This month, the Toddler 1 program at RisingOaks | St. Patrick came together to celebrate our wonderful chef, Seyi. To honour her, Eria set out canvas and paint alongside dramatic play foods and utensils, inviting the children to create a special, collaborative gift.
Seyi works incredibly hard each day to provide nutritious and delicious meals that support the children’s growth, development, and learning. Beyond this, she is intentional in building meaningful relationships and connections with the children. Our toddlers care for her deeply, and we are so grateful to have her in our centre. While we show our appreciation daily through thank-yous and high fives, we wanted to create something extra special—something made with our own hands, just as she does for us every day.
Cassidy, Dino, Renzo, and Rahiya were the first to contribute to our collaborative artwork.
Cassidy began by exploring yellow paint with a toy cheese block, stamping it into the paint and then onto the canvas. When Eria introduced paintbrushes as additional tools, Cassidy adapted her approach, using a brush to apply paint to the cheese block before continuing to stamp.
Renzo selected orange paint and began using a piece of broccoli, tapping it into the paint and then onto the canvas. He observed the textured, stippled patterns that emerged. He then transitioned to a paintbrush, using a similar tapping motion. Noticing the triangular shapes forming, Eria suggested they resembled carrots, prompting Renzo to choose a toy carrot, which he used as another stamping tool.
Rahiya chose pink paint and began with a whisk, scooping and spreading paint across the canvas. She then explored a variety of utensils, including a fork and spoon. With the fork, she created stamped impressions, while the spoon allowed her to scoop, smooth, and transfer paint—eventually applying it onto a toy shrimp.
Dino selected red—Seyi’s favourite colour—and began by using a toy tomato to swipe and glide paint across the canvas, blending in white along the way. Soon, in true Dino fashion, he immersed his hands in the paint, exploring the sensory experience by rubbing it between his fingers before spreading it across the canvas to create a bold red foundation.
Andi joined next and initially focused on carefully painting dramatic play foods, including grapes, bananas, and rice. When prompted by Eria to consider using the items as tools, Andi began using a croissant to swipe paint across the canvas. She then used her paint-covered hands to further spread the paint. Later, she placed her paint-covered paper plate onto the canvas and dragged it across, observing the marks it created. Lifting the plate to look underneath, she responded to Eria’s question, “What do you see?” with a smile: “I see paint!”
Hélène chose to primarily use a paintbrush, exploring colour mixing on a paper plate and observing as new colours formed. She then applied these to the canvas using back-and-forth strokes.
Epiphany engaged in thoughtful experimentation, using a variety of foods and tools. She carefully scooped and spread paint, contributing her own colour choices to the shared artwork. Later, she selected a foam roller to smooth paint across the surface.
Vivaan and Nellie joined as the experience was coming to a close. Vivaan first explored the foam roller on his own body before using it on the canvas, demonstrating curiosity and sensory engagement. Nellie selected a corn cob, painting it before stamping it onto the canvas and adding bright yellow textures to the piece.
As the children painted, we reflected on our appreciation for Seyi, supporting the development of empathy and compassion for others. The children strengthened their fine motor skills through grasping and manipulating a variety of materials, while engaging in rich sensory experiences that support the development of self-regulation.
We look forward to sharing our collaborative masterpiece with Seyi once it has dried.
