June 12, 2011  by

Printmaking and Open Studio

For the first class of our summer session, we worked on mono-type printmaking and stamping. We started off rolling out paint onto acrylic boxes and then using a cotton swab to draw a design. The mixed-age open studio class used large acrylic boxes as a base, while the 1s/2s class used small boxes to print fathers day cards.

We continued the theme of printmaking by using a variety of stamps. Some children used cookie cutters to stamp out shapes, while others used the letters DAD to add to their fathers day cards.

We also experimented with bubble wrap printmaking. The children painted the bubble wrap (which was taped to the acrylic easel) then pressed paper against it to make a print.

The 1s/2s class moved on to painting with fun tools and gathering new supplies from the shelf.

For the mixed-age class we had a large group of 11 kids, so while some children worked on printmaking inside the studio, others were busy at the five outside stations. These stations included a floor mural with gross-motor tools for painting…

ball painting…

easel painting…

a bleeding tissue mural collage with water spray bottles…

and a mixing table with sand and powered tempera paint.

And of course the studio eventually turned from a print-making station into a messy, fun, free-for-all!

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June 6, 2011  by

Collaborative Canvas

As one of our final projects of the spring session, we created a collaborative canvas art piece. The children worked on the canvas in 7 phases, beginning with this picture of the canvas on the floor. To preserve each phase of the work, I used painters tape to cover up some of the areas on the canvas each time a new group worked on it.

For the second phase, I brought the canvas to a block party in my neighborhood. The kids had a blast going at it with long brushes, rollers, and child-sized mops and brooms.

For our final week of spring classes, each group contributed to the canvas in different ways. Some classes worked on the floor with bouncy bean bags and long tools, while other groups worked on it vertically, attached to an easel.

Each day when the canvas was dry, I added more tape (often with help from Karuna and Aaron). For this project, the tape was placed randomly (except for the small heart at the top), but next time I want to try doing a more planned out design!

The tempera paints don’t keep their true color when painted over, but often turn muddy after many layers. So I decided to let the oldest class use non-toxic acrylic paint to get back to some brighter colors add more texture.

After some painting, the kids decided to stick collage materials onto the canvas… brilliant!

The next day, I wanted to preserve the collage materials from the previous class, so I taped up a large piece of paper over that section of the painting.

I realized that the kids enjoyed having one area that was a blank canvas, so I taped up another piece of paper for the final class. 

After 7 phases painting and taping, I spent about 2 hours peeling off all of the tape (much of which was hidden under all those layers!) And here is the final piece…

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May 24, 2011  by

Collage Treasure Hunt!

Before beginning our monochromatic collages, we began by going on a “treasure hunt” to find our collage materials. The children each chose a color, then searched around the yard for treasures in their specific color.

When the kids found a color other than their own, they immediately ran to give it to the person looking for that color. What great teamwork!

The 1s class also went on a treasure hunt, but it wasn’t limited by color. Most of them were just trying to understand the concept of collecting and keeping the treasure in their baskets!

After our treasure hunt, we returned to the studio to create a collage using glue and our new found materials. I think the treasure hunt helped to get the children excited about using only one color. After the hard work of hunting, they formed a special bond with their color!

 The 1s class used colored glue to add to their colorful collages.

After making our collages, we worked on a variety of projects. Some children squeezed colored glue into plastic tops- which will dry and become translucent window hangings.

Other children worked at the easels…

painted the window…

and some got messy outside with gross motor tools: bouncy bean bags, child-sized mops and a broom!

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April 5, 2011  by

Mixing Paste for Collage, Painting with Cars and Balls

We began this week by mixing our own colored paste of flour, water, tempera, and sand. The flour, water, and sand mixture creates a thick bonding paste that can be used as a base for a collage (and the tempera adds color for fun!).

After mixing their paste, I offered the children scraping tools to move the paste around their tagboard. They used small rakes, plastic putty knives, scrub brushes, combs, and plastic notched scrapers for tiling. This is a great introduction to making mosaics! The kids learn how to spread out the adhesive, and lay down materials into a design. After they master this technique, we can try grouting!

After plenty of spreading and scraping, the children added collage materials to their paste.

The oldest class did this project last session, so I took it to the next level and offered them cardboard frames (that I cut out of a large box) as a base for their collage.

Although I explained that the paste would work as glue, some kids weren’t convinced and used white glue to make sure their items would stay put.

Towards the end of class I rolled out a large paper onto the floor and showed the kids how to have “zooming car races.” Two of the cars are the kind that wind up and drive by themselves. They dipped the wheels in paint, and raced them down the paper to see which cars went the fastest and how far the tracks would go.

