Circle Crayon and Watercolor Resist

Learning is an on-going event around our house.  S is never quite able to escape the clutches of her teacher and former art teacher mother.  I always try to find unique ways to turn learning into something fun... usually art related.  For this project, I simply had in mind to practice some fine motor skills seasoned with a little shape recognition.

As always, the learning came prior to creating the art.  We set out on a “circle hunt” around the house.  We scoured the each room high and low, finding circular objects hidden among our lives.  There were circles disguised as the legs of our coffee table, drawer pulls on an end table, and glasses in the cupboard.  S loved turning it into a game!  We also snuggled up and read books about shapes, focusing on the pages that told us about circles.

 

Now time for the fun... here is what you will need:

white paper (any size)
assorted crayons
watercolor paints
brush
cup with water

First, start by having your child use the crayon to draw circles all over his/her paper.  Make sure they press really hard to ensure that you will be able to see it through the watercolor.  Here is where S got a little distracted and began drawing faces all over her paper.  As I let her continue with her own artistic vision, I drew circles of all sizes and colors on my own paper.  I would recommend this as well.  When your child is done with the crayons.  Place the paint, brush, and cup with water out for them to use.  They will be painting on the same paper with the circles you drew with crayon.  Try to encourage your child to paint different colors inside of the circles.  However, if that is not their style, no need to worry.  The idea of this project is that the crayon will resist the watercolor paint and you will be able to see it through the watercolor paint.  Let your child continue to paint until they think their artwork is done.  Set aside to dry.

There you have it!  A simple project packed full of learning.  Of course this project could be done with any shape or letter.

Sweet Little Love Notes

I hadn't really discussed Valentine's Day too much with S.  She knew that it was a day that we are kind and loving to each other.  More of what she knew is that we send little notes to our friends to tell them we love them.  With the snow falling outside, the time seemed just right to pull out all of the crafting supplies and make those little love notes to our friends.  I didn't indulge her in the commercial store bought valentines.  Instead, I encouraged S to hand make each one.  And that she did.  She had a specific person in mind for each one she created.  I simply cut a square piece of paper for her and I let S's imagination do the rest.  With a table filled with stickers, markers, glue, and papers of all colors, she set to work on each little masterpiece.  We spent over an hour at the table as S put on stickers, wrote names and notes, colored little pictures for each of her friends.  In the days that followed, S continued to make little love notes to friends and family.  Finally, with a stack of about 15 valentines, we set off to the post office to mail each one to it's destination.  Each of those envelopes were filled with love.  Prior to that quiet, snowy morning, my feelings about Valentine's Day were luke warm at best, but as text messages of those who had received S's little love notes started coming in, my heart started to warm.  I love that a thoughtful little piece of art can change someone's whole day.  The crooked little heart that was made just for me still hangs on my fridge as a reminder of love.

B is for Beach

After a recent vacation to Florida, my daughter, S, only wanted to talk about the beach, water, fish, swimming, seagulls, and anything beach related.  We checked out books from the library, looked up pictures on the Internet, and of course made some beachy themed art.

I tried to come up with a project that would capture the essence of our family vacation, while being simple enough for her stay engaged in.  I love this project because it truly can take on any form that you wish.  I'll explain the technique that we use... but by all means, adapt, shape, form, and make it your own.

My whole idea for this project was to add some texture to our art.  We took a collage approach by using a lot of different materials.  Our project used sand, glue, tissue paper, and watercolors.  You can substitute any of the materials depending on what you have.  I first started by dividing the paper into three parts with a black marker; sand, water, and sky.

It was a beautiful summer afternoon, so I decided that this project would best be done outside.  We gathered our materials and headed to our back porch.  We just happened to have a pile of sand, so I had S gather some sand in her bucket and bring it over with the rest of our supplies.  Next, I had S apply glue all over the bottom third of the paper.  I then showed her how to sprinkle the sand all over the glue.  Inevitably she ended up dumping the whole bucket of sand on the paper!  I showed her how it magically stuck to the paper where it stuck to the glue by shaking off the excess sand.  Of course this captivated her attention, so I quickly found an empty cereal box, cut it open and let her glue and pour some more.  I believe that it is important to let kids explore and experience as much as possible, so I will often have other similar projects planned or let S continue to investigate the many possibilities that the materials have to offer.  So while she played with glue and sand on the cereal box, I set aside her paper to dry in the sun.  By the time she was done playing, she was ready to paint.  You may also have to do this project in two sessions if your child has lost interest by the time the glue has dried.  I had S remember what colors she remembers seeing when she looked at the ocean.  She told me she remembered blue, green, orange, and purple... pretty good memory!  She picked those colors to paint her water.  My intention was to use tissue paper for the sky to give a textured feel.  However, S was done with the beach picture, so we stopped there.

