Art Explorer #7: Grocery Shopping with a Twist!

Color surrounds us everywhere, in our homes, our clothes, our environment and in our schools. Color is an important concept that differentiates individuals from one another; it differentiates one’s creative pieces of work and adds life to a piece of art.

My favorite food to go grocery shopping for is fruit!  When I shop for fruit I see different shapes, textures, sizes and colors in a variety of fruits. Fruit smoothies, fruit salad, fruit cake, fruit parfaits, (apple, cherry) pie, and more can be combined to make new recipes with the magic of fruit!

Fruits are sweet but can be bitter, some have a hard texture and some are mushy, all fruits are distinct in size and shape and come in all various COLORS. Colors can be mixed and blended to form distinct and uniquely new colors.

1.    Pineapple

2.    Banana

3.    Oranges

4.    Star fruit

5.    Strawberry

6.    Raspberry

7.    Watermelon

8.    Honeydew melon

9.    Apples

10.Grapes

11.Blackberry

12.Blueberries

13.Kiwi

14.Cherries

15.Peaches

16.Plums

17.Dragon fruit

The element of art that describes this activity is color. Fruits come in all different colors and can be blended to form a new food/drink and a new color! According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), “color is based on the passage of light. It Is the visual sensation of light caused by stimulating the cones of the retina” (p.136). Color is important for children to understand early so they can use their knowledge to explore in other activities involving color. According  to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), “children develop their color preferences and palettes early in life” (p.136).

For future ECE implications, allowing children the flexibility to experiment with colors is beneficial for their cognitive and creative development. Children are also learning science and discovery while engaging in the identification, and creation of colors. Children become aware of colors in their surroundings and can further identify foods of the same color that they enjoy. By allotting children with the knowledge of different colors, they can then begin to list foods they know with the same color and can learn about other foods that they don’t know about.

References

 Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009).

Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.