Turn, Turn, Turn Top - Little Kid Art Project

Turn, Turn, Turn Tops

Age: 18 Months - 8 Years or older (younger ones need more supervision)

Time: 15 min (+ lots more time playing with them!)

Theme: Color Mixing, Games

Books: White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker, Color Dance by Ann Jonas

Materials:

8” Round Cake Board (the cardboard base that bakeries use under their cakes)

Crayons*

Glass Beads (also called gems – they ones that are flat on one side)

Adults get to us a Hot Glue Gun

Prep: Set out the materials and plug in the hot glue gun safely out of reach

Activity: Each child gets a cake board and crayons. Decorate it any way you like! The ADULT then glues a glass bead to the center of the bottom. As soon as the glue cools, spin your top!

Notes/Tips: Ask you child what happened when their design was spinning. Challenge bigger kids to create a design that creates an optical illusion (like a spiral) or to experiment with the placement of the bead.

*The waxy surface of some cake boards resists crayon. If you want more vibrant colors try a student grade oil pastel (cray pas) or Crayola Construction Paper Crayons.  

Simple Science - Ice

What do you do with a 12"+ block of solid ice? 

Science of course! 

In case you had trouble following that, the Figlet decided the block of ice needed to go, but how... First she tried hitting it with a hammer. Then she tried something with a brick (though she's not sure what). When neither of these were working quickly enough, she enlisted my help putting it at the top of a ladder and rolling it off. To round out the effort I brought her some table salt and food coloring that were liberally applied. The results were pretty cool!

(If you were wondering what that rumbling sound was on the video, we live by an elevated train.) 

Letter Recognition Activity with Water Colors

One of the things we have been working on this summer is letter recognition - by sound, sight and name. 

An activity we tried that was a lot of fun was an Alphabet Seek and Find that I designed (sort of like the activity I wrote about here).

I prepared a 12 x 18 paper by dividing it into 2" squares in white crayon, then entered the letters of the alphabet, her name, numbers 1 - 12, etc. also in white crayon. Then she used watercolors to 'discover' what was hidden on the paper.

As she went along we came up with words that started with each letter, guessed what letter could be found next - sometimes skipping ahead a few spaces and guessing what letter and numbers would be there - And of course it was great practice for fine motor skills and color mixing too.

Watercolor Seek & Find

 

The Figlet has been enjoying hide-and-seek more than ever lately, so the last time we got out the water colors we made a little game of it.

 

I used a white crayon to draw hearts all around the paper before I gave it to her for painting. She was delighted every time she found one!

Things That You Can Paint With - Creative Discovery Toddler Style

 

Painting has been the Figlet's art activity of choice lately.
To keep things interesting, she has been testing out the
marks she can make with all kinds of things....
 

Feathers

 

Sponge, Onion Bag, Marbles & Beads

 

Fingers & Fake Flowers

 

Spool, TP Tube, Brushes

 

Foam Sticker Stamps

 



Brushes & Burlap

 

There is such joy in discovery!

 

"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?" Howard Ikemoto

 

 

Decorating Gift Bags with DIY Foam Stamps

 

 

Decorating Gift Bags with DIY Foam Stamps

 

I love this project because it is great for a wide range of ages. The samples shown were done by the elementary school kids I work with.

 

We used:

Paper bags (mine had handles but not required)

Foam sheets (any color - scraps are fine)

Chipboard (aka cereal box cardboard)

Paint

Paintbrushes

Glue sticks

Scissors

 

How we made the stamps:

Cut out foam shapes

Most everyone used a lot of little pieces to make their image

Glued them to the chipboard to make a design

Some kids tried to make words. This is harder than it looks because the words and the letters have to be backwards!

