October 25, 2010  by

Halloween Monoprints and More!

We began this week finishing up our paper mache pumpkins. I offered the children orange, red, yellow, green and white paint. We looked at a real pumpkin and talked about the colors, but I encouraged the kids to paint their pumpkins any way they liked… which of course meant adding plenty of glitter!



A few more of the finished pumpkins after I sealed them with Modge Podge.
This week we also worked on a variety of monoprints. We started by rolling paint onto acrylic boxes to cover the surface.

Then I offered each child a cotton swab to draw a design into their paint.
When the design was ready, the children pressed a piece of paper onto the box (we began with folded pieces of paper to use as Halloween cards).
Finally the children peeled up the paper to discover their print!


Next we experimented with bubble wrap monoprinting. The children rolled their paint onto the bubble wrap and then pressed paper onto it in the same way as the previous printing project. We talked about how the orange circles looked liked little pumpkins!

To continue the printmaking theme, the kids used the acrylic easel and whiteboard to make even larger prints. They covered the boards with orange paint and said that they were making a pumpkin patch! Then they drew pumpkins into the paint and used paper to make a print.

Some of the other classes expanded on our ball rolling project from last week, this time using marbles.

After a bit of rolling the marbles around, the children decided to add water. This led them to scoop, stir, and pour the marbles- so exciting!
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After all this talk about Halloween, the kids began waving their painted hands around saying, “spooky!”

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October 20, 2010  by

Clay and Halloween Ball Paintings

This week the new 2s class and the 1s class both experimented with clay. Each child was first given a slab of moist red clay and a few simple tools (a rolling pin and a pizza cutter). After the initial introduction, I began to slowly bring out a variety of new modeling tools and familiar items to use with the clay. The children cut, poked, and squished their clay, enjoying the cool sensory experience on these hot days.




When the children began moving to the easels to paint, I encouraged them to bring the paints back to the table to use on their clay. The unexpected mix of paint and wet clay was exciting! The kids then began going to the shelf to choose new materials to work with as well (such as sticks, necklaces, and glitter).



The 1s class especially enjoyed squeezing water onto their clay.

After working with the clay for a while, I brought out a new golf ball painting project for the 2s class. In the spirit of Halloween, I gave them black paper and orange paint to use with their golf ball and tray. They then shook the tray around to create interesting lines on the paper.

This soon turned into mixing and scooping the balls and using them with the other materials.
For the 1s class, I placed a bucket of warm soapy water in the corner of the room in case they needed to wash the clay off of their hands before going outside. This was much more exciting than I had anticipated! They hung out here for a while, dumping items into the water, giggling, and using wet chalk to draw on the chalk wall.

At the end of both classes, we moved outside and experimented with a larger version of the golf ball painting… another Halloween inspired piece!
But of course pouring water is the most fun of all!

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October 19, 2010  by

Halloween Inspired Art

In honor of Halloween and pumpkin season, I decided to try an ambitious project with the 2s and 3s this week… paper mache pumpkins! I used small balloons as a base for the paper mache, ripped newsprint strips, and a simple paste mixed with orange paint to make it a little more interesting. I also had to create a stand out of tagboard (similar to poster board) and masking tape to hold the balloons in place. I knew this was a difficult undertaking, so I asked the parents if they would help their children with this project (for the 2s class only). I usually encourage children to explore on their own, but this collaboration proved to be necessary to get the balloons fully covered- putting such an emphasis on the finished product is not something I do often, but I think the kids still really enjoyed the idea of making a pumpkin!
Some kids meticulously used paint brushes to apply the paste, while others were happy to dunk their hands in!
The 3s class was really into this project and managed to cover their balloons without much help.



I knew this project was a stretch for my 2.5 year old class, but was curious to see how my class of young 2s responded to paper mache… It turned out that they were not interested in it at all! First they were thrown off by the balloon being taped to the tray and immediately wanted to get it off so they could play with it. They also were not into the idea of painting gooey paste on their beautiful, clean balloons.
Luckily, I knew this aversion to paper mache was a possibility so I had a back-up plan!
I brought out a large bin, some black and orange paint, and a variety of balls to create a rolling ball painting. The kids mixed the balls in the paint, put them into the bin, then rocked the bin side to side to create rolled lines on the paper. I even convinced them to put the balloons in as well.
When the children moved back to the table I offered them collage materials, glue, and paint. This was much more their style!


Once the paper mache pumpkins were finished in the other classes, the children found various painting projects to work on.


For the final activity of the day, I brought the kids outside to try out the rolling ball painting that we did in the young 2s class. This project is of course exciting to kids because it involves paint and rolling balls, but it’s also a great collaborative experience. In order to move the balls around, the children need to work together and communicate with each other.



Some of the finished paintings… very web-like and fun for Halloween decorations.
In the young 2s class, we ended with a painting dance party and jumped around to a Kidz Bop version of “Can’t Buy Me Love”- at their request!

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June 16, 2010  by

Clay and Monoprint Cards

We began our first summer session working with clay. I gave each child a slab of clay and plenty of tools to explore and manipulate this cold, pliable material.





After working for a little while with the tools, I offered the children cups of water and sponges to moisten their clay. I showed them how the clay can easily dry out and how a little water can soften it right up again.

