tinting primary colors

let them mix paint!

can you paint a flower?

another apple tree (minus the apples)

This tree was a group effort. I cut out the trunk and an assortment of "branches" and popped them onto a tray. After gluing down the trunk onto a large sheet of paper I invited the children over to build an apple tree.


We talked about the trees in our stories (most recently The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree) and I asked if this tree needed some branches. One of the children spied the pile of cut brown paper on the tray and hollered "There are some branches!" And so, armed with glue sticks, the children set to adding branches to the tree.

Once they were satisfied with the branches, I brought out paint (they chose green and yellow) and a couple of stubby dish scrubbers (kind of like this but from the dollar store) to use as stampers for the leaves. They stamped away until lunch time and we hung our tree up to dry before adding our apples. We still have yet to add apples and we might not get to it. I have it tacked up to our easel in case anyone wishes to apple-it-up.

spinning pretty

I had an idea for a crafty preschool project that needed a bit of testing first. After a spin for the project, I let the nephew-a-go-go go for it with my stash of happy paint.

Salad spinner as a painting tool is a favorite of mine. I have done this with twos, threes, fours, fives...sand now a ten year old.

 

 

The simple process of placing the filter or paper into the basket, squeezing the paint onto the paper, placing the lid onto the spinner, and then manually making it all spin uses all sorts of both fine and gross motor skills. We've used three different types of spinners at the preschool and each one offers up a bit of a challenge for each child. The cool part is once they master one spinner, they can move on to a different design.

Once all designs have been mastered, you can extend spin art through dialogue, estimations, and predictions. There's also a slew of art and science words you can use. While the nephew a-go-go was going for it, we discussed how keeping it to three colors would keep the art interesting. We spoke of the color wheel and I introduced complementary colors.

We also talked about placement of the paint and how the paint moves to the edges of the paper. I gave him the term centrifugal force and we then talked about that.

But mostly we squirted paint and spun ourselves silly.

Check out this nifty video on color. Yay for Bill Nye!

Skip to my Lou {Craft Camp}: Circle Circus

 Greetings, friends! Skip to my Lou's Craft Camp is upon us and here is my small contribution to the fun. The beauty of this project is that you can let your kiddos go wild with color or you can limit their color palette to all one color or two colors, complimentary colors or more. You can make this on a L A R G E scale or a teeny tiny scale, it all depends on the circumference (lookie, I have even supplied you with new vocabulary words) of your largest circle. Skip on over for the details!

scrumdilly-do! the year in review.

I hope you enjoyed all the handmade fun we brought to you this year! From cardboard tube kazoos to newspaper pom-poms to fingerprint valentines there was all sorts of crafty fun going on. And to think that I had even more in the works that never got finished. There is always 2012. Thank you more than kindly for following this little blog. I only hope we can grow bigger and better. You support means the world to us. Hope your 2011 was a superb one and happy 2012! 

*you can click through the archives to check out these projects. ya know...if ya like.

Fun with Water, Paper & Paint

The nephew a-go-go (who is 8) is on spring break this week and next, so we've been puttering around making, painting, drawing and crafting stuff. If the nephew had his way, he'd be making alien something or others non-stop but yesterday, the sister a-go-go pulled out a super nifty project from Water Paper Paint by Heather Smith Jones. The project she selected involved drawing with pencil, a large object and within, a smaller object. You then use watercolor to fill in the background and the small object within, leaving the large object as is. We explained to the nephew that this was an exercise and that for this there would be "rules" to follow.

After selecting a piece of watercolor paper (we used all sorts of sizes). He eagerly went to work creating a dragon with a U.F.O. (of course) clasped in its jaws. It was awesome. We gave him a quick lesson in watercolor using liquid watercolors, had him select a paint brush and let him begin.

Now, the boy is a bit of a perfectionist and needless to say, the watercolor was NOT behaving in a pleasing way for him. There was a lot of garumphing and frowning. He sighed the loudest sighs and came this close to tossing the paintbrush and giving up on the whole thing.

