This Messy Art Day gives us (teachers) a window into the children’s thought processes. Who dabs the paint to make a star? Who smears the paint? Who mixes the colors in the star and who likes to keep the colors separate? Who focuses or takes their craft very seriously? Who uses this activity for more social engagement? By observing the process children engage in while making art–especially over different kinds of art projects–we learn so much about their social and artistic proclivities, their preferred level of tidiness, their sequencing abilities and preferences, and their levels of patience with themselves.