Colour, Creativity, and Community: Highlights from Our Paint & Play Day
On Sunday the 27th of July:
Sugartree Lane Preschool transformed into a vibrant, sensory-rich art studio for their Paint & Play event hosted by ‘The Creative Rume’.
Toddlers and older kids (including adults) enjoyed a messy play morning, including chalk drawing, ceramic painting, felt-tip pen drawing, watercolour, stencils with paint and roller paint fun! Along with beautiful food from Deli Vision, delicious coffee from ‘The Coffee Store” and face painting by Rainbow Rascals.
The biggest hit was the small white ceramics and the watercolour wooden turtles; the tactile experience of both was really popular. Each ceramic being a unique shape was a point of difference, and the animal shapes, hearts and flowers were super appealing for little hands. The watercolour on the wooden turtles created muted colours, and it was so interesting to see the Tamariki observe the difference in colours between the two mediums in the finished pieces.
Parents and whānau joined in as well, exploring the same materials alongside their children. Finished pieces were proudly displayed to dry and then taken home at the end of the day. It was such a fun day of joyful giggles, curious strokes, and colourful messes!
For children who are not yet writing or are just learning to talk and articulate ideas and feelings, the visual arts are an amazing way through which they can explore and share their perceptions of the world around them. What they see and how they feel can be expressed through colours, figures and particular interests they have can be discovered through the medium of art.
It is also an important tool for toddler development, offering a range of benefits that extend beyond artistic expression, it helps toddlers develop fine motor skills, encourages creativity, and fosters emotional expression. Furthermore, painting can aid in visual perception, spatial awareness, and even pre-writing skills.
Sugartree Lane Preschool’s Paint & Play event was much more than a colourful morning—it was a developmental transformation in action. Through sensory richness, open-ended creation, and meaningful interaction, toddlers reaped benefits in motor skills, emotional health, social connection, language, cognition, and confidence.
The kids created some beautiful artworks!
