A little textured fun...

with glue!
This project is best done on white paper, card stock, paper plates, etc. I wouldn't bring it out and hope to accomplish it all at one time since there is a lot of drying and waiting to do. What you can do is bring out the glue and the paper and make nifty glue pictures. Set them aside to dry and finish up in a day or so.

What you need:
*white glue that dries clear
*white surface for gluing. Paper plates or heavy paper are perfect
*watercolor works best but tempera will work also
*paint brushes or sponge painters
*containers for paint if using liquid paints
*covered surface for painting
*flat surface to dry artwork

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out your splat mat or cover your work area and pass out the paper or plates. Hand your kidlets a bottle of glue and let them have a go at it. Draw pictures or swirly designs, it is totally up to your wee ones! You can use a pencil to create an outline but know that though the glue covers it when it is wet, once it dries, the pencil lines will show through. *if doing this with toddlers or glue happy kidlets, I pass out tiny glue bottles. Pick up one for each kidlets and refill from a larger bottle. I've noticed that the wee ones will use as much glue as you give them so if you start small and let them know that the glue bottle is theirs and once it is empty it is empty for that project, everything should work out fine unless of course you have a mad happy glue fiend then I suppose patience is your best bet.

Once your kidlets are done with their glue pictures set aside to dry at least until the next day. If I know kidlets, they will have covered their surfaces with super thick gooey piles of the stuff and that takes a long long time to dry! If you need to distract your wee ones from their pictures and they are glue happy and age 4 or up, let them paint a hand with the glue and have a peeling contest. Remember how much fun that was? When the pictures are dry, set out paint and brushes and have your wee ones paint over their glue art. The paint will cover the glue and create a textured design. Experiment with different paint. What does thicker paint do? Watercolor? What about water with a drop of food color in it? Will markers cover the glue? Whatever you do, have fun and let your children be your guide!