This week has been a wonderfully creative one in our preschool room as the children explored Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting, A Starry Night. We began by looking carefully at the artwork together. The children were quick to point out the swirling sky and the bright, glowing moon, and many noticed the little dots of light that looked like sparkling stars. They enjoyed talking about the shapes and colours, and it was lovely to hear their thoughts about how the painting made them feel—some said it looked “peaceful,” while others thought it looked like a “windy night.”
To build on this, we shared a story all about The Starry Night. The children listened closely and made connections between the illustrations in the book and the original painting. The story opened up a great conversation about what we can see when we look up at the night sky. The children mentioned stars, the moon and clouds, but also added plenty of imaginative ideas—like planets with rings, astronauts floating around, and shooting stars racing across the sky. These discussions gave them a chance to use new vocabulary and share their own experiences.
With all this inspiration, the children were eager to create their own interpretations of A Starry Night. Using paints, brushes and sponges, they tried out different techniques to show movement in the sky. Some experimented with swirling strokes to copy the style of the original painting, while others mixed blues, whites and yellows to make their own night-sky colours. There were lots of thoughtful decisions being made—where to put the moon, how bright to make the stars, and what kind of night sky they wanted to create.
It was wonderful to see how carefully the children worked and how proud they were of the pictures they produced. Many chatted to each other as they painted, sharing ideas, complimenting each other’s work and talking about their own experiences of looking up at the night sky. The activity encouraged creativity, confidence and language development, all while allowing the children to explore art in their own way.
Their finished paintings are now displayed around the room, and they have already sparked lots of interest from other children and families. Each piece is unique, and together they make a stunning gallery of our pre-schoolers’ creativity.
