Sand Paper Castles - Little Kid Art Project

Life has been quite busy lately so I haven't been posting projects as regularly as we have been making them. One project that we did were sand paper castles. The project was a great success so I made sure to snap a few pics. About a week later I saw this Kiwi Crate post... I guess great minds think alike.

Theme: Summer, The Beach, Sand Castles

Book Ideas: A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams, Hamsters to the Rescue by Ellen Stoll Walsh, The Sand Castle Contest by Robert Munsch (older kids)

Materials:
Heavy Grit Sandpaper (1 sheet should be enough for 4 - 6 kids)
Background Picture (we found this stock pic) or plain paper works too
Glue Stick
Adults and Big Kids get to use Scissors

Prep: If using one, print picture to use as background. Cut sandpaper into simple geometric shapes in a variety of sizes no greater than 3". Be sure to create a few semi-circles for bridges and narrow rectangles for towers.

Activity: Each kid gets a background, a glue stick and several castle pieces. Design your own castle! Does it have a draw bridge? A moat? Towers with high spires? Maybe there is more than one on your beach. Let your inner architect play!

Notes/Tips: Bigger kids can cut their own pieces. This can easily be a scrapbook page project used along with photos from your own day at the beach.

Peek-a-boo Crab - Toddler Art Project

Peek-a-boo Crab

Age: 18 Months - 5 Years (younger ones need more supervision)

Time: 10 min (+ Prep)

Theme: Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Sea Creatures

Books: A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carl, Hamsters to the Rescue by Ellen Stoll Walsh (somewhat long so better for older kids)

Materials:

Red Construction Paper
Craft (popsicle) sticks
Reinforcement Labels (little donut shaped stickers used to reinforce pages in ring binders)
3oz Paper Cups (‘bathroom’ size)
Glue Sticks
Adults get to use Scissors, Pinking Sheers & Exacto Knife

Prep: Cut out crab bodies and claws from the red paper. By folding a full sheet in quarters like an M you should be able to make 4 bodies and 4 sets of claws per sheet. The claws should look a little like a lollypop when they are first cut, then the pinking sheers  are used to cut out the ‘pinchers’. All parts are cut with the fold at the top so that they ‘match’ easily. Prep the cups by cutting two small parallel slits in the bottom of each cup with an exacto knife. The resulting hole should be just large enough for the craft stick to slide through.

Activity: Each child gets a crab body, claws, a craft stick, and a glue stick. Put glue all over the ‘inside’ of the crab body. Place the arms near the bottom of the body then fold the body over the stick.  Trade in the glue stick for a paper cup and 2 labels (for eyes). Add the labels for eyes. Gently fold the crabs arms forward so that he appears to be clapping, then slide the stick into the hole in the cup. The crab should be able to ‘hide’ in the cup, then peek over the rim by pulling the stick up and down through the bottom of the cup.

 Notes/Tips: By including the step of trading the glue stick for the eyes and cup, the glue has an extra minute to dry. This will help prevent the crabs from pulling off the stick in case of an overly zealous first round of ‘peek-a-boo’.  To make this a ‘big kid’ project, add different colors of paper and only prep the cups. Demonstrate the technique of creating a ‘body’ then challenge the kids to create their own ‘peek-a-boo’ characters. (Aliens work great!)

Ephemerality - Starring my NJ Mermaid!!!!

Mr. All-In-Time (aka my Sweet Sig-Other) has been composing again, and for his newest piece Ephemerality he decided to use photos of the mermaid I carved in the sand in the accompanying video.

NJ Mermaid

Maybe it is because it is still new to me having grown up up inland, but I love drawing in the sand then watching the waves wash it away. It feels like a collaboration between the earth, the ocean and me...

Thank you Dan for documenting <3