 

How we printed the bags:

We used paint brushes to put paint onto the foam so we could use different colors at the same time

Pressed them onto our bags, then lifted carefully

Did it again and again

Let them dry

Printed the other side

 

If we do it again we will:

Have lots of big paper to print matching wrapping paper

Have feathers and glitter and buttons and other fun stuff to add after they are dry

Plan different designs together & share our stamps

 

 

 

 

Messy Art - The Fun Is In The Making

Most of the toddler art projects that I post here are relatively low on the mess scale. Glitter, paint, even liquid glue are rare items on the materials list. Just so no-one gets the wrong idea thinking that art has to be neat, here is what went on in our kitchen tonight:

I taped paper to the floor then put liberal

gobs of paint in an old lunch tray.

She painted with her fingers

And with her toes

And when she had had enough,

she headed off for a much needed bath

While her masterpieces were left to dry.

Simple Science

Old School Lunch Tray, Baking Soda, Vinegar, Food Coloring

and 2 Plastic Spoons...

 

 

Cause and Effect, Fine Motor Skills, Color Mixing...

I loved watching her face as she was experimenting!

Paint My Wings So I Can Fly - Paper Plate Butterfly

Paint My Wings So I Can Fly - Paper Plate Butterfly

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

Time: 15 min (+ Prep)

Theme: Butterflies

Books: Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Materials:

Large paper plates

Water Colors (or other kid friendly paints)

Dark Colored Pipe Cleaners

Adults get to use Scissors & Hole Punch

Prep: Fold the plate in half then cut a scalloped edge on the folded side. (The result should be two pieces that look a little like a pair of kidney beans.) With the pieces still facing each other, punch two holes about 2” apart on the rounded edge of the plate.

Activity: Each child gets a Pair of wings (cut plate) and paints to decorate them with. Encourage kids to mix colors, paint both sides, experiment! When they are finished painting, give the plates a few minutes to dry. (Hint – kids love to wash brushes almost as much as they love paint!) With a little help from an adult, ‘stitch’ the wings together with the pipe cleaner, leaving the long ends to become antenna. Take your butterfly on a flower finding adventure!

Notes/Tips: For ease of clean-up, cover the workspace with newspaper in advance and provide a paper towel to each kid to use as they work. Crayons can also be used instead of paints for an even lower mess factor.  

Rainbow Me - Toddler Art Project

I have been volunteering at our local library with the little kids for about 10 months. We read books, sing songs, do crafts, wiggle around, and generally having a good time. I ran the Toddler Story Time during the 5 month gap between Juvenile Librarians, and now that they have a Kids Librarian again, I am a general helper and lead all of the art projects. I plan to share a 'how to' for some of the more successful projects that we do. When I remember, I will let you know what books we read with them too.

Rainbow Me!

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

Time: 15 min (+ Prep)

Theme: Color Mixing

Books: Mouse Paint, Blue Chicken and Little Blue and Little Yellow

Materials:

Water Color Paper (Other paper will work - I used Blotter Paper because it is what I had on-hand - the key is that it is absorbent and does not tear easily when wet)

Permanent Marker

Silhouette Pattern

Bleeding Tissue Paper (Note - Not all tissue paper bleeds. You can test what you have or just pick some up at a craft store)

Q-Tips

Water Cup with TINY bit of water

Heart Stickers (Optional)

Prep: Cut each sheet of paper in half (1 for each child). On each (half) sheet, using the Permanent Marker trace a simple silhouette of a person - I used one from a previous project, but you can find your own online like this one of an adult and kid: http://comps.canstockphoto.com/can-stock-photo_csp5345644.jpg 

Activity: Each child gets a paper with a silhouette, a q-tip and a water cup. Rip off small bits of tissue paper, place them on the silhouette, then dab them with the wet q-tip. The color from the tissue paper will 'bleed' onto their person. Add a heart sticker a finishing touch.

Notes/Tips: If you use 2 paper plates - one for dry tissue paper and one for the wet scraps - your clean-up will be easier. The tissue paper will stain little fingers, but it washes off after a soapy scrub or two - and it a LOT less messy than paint!