Cold & Snowy

What a blustery cold and snowy day!  As I scrambled to get the kids out the door for school this morning, I was bracing myself against the sleet and slush.  I'm not a huge fan of winter, generally speaking.  But, it always helps to cheer my mood with a little thematic and seasonal project.  Here is a recent project I did with my preschool art students, we called it "A Snowy Day".  If you're trapped inside today, you  may like to try it yourself!

For this project, you will need the following supplies:

2 pieces of blue construction paper, size 12x18

1 piece of brown construction paper, size 5x7

1 piece of dark green construction paper, size 5x7

1 piece of light green construction paper, size 5x7

1 scrap piece of yellow construction paper, size 3x3

white chalk

cotton balls

glue

white paint

Here's the step by step:

From one of the blue pieces of construction paper, cut a wavy line 2-3" high,  leaving 3 sides straight.  Have the child stretch cotton balls into long shreds.  Paint the wavy blue piece of paper with glue and have the child press the cotton shreds onto the paper.  Set aside to dry.

On the large piece of blue construction paper (the un-cut one), give the child a piece of chalk and have them smear it all over the page in any way they would like.  It's a good time to show and explain the difference on drawing a line or shading by manipulating how they hold the chalk.  Spray with a little hairspray once they're done to make the chalk "stick" and not smear additionally.

Give the child the brown and green pieces of paper all at once and have them paint them with white paint.  They can use a brush, q-tips, fingers,  sponge pieces or stamps.  We used round foam stampers.

Once the white paint dries, cut the brown paper into rectangles and cut the green papers into tree shapes. The yellow paper gets cut into a moon shape. It's ok to use cookie cutters or a template to help younger children get the right shape.  Simple triangles and circles would also work well. 

Let the child decide how to arrange the trees and help them glue the pieces into place.  Each child's art will be unique!

Feeling the Love!

The latest project from the art room! These fantastic coffee filter hearts are the perfect way to show some love.  You only need do-a-dot markers, coffee filters, construction paper and scissors.  If you're still making Valentine's today, like we are, check out the TUTORIAL.  I originally saw this come across Pinterest (where else) and thought it would be perfect for my Preschool Picasso's class.  So easy to do! I think the 5-9 age range would be really perfect for these.  They would be better at planning a design, having the patience to hold the dots long enough for bleeding through, and cutting out their own hearts.  I tried this with a 2-5 age group and it still worked, but here were our troubles: most just dotted the page and didn't hold it long enough.  No problem - if you're working with this age group, there is a solution!  After they've finished coloring/dotting the coffee filter, just give them a small spritz bottle and have them spray a little water to make the colors bleed!

Here were my personal favorites:

The ones on green and blue backgrounds needed a little spritzing to make the colors bleed together.  The purple one in the middle did not.  As you can see, it's much more vibrant when done this way but a little patience will be needed to make sure the colors are going all the way through.

Initial Painting

Since the summer, I have eased my way back into work as a preschool teacher at a local rec center.  I have had a blast with science classes, cooking classes, and drawing classes.  But one of my favorite hours of the week is getting messy with some preschoolers during my Preschool Picassos class.  I thought I would share some of our latest projects here!  Some of you may have little ones at home (or be teachers yourselves), so I've included links to my inspiration for each project.  Give them a try!

Student, age 6

Student, age 2



Student, age 3

 As you can see, no matter the age, the project was quite successful! Fool-proof and stress free.  I love the projects that set them up for success instead of failure.  This really required very little  parent help as well. 

Here's how we did it:

Take a large white piece of heavy art paper.  Use blue painters tape to mark out the initial of the child.  Place drops of 2 separate colors on the paper, working in small areas at a time.  We used yellow and blue and talked about how mixing colors and blending them together can make another color...in this case, green! Give them a brush and just turn them loose!

I combined two separate processes that I saw on pinterest.  If you want to view the inspiration links, you can check it out HERE and HERE.

Note: I did not use watercolors.  I preferred the abstract approach but used Crayola washable tempera paints instead of acrylic.

Tips for parents: Remember it's "their" work.  It's OKAY to let them do it....their way.  It will turn out great, promise.  And the mess will clean up....promise.

Now, off the computer for me...it's time to go make some turkeys with these little artists!

BOOK REVIEW!

 Art Is Every Day: Activities for the Home, Park, Museum, and City by Eileen S. Prince,

Another review for Washington Family Magazine but this time I wasn't so nice.  I'm nothing if not honest, and this time I feel like my honesty makes me sound like a meanie.  But, so it is.  I was not a fan of this book at all.  I wanted to be.  I wanted to like it, really I did.  But no, it was a snoozer.  Sorry!  Check out the full review here...

Art Is Every Day Doesn’t Make the Grade