As a Primary Teacher and Private Tutor, I get these questions often:
“but what are the children learning?”
“shouldn’t you be doing something more work-focussed?”
“how will this help my child in later life?
The overriding message these questions relay is that our understanding of what education is, and means, needs to shift.
Do we still believe that ‘great learning’ is equal to a classroom full of silent children busily writing away in their workbooks?
Do we still believe that the arts are NOT examples of ‘great learning’?
We need to re-evaluate what education looks like. Everything that challenges your child to shift their perspective on the world, empathise with another and develop a skill is education. Here is but a short list of all the wonderful things your child is learning and practicing when making a Tissue Paper Rainbow
? Colour Names
? Sorting/Categorising/Organising
? Science: the change from liquid to solid (the glue starts as liquid and dries hard turning into a solid)
? Fine Motor Skills: ripping/tearing tissue paper/rolling tissue paper into small balls (this exercises the small muscles in your child’s hands – it is this early development of muscle memory, strength and agility that will transfer into your child’s ability to write as they grow).
? Patterns: understanding cohesive structure and recurring patterns is a key element of the maths curriculum from the early years all the way through to the end of secondary school.
? Perseverance: this is not a quick activity and therefore an excellent lesson in the beautiful results that occur from consistency and determination.
Whilst we continue to challenge children in their schoolwork, home learning and in their daily lives; lets also challenge ourselves surrounding our values and beliefs about education. Real learning is FUN, LOUD and MESSY! The best learning takes place when a child is happy, this is when the real magic happens.
It is times like these when children do not even realise they are learning, and yet, they learn the most.
Let’s all make rainbows and watch the magic happen!
Love Lydia & LS Tuition ?⭐
Materials:
Colourful Tissue Paper
Glue (PVA is best)
Paper or Carstock
Writing Pencil
Method:
Step 1: Draw the outlines of your rainbow onto a piece of paper. You will need to decide how many colours you are going to use and draw lines to match this (the tissue paper will fit in between the lines for each color layer)
Step 2: Get scrunching! Scrunch up lots of little balls of different coloured tissue paper and sort them into colour groups!
Step 3: Apply a thin layer on glue onto the first section of your paper rainbow outline. Begin to stick down the colourful tissue balls. Repeat until each layer has been filled with a different colour! For best results pack your tissue paper nice and tight!
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