Guest Post from "Getting Messy with Miss Jessi"

I love Miss Jessi's blog. I am so impressed with the activities and explorations that she implements with her little ones (preschoolers). Everything she does is so developmentally appropriate. 

 Jessi kindly agreed to guest blog and I am so appreciative.  Enjoy her post and please don't forget to scroll down through the great pictures.  

Hi, there!  My name is Jessi, I blog over at Getting Messy With Ms. Jessi.  I was thrilled when Cindy asked me to guest blog.  She asked for a specific subject. One that I practice everyday with the 3-5 year olds I teach on a daily basis.  I've been teaching for close to 16 years and I've loved (almost) every moment of it.  I've learned a lot thru experience but also thru all the wonderful blogs I've read over the last few years.

Have you ever heard the expression, "It's the process, not the product"?  The process is the how, the product is the after.  What we need to remember it's the how that is most important.  When I first started teaching I hadn't really grasped that concept.  I figured what was important was the finished product the child was taking home to show his family.  After a few years of teaching I was noticing that art wasn't much fun for them. I wasn't allowing them to create, get messy, enjoy art as much as I do.   I love to create, so why wasn't I letting the children create on their own?  Experience is so much more important.  The how is what makes the project fun for the children.  Here are some examples of fun process art projects we've done in the last couple of months:

Painting with a mallet..super messy and super fun!!

Snap Painting

Batik Art: By far my most favorite thing we've ever done!

 If children can use at least 3 senses while they create imagine the experience they are getting!  Paint that has a scent, hearing the fly swatter swat the paint and paper, using bubble wrap to paint with, tasting the pudding paint and seeing the results of color mixing.  So, open your mind, relax and don't be afraid to get a little bit (or a lot!) messy.

Now that you've had a chance to preview some of Jessi's blog posts you can click below to head over to her site and enjoy all of her great ideas.

Thanks to all  ... and a special thanks to my blogging friend Jessi.
Cindy (Granny)