St. Anne's

On November 20, Lizzie and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit St. Anne’s, a child care center run by Catholic Charities. Bridget, the volunteer coordinator, greeted us at the door, welcoming and grateful. She gave us a short tour and then led us to Miss Laura’s classroom where we were greeted by a lovely group of four year olds. We set up the paints and paper while the kids did “circle time.” Once everyone was ready, the kids came in groups of 4 to work with us. We used paint tape on the paper to make the shapes. We decided to stick to snowflakes since Spokane had it’s first snowfall that morning and the kids were already excited about the snow.

In groups of four, they sat around the table in old t-shirts or painting smocks so they wouldn’t get too messy.  Everyone was excited to talk about the snow and the changing seasons.  They told us about the special clothes they get to wear if it’s snowing, and about all the activities they get to do with friends.  Each child painted differently - some were determined to cover the tape, too, while others were obsessed with creating their own color combinations.  Miss Laura, the teacher, informed us that painting is one of their favorite activities, and it was obvious.  No matter the differences in style, everyone took their time to fill up the page and create the snowflake they wanted.  

The only instructions we had to give the kids were to cover the whole paper in paint, not to leave any white spots.

When kids were done painting, we cleaned up while the kids had story time. We waited while the kids got served lunch. The kids ate their lunch while we peeled off the taped and showed them their paintings. They were so excited to see their paintings! The coolest thing was that the kids complemented each other’s work. Lizzie and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with kids.