landscapes with preschoolers

For our week of We're Going on a bear Hunt, the plan was to create a landscape for each element in our story. But we all know how sometimes things do not always go the way planned so we only got to two landscapes but really it was because the children had so much fun with the paint and supplies. We did tackle mud and snow through our sensory bins using potting soil from our yard, and insta-snow in the classroom. For the record, I am not a fan of the insta-snow, it's a sensory thing for me....ack!

Here a small selection of what the children created. Some were painted up on our easel, some at our art center, some a little of both. The green landscapes were made with paint and crepe party streamers. I had put the paint out in small cups with a variety of paintbrushes (some too large for the cups!) to see what the children would do. The blue landscapes all have the added element of epsom salts, clear glitter, and plastic wrap. Some of the landscapes were painted with our tempera paint while others were painted with our liquid watercolors.

painting on a sphere**

squeeze bottles full of gluey paint

toy ball glued to cardboard (sand ball to rough the surface up)

give a big squeeze

adding more colors

it's all about the squeezing

masterpiece at rest

don't forget to add a large piece of paper underneath

preschool psychedelic

a little less spectacular once dry but still happy

     

**please note, if using these plastic dollar store balls, please give it a once over or two with a sheet of sand paper otherwise the paint just slips off. a wood sphere is more porous and holds paint better but if you are using what you have use some sandpaper to rough it up a bit!

painting christmas trees on the easel

I put out paint in Christmas Tree colors at our easel. I asked if the children wanted to paint a picture of a Christmas tree. This is what I found on the easel, star on top and all.

revisiting art through a straw

 I got to hang out with the nephew a-go-go this week and when we hang out, we get to painting. We pulled out the watercolors and got to it. I made pages of color while he worked carefully on robots from the Real Steel. After a while he asked me if I knew how to paint by blowing and I said sure thing, so out came the straws and little pieces of scrap watercolor and we got to it.

 

With our hot pink straws we blew paint this way and that way. The nephew worked on making painty "blood" splotches (he is nine after all) while I experimented with color.

 

As we worked on the best techniques the nephew showed me a new one. Dip straw into liquid watercolor (or watered down tempera) and place finger over the top to create a vacuum of sorts. With finger over top of straw, bring over to paper and release. Paint will blob onto paper and you can blow away!

 

After we finished, I sprinkled regular old table salt all over my painting and set aside to dry. With a whisk of the hand, the salt was liberated and a happy new picture was displayed!

Ta-da!

Last Minute Halloween Fun

Or anytime fun...make clothespin zombies!

Materials:
*wooden craft clothespins (not the pinchy kind)
*acrylic or tempera paint
*plastic lids or paint trays
*markers
*glue
*fabric
*scissors
*food color or liquid watercolor
*water
*paintbrushes
*small box or thin lipped bowl or container
*thin cardboard or cardstock

scrumdilly-do it:
Set out your supplies and make zombies!Start with a coat of paint...get yer kiddos to mix their own zombie green. To dry between paint layers we tucked our zombie pins onto the side of a cardboard box. The space between the "legs" fits perfectly over the sides. If you do not have a box use a plastic cup, bowl or container.
When paint is dry, add clothes and other bits. Get creative! We used all sorts of cardboard, tacks, fabric & paper. Don't forget arms! Some of our zombie arms were made from painted cardboard while others were twisted from wire. Twist ties might work for this as well.Add bits of cut up gauze or cheesecloth to make your zombies "authentic". Don't forget a dab of fake blood. We made ours using liquid watercolor and glue. A good set of craft clothespins will have a nice solid bottom so they will stand on their own. We added cardboard feet and squares to counterbalance our arms and other bits. And of course, this is not limited to zombies. We made aliens, vampires, bees and the living dead. Happy Halloween!

DIY calaca for Dia de los Muertos!

Here's a nifty way to double up on festive October fun by repurposing your Halloween skelly into a calaca for Di a de los Muertos!

Materials:
*paper jointed skeleton
*white paint
*puff paint and/or glitter paint
*salt (optional)
*markers, including a black permanent marker
*paintbrushes
*container of water
*paper towels, rags or newspaper

scrumdilly do it!
Set out your paper skelly on a tabletop that has been prepped for paint and fun. If you wish to double the use of your skelly, flip it over so that the back side points and and the printed side is facedown. If your skelly is jointed, arrange it into a happy dance party position. Once you paint it, the paint will seal in the joints so your skeleton will be "frozen" "in whichever position s/he was when you started.Hand your child a paintbrush and have them paint the whole shebang with white paint. Set aside to dry and give it another coat if you can still see the original print through the paint. You may wish to leave a little shadow of the print to help you line up eye holes and such but it isn't necessary. If you paint the back of the skeleton it's all up to you so have fun!Once dry, use a black marker to outline some general shapes to the skeleton. Ink in the eyes and define the arms, legs and ribcage. Here are some pics of Day of the Dead skeletons to use as inspiration. After you have filled in the black, break out the puff paint and markers and art your skelly up!If your puff paint is too watery, sprinkle your paint blobs with salt. The salt will hold the paint in place and add a spiffy texture to the overall look. You can of course, get all fancy and use glitter and glue or glitter paints.Set aside to dry and hang in a happy place when ready. Take care after the holidays to pack it up so you can use it again and again!

Happy Holidays!

another three part project

Just for fun!
I have no name for this project but it can take a while to complete so may be good to bust out when the "I'm bored" chant begins. It also makes for a fun collaborative project if your tots are all levels of ages and developments.

You will need:
One color of dark paint (tempera or acrylic)
White paint (tempera or acrylic)
Paintbrushes
Large sheet of heavy white paper
Paint friendly area
Markers (make sure yer kidlet is ready for these)

scrumdilly-do it!
Grab your sheet of paper and your dark color of paint and have your kidlet cover the entire sheet. You can use a couple of shades here and let yer kidlet mix them up but the idea is to create a solid background. Set aside to dry.Set out the white paint and have your kidlet paint an outline of a picture or shape or design on top of the painted background. Use a fat brush here, you will want the outline to be at least and inch thick. Set aside to dry.Bust out the happy markers and have your wee one doodle, design and draw all along the white paint. Use one color family or mix it up. Try using just black. The idea is to have fun, practice patience and let yer imagination loose. Try it with outlines of large shapes or maybe a silly face. Let your wee one come up with the next step. It's all about the process here.*crayola or kid friendly markers will work on the white paint but their colors will be muted. If your tots are older or you're totally chill about the permanent kind, go ahead and bust those out as they add more pop to the project.

100 Days of School!

I know we're on the cusp if not day of for those who celebrate it but check out this awesome project that my good friend, the A-boy did. It was so cool that we had to do another one with Miss Za. As you can see, Miss Za did a most awesome job herself! 100 squares of color! The A-boy did his on a large piece of matte board while Miss Za did hers on the backside of holiday craft-paper gift wrap. Looks awesome either way and I think I need to do this one myself! Thank you to the A-boy and his parents for letting me "steal" this project.

No instructions save for the pictures. Happy 100 Days of School (and did ya know, it's my birthday today! I'm not yet quite 100 years old)! For a list of nifty school, teacher and 100 Days books, click here!