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Our Busy Artists

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Our tamariki in the nursery have been very busy at the art table lately. We love to paint, draw, and paste. The messier the better for our young tamariki. Painting, drawing and other forms of art can be used as a non-verbal way for tamariki to communicate, express themselves, to think and reflect about what they know and are coming to know. We have encouraged our tamariki to explore in their own way, trying out different colours, different brush sizes and ways to make different marks on their paper. As the tamariki are holding the brush, pen or crayon, they are developing their fine motor skills which is setting the foundation for learning to write. Our tamariki enjoy experimenting as they learn to make their marks through practice and repetition. As they gain confidence and control of their drawings, the next step in their learning journey is for them to purposefully plan for their marks to represent their ideas and feelings. Spending time at the art table is also a very social time in our nursery especially as the tamariki develop tuakana teina relationships where the younger children watch what the older children are doing, and the older children help the younger children