Pre-school Mural

In the pre-school where I work, there is a great big yard. It's perfect for running around, playing soccer and cycling bikes. The kids love being outside, and so we tend to wander out there often.

But it's grey. It's all grey. From the concrete ground (seemingly less dangerous than grass in terms of cross-contamination. Thanks for that, Health Board, that's really using your noggins), to the bare block walls, it's stoney, dull grey.

And so, this summer, armed with a whole tonne of paint and some very willing volunteers, I painted a mural!

To start with, we painted the wall white. This was to cover the children's attempt at painting a mural. I'm sorry children! But remember when we planned out what you'd like to paint, like dinosaurs, your little brother, flowers and the moon? And remember when you then simply painted brown squares on the wall? Loads of brown squares, forming one giant dark brown square? Yeah.
We painted it white.

And then, I started to draw on the outline. (Well there was the whole other thing, where we got caught in a freak storm and we were trapped inside for two hours and all the paint got blasted off the walls and we had to start all over again but THAT'S IN THE PAST)

Drawing the outline was extremely daunting. I also decided not to pencil it in first, because that would take a long time, and would be boring, and I get bored easily. Once I got started, it wasn't so bad!

I decided on a fairly simple theme of 'the seasons' and I drew a picture across the wall of the change in nature from Autumn to Summertime.

And as I drew, Laura and Leighanne (and one day, for a small while, my boyfriend Stephen) coloured it in behind me! It looked great, and we had such a laugh as we worked away, stopping every 15 seconds for Cake Breaks.

I joined in, colouring bits and bobs, but soon it was time to go back to work for a new term. And so I went back inside the classroom. But Laura and Leigh, the legends that they are, sat out in the sunshine painting away, while I occasionally passed them out cups of tea and offered them crackers and raisins (they politely declined)

And then it was done!

And we were so proud.

The bunnies are my favourite. Also, please excuse my stupid thumb in the duckling picture, but I couldn't not include them because they're awesome.

The kiddies love it, and it certainly brightens my day every time I pull in to work. And then someone I knew walked past and took our photo. HOORAY!