press here collages

Another year, another group of awesome collages inspired by the book Press Here. I wish I had photos of the set up (it was a provocation), but the kiddos jumped right in and I had no time to grab the camera! I had the materials at the art table all pretty and laid out but I think it was the glue stick that drew them in. Either way, our collages are up on our art wall making the classroom an extra cheery space!

For more Press Here inspiration click here, here, and here! Have fun!

press here: 6 ideas for play

Here are some of the fun things we had set up in our classroom for our week of Press Here.

*color sorting pom poms into polka dot containers

*pom pom, buttons, and circle picks in playdough. 

*making pom pom slime in the classroom

*Press Here inspired dot collage

*pom pom magnet play

*painting with primary colors on the easel

art inspired by press here

We spent a week exploring circles and primary colors for our week of Press Here by Hervé Tullet. As a part of our weekly journal art we made spotty collages on small sheets of paper that were six inches square. We began doing our art directly into our journals but I have found that the pages are too large for the children to focus on so we shrunk down the work surface for them to fill.

Kiddos used glue sticks to layer and stick their circles of choice to their paper. Some of our circles were punched at the art table by the kiddos themselves while others were prepunched by me from various scrapbook papers and some painted newspaper.

painting on a sphere round 2

Howdy! Last year's painting on a sphere project was so fun I had to do it again (with a few tweaks). This year while we did mix it up a little, we kept the basics the same. Last year we used cardboard, this year a large sheet of foam core cut into six inch squares worked as our base. Instead of a waxy ball we used a flat bottomed wooden sphere from the craft store. I glue the spheres down ahead of time and set each bit up on a sheet of wax paper in a tray that had an edge  (such as a cookie sheet) as the kiddos love to squeeze as much paint as they possibly can.

 

 

To paint on a sphere or a cube or a car or some other object all you need is a sturdy base to secure the item to, a couple of squeeze bottles, wax paper, a cookie sheet or tray with a lip, and tempera paint or acrylic paint.

 

Adhere the item to be painted to your base with a strong glue (we used Tacky Glue). Place base and item on top of a sheet of wax paper in a tray. Fill your bottles only half way (kiddos will squeeze as much as they have) and try for colors that will mix well together such as blue, yellow, and green. Once you set it all up call your kiddo to the table, grab a camera and let the fun begin.

When it is time to let the art dry, set it in a dry sunny window if you can and allow to dry overnight. The next day, peel off the wax paper and flip over to allow the wet paint on the bottom to dry (use another clean sheet of wax paper under the art to keep your surfaces paint free).

If your kiddo gets a wee bit too enthusiastic filling the tray with paint up to the brim, gather up a fresh tray with a sheet of wax paper on it and transfer the painty mess on over. Set the now paint filled tray onto the table, at a sheet of paper and a couple of paintbrushes and have a painting party.

 

We're still adding to our spheres six weeks later (they now weigh at least three pounds each). Please note, the paint will most probably dry darker than it was when wet and often it will crack which is why I take oodles of photos of the process. The children love to do their squeezy art and i love watching them squeeze away!