Self-Evaluation

Pasta Paint
1. I chose this activity because it allows the children to enhance their creativity by using nonusual items to paint with. The primary role of teachers in encouraging young children to make
art is providing abundant and diverse materials (Epstein, 2007, p.111). I chose different types of
pastas because it introduces the children to new items and it forces to the children to use their
fine motor skills and feel the different textures. I hoped this activity would spark conversation
about the different types of pastas and how we usually use them. This activity would also force
the children to share the materials and converse with each other.
2. The strong points of my activity were being well-prepared, providing options, introducing new
materials, conversing with the child about their art, meeting my goals and objectives. In addition,
having the activity child-directed was a strong point of my activity. Research shows child who
copy or follow adults orders limits a childs creativity (Epstein, 2007, p.111).
3. The weak area of my activity was the children did not speak to each other. My hope was for
the children to speak to one another and ask for the different materials. Instead, the children told
me or asked me to hand them the items.
4. The changes I made in my redo were adding more paint to the pasta bowls and adding a
different color. I started with pink, orange, blue, yellow and white. Because we used white paper
and the children were asking for purple, I removed the white paint for the redo and replaced it
with purple.
5. I believe my activity was successful. I wish there could have been more dialogue between the
children. When the children ask me for a pasta bowl, I should have directed them to ask one
another to create dialogue. Support peer conversation by redirecting childrens attention to one
another, restate the topic of the conversation and suggest they share ideas (Epstein, 2007, p.27).
Coaching social skills entails teachers to break a positive behavior into component parts,
provide children with explicit instructions on how to perform, create an opportunity for them to
practice and give feedback on their efforts (Epstein, 2007, p.70). Also, in the future, I would
encourage more paint mixing to enhance curiosity and cause and effect.
6. My activity was prepared to meet my objectives. The children used their fine motor and gross
motor skills and they were able to use to their creativity. The only objective that was not reached
was improving social with one another because the children did not necessarily speak to each
other.
7. To enhance the children learning, I would provide more different types of pastas, I would
only use primary colors and encourage paint mixing, I would also have uncooked pasta for the
children to use and see the difference between painting with a cooked spaghetti noodle and an
uncooked spaghetti noodle and to feel the different textures. I would also provide pictures or a
cook book to show the children how the pastas usually used.