He wanted to start over. He NEEDED to start over but mean aunties that we are we said no. But hey, we said it gently. We encouraged him to move slower, to take breaths. We explained how different watercolor was from colored pencils. We pointed out the natural texture that we saw in his brush strokes and complemented him on color choices and he sighed a little more but kept going.

And then he wanted to paint his dragon, which was the LARGE object in his picture and we firmly told him that this exercise did not involve painting the dragon. We told him that he could paint the next dragon but that this one was to not be painted. He was NOT happy with that but I gently told him that this was an exercise. I talked about the difference between simply painting and creating and then creating within limits. I told him that sometimes we get very comfortable with making things we are good at and that working within limits can help us be even more creative. He listened and nodded and continued and made the most awesome painting!

And of course we let him do another and of course he painted his dragon. Actually, he used watercolor pencils on the dragon and then a damp brush to blend. I knew that if he tackled the beast with a wet brush there would have been much anxiety. The cool part is that he really got the hang of it. He talked about how he really liked working with the paint and that he noticed it was different from using pencils. He thought it was a good thing to do the first one as it was practice. I tried to tell him that if we let him paint the first dragon, he then wouldn't have TWO awesome dragon pictures. He even asked his mom if he could stay to finish painting, the boy remained focused and was really proud of his work.

In between it all, we did another project but that is for a different day. So what I mean to share with you is that allowing your kiddos to create for the sake of creating is totally the way to go but sometimes, boundaries too, are a very good thing. Just make sure they match your kiddo's temperament and skill and make sure you explain the reason behind the boundaries.  And if you do decide to do something like this, turn it into a family thing. While the nephew worked on his painting, I, the sister a-go-go and the mama a-go-go also painted and then we looked at how different they were even though we used the same paint, paper and project. Have fun!

make a clothespin menorah

More as a learning and play kind of menorah...no hot fire involved!

Materials:
*nine wooden clothespins
*tempera or acrylic paint
*paintbrushes & water
*splash happy work area
*small cardboard box with the top flaps cut off
*yellow and/orange felt
*scissors
*needle & thread, glue or a sewing machine
*small ruler or tape measure
*paper & pencil optional

scrumdilly-do it:

Set out your supplies making sure to cover your area for easier clean-up.

Have your kidlets paint up each clothespin in the manner that they choose. Go with all one color across the board or have your tots mix up their own colors. You can start with one color and add a little white each go to further tint up the color or add a little black to shade em out. It's all up to you and your young ones.

Snuggle the paint happy clothespins over the edges of the box to dry.

Gather up your felt and measure across the top of an unpainted clothespin to see how wide you need to set your "flames". If you wish, eyeball and do it yourself or turn this into a lesson in measuring and ask your kidlet(s) to give it a try. Practice drawing out some flame shapes on paper that match the measurements you took. When in doubt, a simple triangle will work.

Cut out your flame shapes and then glue and/or stitch them up. You should have nine.

Create the menorah by gluing tissue paper to the outside surfaces of the box you used to dry your clothespins on. Arrange your clothespin candles on top of the boxes' edges and pop a flame on the center one if you choose and proceed to "light" one up each night of Hanukkah. If you find your clothespins slipping down and going all crooked, layer up a couple of pieces of tape to the inside of the box. It shouldn't take much to anchor your candles in place. When you are finished with the menorah play, your kiddos can use the box to store their candles.

**I have a very bad habit of coming up with ideas in the middle of the night which causes much rushing around to write them down. If I were a better planner I would have one notebook with all my notes but I have many and this has been a project floating about for a few years now. Back when I thought of it, I took a cruise round the web to make sure I hadn't appropriated it from anyone else and proceeded. Then, since I took so long to actually make the darn thing I stumbled across this version (also done a few years ago) earlier today. So there you have it. Serendipity and a couple of different takes on making a clothespin menorah.

spinning fireworks

Always entranced with the magic of spin art, it wasn't until I was a summer camp counselor that I got to actually make some. Back then we used an old record player and it was a blast! I do have a working record player but it's reserved for playing records so I kept the idea of spin art stuck in the back of my head keeping an eye out for a player or a salad spinner at the thrift. A few weeks ago I scored my very own salad spinner for $2 and now we're going to make some fireworks!

