Erik Quillen

EDT 317

Professor Madison

22 March 2024

Reflection

The lesson I implemented in the Preschool classroom was on visual arts. The exploration

for the students in this visual arts lesson had to do with primary and secondary colors. The lesson

was designed to introduce these concepts through engaging activities. In this lesson, the students

and I discussed these concepts as a group. They were asked if any of them knew what primary

and secondary colors were, how primary colors mix to make secondary colors, and connecting

these colors connect to real life materials and things that students often see. Upon completing

this discussion and answering any other questions, the students were given paint holders with the

colors blue, red, and yellow. As we discussed these colors can be mixed to make secondary

colors. I asked students to paint me any picture of their choosing, encouraging to not only use the

primary colors, but to mix them as well to incorporate secondary colors. I wanted to allow the

students to express their creativity along with exploring the colors.

The lesson itself mostly went as planned, but as expected with preschoolers, not

everything went completely as expected. The students I was able to work with were actively

engaged and also interested in the topic. Not only were the students fascinated when I explained

mixing primary colors can make secondary colors, students also were able to correctly identify

some secondary colors based on what primary colors were mixed. For example, I asked the

collective group what color they thought we would see if we mixed blue and red and a student

correctly answered with purple. What also seemed to help was when I modeled it for the students
by laying out my own pallet with primary colors and mixing them as we discussed. The only

slight problem I had, which was not actually much of an issue, was that I had to complete the

lesson very early in the morning, so only 6 students were able to experience it. The good thing is,

I had a mix of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds which helped with the variation. I expected to have issues

with attention, but the students were very engaged and excited to complete the activity.

After completing the lesson and immediately reflecting upon it, most of it went well but

there are a few things I would change if I were to teach this lesson again. One thing I would do is

find pictures of common items involving the colors we are talking about. This would give the

students a visual aid to help them make real life connections easier. The only other thing I may

change is the activity. To encourage collaboration, I would maybe have multiple students work

on one canvas to see how incorporate the colors together. Other than that, the lesson went

smoothly.

The lesson I implemented taught me a lot about my students and my ability to effectively

teach. The first thing this lesson taught me was the importance of being flexible. Especially with

young students, they are all experiencing many lessons and other activities for the first time, so

being flexible and patient is key to helping students become successful. I also discovered that

young students may require “simplified language”. This is important so that all your students are

able to understand what you are saying and allow for less confusion. Along with the idea of

patience and flexibility, I found it important to recognize that children of this age can have small

attention spans. Adapting to this is important to keep children engaged and excited for activities.

Following this, there was not much that needed modified to ensure individual child success. One

small thing I did, as one of the children struggles with focus at time, is waited to put out the paint

pallets until after we are done discussing. This student often struggles with a lower attention span
as was talked about earlier and will struggle to focus if paint and paper is in front of him during

the initial discussion.

In conclusion, teaching this lesson to the preschool students was a valuable experience.

While the lesson went largely as planned, there were valuable lessons learned that I would use in

my future teaching experience. Focusing on patience, flexibility, and adhering to the individual

needs of my students will be vital to my future student’s success and enjoyment which is my goal

as a teacher. With the completion of this experience, I am confident that future teaching will be

better influenced and lead to the success of everyone involved.