Cave Painting

This week we paint caves! Children were pretty excited about being able to go inside the caves and paint. Today was the first day of the lesson so keep an eye out for more pictures as the cave evolves into a work of art.

Happy Birthday Alyssa and Jahan!

We celebrated Alyssa's birthday today with lots of laughter and princess crowns. The children had fun decorating their crowns, making wands and painting. Others took a break from the fine art and ventured to the sand table for some sensory fun.

Alyssa's mom made the best gluten free cupcakes I've ever had. I couldn't tell the difference. If anyone is interested she can provide cupcakes for your party needs. Just ask and I'll put you in contact with her.










That same day we celebrated Jahan's birthday - Dinosaur style!

The children decorated volcano's dinosaurs and played with them in the sand. They also made masks and sculpted them out of model magic. It was a blast and the children were happy with their creations.

Henri Matisse Recreated

This week we took the children to the world of French artist, Henri Matisse. We know Matisse for his use of color and multiple use of tools to create 2 dimensional masterpieces.

For this exploration we exposed the children to various tools such as our own handmade stamps for printing, paper and foam paper for collaging, 3D tubes for recreating scenes in a painting "The Fish Bowl". We guided them to paint with sponges, brushes (self-portraits were inspired) and arrange shapes on the light table. All age groups really enjoyed this dynamic theme and kept making more masterpieces by the minute!

Valentines day and a few other things...

I took my son to the studio this afternoon so I can prepare for tonight's lesson. Needless to say he doesn't mind coming with me to work. He had fun playing with the jelly hearts in the window, arranging them as he now loves to do.

As I was getting things ready I took a look around the studio and realized how happy I was that things are coming along as planned. We have 50 students and have only been open 4 months! Birthday parties are booking up and the feedback we get from parents is so wonderful. Although we still have a ways to go, I feel VERY blessed. Our staff, Elizabeth, Hsuan-Hsiu and Lauren have done so well with the children and coming up with the fun, messy lessons. I appreciate them always keeping me updated and sharing the details of their day with me...not to mention the clean-up they do! Hsuan-Hsiu has created a handmade, beautiful journal that we keep at the front desk. We document each day of class so that we can better understand how the children are relating to materials, lessons and stations. This gives us insight to future lesson modification. We all then collaborate later about what we've learned. You might notice a board on the wall near the reading area. We plan to use that as our documentation wall. It will consist of the children and the lessons we present.

Magical Minds Studio isn't just about art, but rather about providing and opportunity for creative growth. Everything impacts a child's world and to be able to have a place to express how they live in their world is something every child deserves. We don't just want them to draw or paint, we want them to explore the endless possibilities of doing and learning. Children need creative space to express themselves because later in life they may not get that chance.

With all that said I just want to thank the parents for supporting Magical Minds Studio. For re-registering for classes and spreading the word about our studio. Many of you are my friends and some my new found friends. Your children make our studio the warm colorful place it is and it was truly created for them.

We look forward to our 3rd session in March!!

Inside Out!

With this cold weather our children are cooped up indoors way too long. The many things they love to do outside are out of reach until the weather warms up. Well, not this week!

Anyone up for blowing bubbles? How about with some color so we can make bubble paintings?? Not only did they do a fantastic job with their art, they had a blast blowing bubbles.

What about sidewalk chalk? Large squares of butcher block paper was set on the floor and a tub of chalk. The carpet was furniture free, allowing the children to lay on their bellies or sit while they drew.

Sand anyone? Oh yes, the sand table is always a hit and we added some water for a nice textured experience. Pebbles, plants and some digging tools were also present to allow for open ended play.

What would you like to eat?

This week the children had a chance to make their own dough. They decorated dishes and then sculpted their food of choice. We had whale meat, ice cream cone with noodles on a watermelon plate, purple magic peanuts, we can go on.

After the sculpting was over they were able to create a dish using paper and dried food such as beans, rice etc. We also sliced up pieces of fruit and placed them in Ziploc bags for the children to explore at the light table.

It was a great project!