You will need:
*a working salad spinner
*white paper, paper plates or coffee filters
*liquid water color or watered down tempera or food color
*splat mat (this gets messy)
*pencil
*scissors

scrumdilly-do it:

Make sure your kidlet is in mess friendly clothing. The mess potential on this project is quite high. Most salad spinners have holes or slits along the bottom so it is imperative you acknowledge this and set up in an appropriate place. whatever you do, don't wear white!Take the basket inside your spinner out and trace the bottom/smallest circumference onto your paper. You can also use coffee filters or small paper plates, just find something that fits inside your spinner and you're good to go.Cut out the circle and get ready to spin! I cut out about ten circles. You want to have plenty handy as your kidlet may become entranced with the spinning part of the project.Pop your paper source into the basket and pop the basket back into the spinner.Add a couple of drops of paint (use your favorites, I used red, white & blue for the upcoming holiday), one color per spin, and put the lid back on and spin away. You can get into a nifty science discussion on velocity, speed, centrifugal force, etc. during this part. Spin too hard and too fast, the paper may flip and stick to one side. Spin too slow and your paint may just remain parked where you dropped it. As you are spinning, you can also add paint into the spout on top of the spinner. Depending on your method of application your paint may drip around the edges only or it may splatter to the center. More opportunities for science discussions, it's all good. Just remember if to add one color to start, If you spend too much time adding colors before you spin, the first drops will be absorbed and won't spin or arc out.
When yer done, remove the lid and then the paper and set aside to dry. You can turn these fireworks into all sorts of other project. Hang them from ribbon or string for some festive BBQ decor or fold them into fans to flap away the heat. most of all, have fun!

Nature's Canvas

Fun with pine cones!

I have found that most kidlets get a real kick out of painting things that they wouldn't ordinarily paint. One fun project for fall (or anytime) is to paint pine cones. We collect them year round here at the tiny casa. So, take your kidlet out for a walk and go pine cone gathering. Once you are back home and settled in, have your wee ones paint a pine cone masterpiece!

What you need:
*pincones
*acrylic paint
*glitter
*paint brushes
*clean, paint proof area to work in

scrumdilly-do it!

Set out your supplies and let your wee ones have a blast paint, paint, painting away. Add some glitter to the wet paint for flair...Set your pine cones somewhere to dry and wait.Once they are dry, Let your wee ones decorate the house with them or perhaps load 'em into a bowl for a centerpiece.You can also add string to them and string them along...Oodles of fun can be had and a bowlful of painted pinecones would make for a great homespun gift.

**To kick it up a notch, throw in a few other collagable supplies like feathers, ribbon, pipecleaners and glue and let your kidlets fancy up their pine cones even more. Have fun!

Fun with Squash

This is a fun project for those "I'm bored!" moments.

What you need:
*white pumpkins, any size
*washable paints
*paint brushes
*splat mat or covered surface
*paint brushes

scrumdilly-do it1

Set out paints and brushes for your wee one's. You can use small cups, silicone or disposable cupcake liners, egg cartons or a paint palette. Make sure the area you are going to be working in is covered well. Outdoors would be great for this.Place pumpkins onto work surface and let the fun begin! Note to the pumpkin purchasers, size your pumpkins based on your wee one's attention span. A small pumpkin can be finished within 10 minutes and a larger one up to 20, depending on your kidlets. A miniature pumpkin would be best suited for a toddler but the big kids tend to think they're cute also. Just an idea so that you don't overwhelm your kidlet when you present them with a twenty pounder!
The cool thing about using the washable paints is that if your kidlet is not satisfied with his or her paint job then the pumpkin can be easily washed off. Slate clean! Also, the paint, once dry will be delicate and flake off so each day can bring a new pumpkin! Make sure to keep an eye out for soft spots and add to your compost heap when you are throgh. Oops, or you can carve them for Halloween!