Joyfully Weary

These pictures are from last spring; I just never got around to posting them. I, however, just added this activity to our to-do calendar for this week. It's one of those art activities that we do almost every year. It's simple, process oriented, and one that kids will enjoy no matter their age. 

Mini Man and Little Lady are constantly asking me what two colors blended together will make, so right before Saint Patrick's Day we decided to make some blended rainbows.  Our Supplies : coffee filters, glue, scissors, cotton balls, q-tips, and red, yellow, & blue liquid water colors. You can make your own liquid watercolors out of some old markers  or food coloring, water, and a tiny bit of vinegar works too.

Marble painting* is one of my favorite go to crafts . It's quick to throw together, easy enough for toddlers, and yet engaging enough for school agers. Last week the kids and I decided to spice marble painting up a bit by super-sizing the fun. Instead of just one person rolling marbles and paint around in a cake pan we worked in teams and used a few big boxes. 

It's been crazy windy here lately, and since we just finished up a weather unit  I thought it would be fun to make a wind-theme craft. We go through a ton of orange juice in a week and I have started to save some of the cartons for crafts. They'll make great buildings or boats someday but we started out with wind-spinners.  Our Supplies: orange juice carton, spray primer, x-acto knife, acrylic paint, brushes, twine Step #1: prepare carton by applying one coat of primer. Once primer has dried use an x-acto knife to cut a door in every side (make sure all doors open in the same direction). Also use x-acto knife to cut a small string hole at the top of the carton. *this step should be done by an adult Step #2: paint all sides of the carton Step #3: once paint has dried, thread twine through hole and knot, then hang your wind-spinner.  Here is a closer look at our finished wind-spinners. The kids have really enjoyed watc...

One of my children's favorite art activities is to make collages. About once a week I pull out the scraps box and they glue whatever/however they want down on a piece of scrap cardboard. It's an open ended activity and it's fun to see their creativity go in different directions. Last week however, an activity from the book   Arty Facts Weather and & Art Activities inspired us to make a more specific design: strormscapes.  i think they did a pretty a great job.  Our Supplies*:  various paints (acrylic grey & silver, glitter glue, and grey & black puffy fabric paint), white glue, foam brush, scissors, foam board, aluminum foil, silver tissue paper, gold pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and tape. *our supplies are a bit different from the ones listed in the book because we improvised and made do with the items we had on hand.  Step 1: form storm clouds by gluing cotton balls, foil, and tissue paper to the top of your board. Be...

We have yet to see any flowers in our neighborhood but I'm anxious for their arrival. While we wait I thought it be fun to craft some of our own.  I spied  Sugar Aunts' tulip craf t on Pinterest  and knew my kids would enjoy creating something similar. To get them inspired we read one of my favorite children's books, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Elbert. Our Supplies: scissors, egg carton, acrylic paint ,  foam brushes , sharpened pencil, green pipe cleaners , white glue, & basket filler/shredded paper . You can use tempera paint but when painting on cardboard  I prefer to use acrylic because it provides a better coverage and the color is much more vibrant. Using a foam brush also helps produce better coverage.  *you'll noticed our basket filler changed from brown to green. i couldn't find the green when we started and then discovered that one of the kids had hid it in their drawer.  Step #1: remove and discard lid of...

I've never been very good at remembering to send out birthday cards, but I'm determined to train my children differently. I want them to develop that habit of celebrating others - to be conscious of the importance of letting others know they are loved.  While working in childcare I had done projects similar to this handprint hug craft for Valentine's day and Mother's day but I thought receiving three birthday hugs in the mail would also be a fun surprise for our long distance relatives. Our supplies: tempera paint, small bowls, foam brushes, white construction paper, scissors, a measuring tape, scotch tape & a roll of vellum paper Step #1: if need be, mix desired paint color we had to mix up some green b/c it's mini man's favorite color and we were all out  Step #2: paint hands Step #3:  press hands onto construction paper Step #4: while handprints are drying use measuring tape to measure arm span. ...

White crayon resist art is a pretty simple classic but it's one of my children's favorites. We actually do repeat versions of basic crafts a lot. The familiarity helps build my children's confidence in their artistic creative. They also require little prep from me so they are very low stress.  Our Supplies: white construction paper , white wax crayon , and  dot markers - you could also use watercolors or even f ood coloring .  Step #1: use the white crayon to draw a picture on the paper - it helps to press hard. For these eggs we drew free hand and used some stencils.  Step 2: go over over crayon art with dot markers And that's it! Three supplies and two steps - a perfect craft for young children!  our finished eggs!   Looking for more homeschool or craft ideas? Check out these link parties: Link and Learn , Made by Little Hands , Montessori Monday , Hip Homeschool Hop , Preschool Corner ,  For the Kid...