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we spent some fun, creative time outside as well.

After getting this large box with my new outdoor table, I decided to use it for ball painting!

Window painting!

For her grandma’s birthday, Karuna wanted to give her the frame she made so I taped a photo of her behind the opening. Adorable!

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March 31, 2011  by

Gluing for Collage and Construction

This week we focused on gluing. We started off using colored glue on wax paper and adding collage materials to the glue. The kids were encouraged to squeeze out as much glue as possible! Once dry, the design can be peeled off the wax paper and hung in the window (but that requires lots of glue). If there’s not enough glue, or the glue is scattered, the whole thing can be hung in a window- The glue and wax paper are transparent, so the light shines through the glue and creates silhouettes of the collage pieces.

For the 1s group, I added more paint to the glue so that it was easier to squeeze.

While some children were busy working at the table, others were learning how to operate a glue gun! (This was just for the 3 and the 4 year olds) I set out a large cardboard box and lots of found materials to glue to the box. Glue guns are such interesting tools because the glue dries instantly. They allow you to build in a way that wouldn’t be possible to do with regular glue.

I first used low temperature glue guns, but they were still a little hot, so I switched to “cold shot” glue guns that are perfect for little ones.

An instant sculpture to take home!

The 1s and 2s classes were given regular glue and paint to use on the collaborative sculpture.

Some of the children worked on painting projects when they were finished gluing. I’m loving our new roll of white paper for painting on the floor!

It was a rainy week, but the sun peeked out occasionally and we managed to get some creative time outside!

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March 22, 2011  by

Different Types of Collage and Action Painting

For the second week of the session, I decided to try a new form of collage with the 2, 3s, and 4s… hammer collage! First, I needed to find hammers that were small enough for toddlers, but still strong enough to drive a nail into foam. I searched three hardware stores and was unsuccessful. As I was leaving the third store, I began to eye the PVC pipe section, wondering if there was any way to use a plastic pipe as a hammer. The owner of the store, who was helping me in my search, saw my curious look and said, “How about this?!” He took a small PVC pipe, another one in the shape of a T, some rubber plugs and an end cap and began to assemble the perfect toddler hammer!
For the base of the collage, I glued together a few foam pieces to make it thick enough for the nail. We began by practicing our hammering skills with golf tees, to make sure everyone could safely drive a nail.

Once I was confident in the children’s hammering skills, I offered them a small cup of nails (with large heads and fairly blunt ends) and an assortment of collage materials. They put the items onto the foam and created a design by hammering them in place.



It was great to see kids helping each other when they had a hard time holding the nail in place.
With a new found love of scissors, many kids decided to cut their own materials for the collage. Then, when one child realized that she couldn’t nail a tube-shaped cardboard to her foam, she asked for tape. This lead the other kids to create tape collages with colored masking tape.

As the children began to finish their collages, I offered them paper and markers for “challenge” drawings, like the ones we painted last week. Just as I had predicted, the markers worked better than the paint to prompt circle drawings.



In the 1s class we worked on collages, but instead of using hammers we used clear contact paper. The children chose their collage items and placed them onto the sticky side of the contact paper.
We had some older siblings join us who were very helpful!

After working on sticky collages, I offered the children large finger paint paper, a plate of paint, rollers and a variety of tools from the shelf.

With most of the 1s class absent last week, I decided to bring back the watery squeeze paints. This time, I put a long absorbent paper on the ground and demonstrated “action painting,” which is what Jackson Pollock was known for. The paint was flying all over, mostly landing on the paper, but also making some pretty puddles on the floor!

When the paint was all squeezed out, the kids found some brushes on the shelf and used them to move the paint around the paper.
The bucket of soapy water offered a fun, easy clean-up!
Our collaborative action painting:
Contact paper collage, hung in the window:

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March 2, 2011  by

Exploring Watercolor- All Ages

For our last week of the session, all of the classes started off learning about drawing and watercolor resists. The 1s and 2s classes used oil pastels as their drawing medium, which provide smooth deep pigments and work well in resisting the paint.
After taking a few moments to draw, the children were anxious to work with the liquid watercolors. I’ve learned by now that using a tray is a must when offering any kind of liquid to toddlers!
For the 1s class, I use jars for the liquid watercolor rather than the paint cup base that the older kids use. The 1 yr olds love to practice their pouring skills by transferring the watercolors back and forth between the jars… a skill that I like to encourage!




