of this!).  When they finally stopped, everyone admired the masterpiece.

The fun, however, didn't stop there.  As soon as one painting was done, the children hurried to start another.  The discovered that colors swirled together to make other colors.  They discovered that if they turned the spinner really, pulled off the top, and dropped more paint into the spinner they could watch the paint swirl around the paper.  One child discovered that he could turn until the basket was moving very rapidly, lean over, and watch the paint cascade down the sides of the bowl.

The children kept making spin art for several days.  They explored velocity, centrifical force, colors, decision making, cooperation ... the list is endless.  Unfortunately, however, they did not have a chance to perfect their button pushing technique.  $1.00 yard sale kitchen find vs. a $12.00 electric toy - which is better?  The children know and, fortunately, so do some teachers.