Kitah Alef Explores Color - orange and yellow!

One of the concepts we, as Morahs, have been exploring this year is called Emergent Curriculum. It's essentially an "inquiry-based" leaning model which allows the students to ask questions, express curiosity, and determine where their projects go. We first introduced prompts, called "provocations" on the table during an art project. We'd noticed that some of the students seemed interested in "writing", or making attentive and controlled marks on paper with markers and colored pencils. To pursue this "writing" interest, we noted some of their most-used words, like "ball" and "moon", typed them, found stock images of those items, and placed them on the table during a free-drawing exercise. Then we watched, took notes, and waited to see what would happen. 

The Morahs noticed that students were drawn to using colors of markers that were most represented in the images they were seeing. For instance, black is never a requested color of paint or marker, nor is it a "favorite color" often, but the students were drawn to using black crayons when an image of the moon was present. Because of this interest (even if unspoken) in color, we decided to do a deep-dive into color! Seasonally, it made sense to start with orange and yellow (it was autumn). Again, we made provocations (the words "orange" and "yellow" in their respective colors, an orange, a banana, and blocks of orange and yellow), sat back, and observed. During these projects, we take notes, encourage exploration of new mediums, and ask lots of questions. 

Emergent Curriculum encourages Morahs to ask questions in certain ways that inspire a deeper level of thought in the child, and eventually, a deeper level of communication. Some of those questions are:

"Show me what you can do with it?"

"What can you tell me about the things you have?"

"How did you think of that?"

"What would happen if...?"

"What are some things you could try?"

"What does this make you think of?"

"Could you tell me about this?"

These are also questions we encourage parents and guardians to ask at home!

It's also been fun to notice the student's preferences for mediums. When we started the project, Morahs ordered many different kinds of supplies, including finger paint, watercolor, glitter, glue, markers, crayons, colored pencils, play color, pastels, and chalks. Some friends LOVE to use their hands, while others prefer a tool. Some like to make large sweeping motions, while others prefer to make more controlled movements, like pretending to write or drawing lines. Some friends are minimal, and some are maximal. Some friends know when they're done, and others prefer to stay and add as long as possible. Noticing is a way of getting to know each friend's personal approach to art, and meeting them there. 

At the end of the year, we will be using each of our color studies to compile a "color book", and until then, we will keep you posted here! 

Shabat Shalom