If you choose to do the beach, think about other things you could collage onto this as well... I am thinking buckets in the sand, birds in the sky, and boats in the water.... all of which happen to start with the letter B! Of course, my two year old was done and I chose to respect that.  We could have gone back and added more, but I felt that the project was done for us.

Up next... B is for bugs!

 

The Letter A

There is no escaping art in my house!  As an artist and teacher, my daughter, S,  is constantly subjected to learning through art.  Although, I don't think she has many complaints... any mention of paint or glue and she is already riffling through the art bins.  After much pressure from my Facebook friends, I am finally making the art that my daughter and I do public.  As my daughter gets a little bit older, I have been trying to focus on letters and numbers through art. 

I rarely do my art projects in isolation because, if you recall, I am a teacher.  These little art projects are a part of a larger learning that I provide for my daughter.  Which means I seek out books, use ABC mouse, and find other little things that compliment our art.  However, this blog will focus solely on the art... I will leave the rest up to you!   

Our first adventure was with the letter A.  I tried to pick things that S liked and recognized.  The three projects that we did for the letter A were apple, ant, and alligator.  We completed the projects over the course of the week (because we all know how long a two year old's attention span is!)

Project #1:  "A is for Apple"

Materials:
Apple
Paper
Paper plates
Paint - we used red and green

Now here comes the fun part!  If your child is impatient like mine... you may want to get set up while they are playing or napping.  Cut the apple in half; make a handle in your apple by cutting quarter slices from the top.  Leave the middle in tact for a handy, dandy handle.  Pour the paints on the paper plates.  If you want to avoid mixing the paints, put one color per plate.  Okay, now it is time to step back and let your little do the rest.  You can demonstrate on another piece of paper how to make the print by dipping the apple into the paint.  But, let them explore, think, and create in their own way.  I am a firm believer that it is the process in which art takes and not always the final product.  Enjoy watching your child use the materials and have fun.  The final product may be messy, sloppy, and not at all what you envisioned... but isn't that the beauty of it?

You can reinforce the concept of "A is for Apple" by talking about it, reflecting on the process, and discussing what their favorite part was.  I am not looking for an in-depth conversation here, but you'd be surprised what your little is capable of in terms of an art critique. 

Project #2:  "A if for Ants"


Materials:
Paint
Paper
Toilet paper roll or other round object
Paper plates
Black marker or black crayon

If your child is anything like my daughter, then they are fascinated by those little bugs that seem to be everywhere!  Ants inhabit a larger portion of our backyard despite our best efforts to get rid of them.  My daughter loves to watch them, torture them, and squash them.  Thus my inspiration for our next project.  

This little project will need to be done in two sessions to allow the paint to dry in between steps.  Let your child choose 3 or 4 colors of paint that they would like to work with.  Pour the paints onto a paper plate (I didn't really care about mixing this time).  I demonstrated for S on a separate piece of paper how to dip the toilet paper roll into the paint that then to press it onto the paper.  Once she had the idea, there was no stopping her, soon her paper was filled with circles of all colors.  I gave her a few more pieces of paper because she still wanted to paint.  This worked out perfect because it allowed for the other one to dry.  

Fast forward to after drying time... 

Now if you remember this project was supposed to be about ants.  I placed the first piece of paper with all of the beautiful circles on it and told my daughter we were going on an ant hunt.  We looked for where three circles met up and traced them with the black marker.  Depending on your child and your willingness to put a marker in their hands, you may want to draw the circles for them.  Find as many little ants as you can.  My daughter is an expert face drawer, so I put her in charge of giving all of the little ants a face.  We also added antennae and legs to our little insect friends.

 
 
Project #3:  "A is for Alligator" 

Materials:
Green colored paper
Assorted small green "things"
Glue
Scissors

This project became the perfect example of things not going exactly as I had planned, but I just rolled with it and I actually was quite pleased with the final product.  S is very much an artist in her own right.  She had a vision for how she wanted her art to look, so who was I to argue?  

You'll probably want to prep this part ahead of time... First collect some small green things for your child to glue onto the alligator.  Your things can be torn up tissue paper, sequins, pom-poms, bottle caps, yarn, etc.  Next, you'll want to cut out the letter A with teeth from the green paper.  I drew out the letter A first (think bubble letters) and then added triangles all along the inside portion of the A.  The negative space at the top of the A will be the alligator's eye.  Once you turn it sideways you'll see it take shape.  

Invite your little to join in on the fun now.  Again, I reinforced the letter, and told S that we were going to make an alligator.  She could already see the alligator with the teeth.  I placed the materials in front of her and told her she could glue whatever she wanted to the alligator.  Now in hindsight, I wish I would have separated out only green things (that's where it didn't go according to plan).  However, it still turned out great.  I only helped minimally with the glue... making sure there wasn't one large glob of glue all over the entire alligator.  

  
Stayed tuned for more art projects for wee little artists... Up next:  The Letter B!