The children experimented with eye-droppers, coffee filters, and a few other tools they found on the shelf.
The 3s/4s class began with a still life drawing of a rose. I offered them black Sharpie markers (explaining that they are important “grown-up markers”) to carefully draw the lines and shapes of the rose. Most of the kids just drew whatever they pleased- grasping the concept of a still life will take a little more practice! After the drawing session, I brought out the liquid watercolors to add to their work.



Glitter became a key medium in this project!
After working with watercolors, the 1s and 2s classes got to experience the joys of foam painting! Foam paint is like shaving cream, without the toxic smells. I squirted some onto each tray and the kids enjoyed the sensory experience of lathering it over their hands and arms.
Then they added paint to the foam to create swirls of color.

The trays soon became a station for messy sensory discovery. The children used all kinds of tools and added water and glitter to the mix.


For the 1s classes I offered an extra layer of sensory by squirting the foam onto bubble wrap.




The mixture of water, foam, paint, and bubble wrap was delightful!
The 3s and 4s class moved on from their watercolor resists, to a different kind of watercolor collage. First they used a sponge and water to wet their paper. Then they placed small pieces of “bleeding tissue paper” into a collage design (when wet, the tissue paper releases it’s color). If needed, they used the sponges to moisten the tissue paper as well. When the tissue paper dries, it will fall off and leave a colorful design in it’s place!

Outside the 2s and 3s/4s classes worked on their spray bottle skills, spraying liquid watercolor onto a cloth and bulls eye paper.
The bulls eye spray game was something we tried out last summer. The kids love to aim and shoot!

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January 22, 2011  by

1s Fabric and Sand Collage

For the second week of the 1s class the children explored collage through glue and fabric. At this age, the focus is mostly on learning how to squeeze the glue- which is great for fine motor development! Squeezing glue is hard work for little hands, but it is so rewarding when the glue begins to dribble out… especially the colored glue!
After much glue practice, the children found new items to add to their collage. They especially enjoyed scooping colored sand and dumping it onto their collages. When the sand dries in the glue, it creates a rough texture to compliment the smooth fabric.


The joy of learning from an older child!
The weather has been warming up, which makes for great water/wash up time at the end of class!

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January 18, 2011  by

Working with Fabric and Glue

This week we focused on fabric and glue. I first set out a simple collage project with scraps of fabric and white glue. The children all began to carefully glue down their fabric scraps to the paper using various methods. Some glued on top of the fabric…
some glued all over the paper, then placed the fabric down…
…while others decided to stack the fabric with glue.
After this first introduction to fabric collage I soon brought out colored glue. which adds a new design element (and is much more exciting than white glue!).


As the kids made their way around the studio, they went to the easels to paint and then to the shelf to pick out more items to use with their collages.

Returning from the shelf, the children brought back glitter, animals, cars, brushes, and even scissors for cutting the fabric!




To add a new texture to the mix, I brought the children some colored sand to scoop onto their glue.




At the end of class, I brought out one more project to continue our investigation of glue and fabric… the makings for a glue batik! I saw this project on the Artful Parent and was eager to try it out in class. The first step is to use blue gel glue (a non toxic school glue) to create a design on a white piece of fabric. We will wait for the glue to dry then next week the kids will paint the fabric. Once the paint dries, I will soak them in water and the glue will peel off, leaving their original design white. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!


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December 2, 2010  by

1s Dot painting and Bead Collage

For our last 1s class of the session, we started off exploring the dot paints (watered down tempera paint in sponged-tipped bottles). The kids enjoyed being able to bang the bottles onto the paper to create a series of dots. The banging can begin to sound rhythmic like a drum!
We welcomed a new friend, Aiden, to join us for our last class.

Mia and Aly were checking out each others work… or maybe they were plotting to swap colors.
After a little while of dot painting, I brought out some beads and colored glue to the table. While the older classes worked on beading with wire and cord, I decided for the 1s group to introduce the beads with glue and paper- a little more up their ally.

I placed a few of the materials that the children have worked with this session on the shelves so that the kids could access them independently. This included tools, brushes, oil pastels, markers, glitter, and glue. I was excited when the kids noticed the materials and brought them back to the table and easels to use.





Due to the rain, we couldn’t go outside for our last 15 minutes so I set up a bin of foam paint and gave the children powdered tempera paint to mix into the foam. Then I offered them squeeze bottles of colored water to continue the exploration.
Of course the water was the best part, so I brought out a tub of warm water to use for washing up and more exploration.

See you next session… It has been such a pleasure exploring art and getting messy with your children! Happy Holidays!

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