Of course everyone wanted much more than just a little water, so I offered them squeeze bottles to fill the cups themselves.
The slippery feeling of water on clay captured their attention for quite a while!
Because Father’s Day is coming up, I thought it would be fun to make gifts out of our clay work for all the dads. After much exploration, it was time to decorate the work- so I brought out some decorating items that dads might appreciate… screws (with flat ends for safety), nuts, washers, buttons, and shells. The kids had fun sticking these materials into the clay for their dads.
And some children even brought out paint to add to their creations.
Taking a break from their clay work, some of the kids worked on paintings at the easels.



To make Father’s Day cards, I brought out materials for making monoprints- just like we did here for Valentines Day. The children rolled out paint on acrylic boxes, drew a design with a cotton swab, then pressed a folded piece of paper down onto the design to make a print.
A sneak peek at the final results!

Happy Fathers Day!

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May 11, 2010  by

Floor Mural and Mother’s Day Gifts

Finally… a full week of warmth and sunshine! I took advantage of this beautiful weather and held our classes outside this week. We began class with a group floor mural, which we painted using some exciting new techniques. I first demonstrated the “bouncy nylon brushes” (hosiery filled with dried beans and rice) that make interesting prints when bounced on the canvas.The children dipped the bouncy nylons onto the plates of paint, then bounced them like a yo-yo to paint the canvas. This was a little tricky for the toddlers, but still a lot of fun!



After introducing the bouncy nylons, I offered the children other tools to use with the paint: Large scrub brushes, whiskers, paint rollers, balls- and trucks of course!



Along with the mural, I placed an easel outside for a different painting experience.




Being outside meant that the sand and water tables were accessible- and therefore very enticing!
To finish our Mother’s day projects from last week, I brought out a tub of organic potting soil, the finished pots, and a selection of flowers. Each child retrieved a shovel from the sand box and got started planting their flowers.

After potting, I gave the children a squeeze bottle to water their flowers.



Squeezing the bottles became an extended activity!
Some of the finished flower pots…


Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there!

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May 3, 2010  by

New Painting Projects

Mother’s day is coming up so we began class this week with a spring themed gift-making project for all the moms. If you weren’t in class… don’t look! It’s a surprise!The first step of the project is painting a clay pot (which I got from the local garden store). When they dry, I’ll coat them with a sealer and then they’ll be ready for planting our flowers.


In the toddler classes, the children painted their pot little by little, as they looked for other objects to paint. I decided to bring out the next activity (potato prints!) to work on simultaneously. To prepare the potatoes, I cut each one in half and carved a simple shape into the top to create a stamp. An easy way to do this is to use a metal cookie cutter to push down on the potato. This cuts the shape for you, then all you have to do is carve out around the cut. As the children get older, they can learn to do this step themselves.
Along with their paper, I gave each child a plate of paint to use with the potato stamps.
The fun part is pounding the potato onto the paper to create colorful shapes (and the potato is the perfect chunky size for their little hands).

This week I also introduced marble painting to the children. I offered each child a tray with paper inside, a cup of paint and marbles, and a spoon for scooping the marbles. They put painted marbles into their trays and shook them around to create a new kind of painting.
Some of the finished paintings…
The toddlers are still too young to be working with marbles (many of them try to eat our materials) so I gave each child a golf ball to use in the same way.


After experimenting with the new activities, the kids began to move around the studio to find more familiar materials.



A sweet moment of sharing!
Our third activity for the older children was to continue working on the spray mural that they made a few weeks ago. I taped it down to the floor and set out markers for them to use. Jordan and Anna first began drawing clouds and rain. It had been a strange day of off and on rain and sun. Here is a bit of thier conversation as they drew:
Anna: “Where do the clouds come from?”
Jordan: “I think they come for the rain.”
Anna: “I think the sun is stronger than the rain.”
Jordan: “I think the wind is stronger.”
When Jason and Jessica joined them, they began drawing bridges. Jordan first drew the bridge she crosses to get to school, then Anna drew the Golden Gate Bridge. Then Jason said: “This is the Bay Bridge because it’s so long.”


With the new warm weather, the children began to ask to go outside earlier than usual.
I brought some activities outside for them to work on as we wrapped up class.
Rock painting…
Mural spraying…
But the water play is always the most fun!
Even siblings get in on the action at pick-up time!

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February 12, 2010  by

Monoprinting

Just in time for Valentines Day!

For the third class in the painting session, we are focusing on printmaking. Valentines day is only a few days away, so we started off with red paint and white cards. Each child was given an acrylic box to paint on, a brush, a roller, and a tray of paint.

Then I offered cotton swabs to draw with on the trays. A cotton swab will take away paint from the surface, creating a design in the paint.

Then we pressed the paper (folded in half to make a card) onto the acrylic box, smoothed it out with our hands, and peeled it up to create a print.

Soon, the kids discovered the bubble wrap on the table and began experimenting with it. They painted it at first with the rollers, but quickly found out how it felt to slide their hands around the wet, slippery bubbles.
I added some bowls of new paint colors to the table. The girls were very interested in making pink and purple.
Here are some of the prints we made from bubble wrap
After printing an array of Valentines cards, I brought out the canvas boards from their previous class for the children to re-visit. They asked for some more tools to work with- the trucks necklaces and glitter of course!

Towards the end of class, Liam asked if he could bring the truck to the easel. Jordan joined him and they watched their painted wheels make tracks up and down the board.
Soon the whole class was driving the trucks up and down the easels!
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February 3, 2010  by

Valentines Monoprinting and Toddling

As an introduction to printmaking, we began today’s group with monoprinting on acrylic frames. The kids first used the brushes, rollers, and cotton swabs to create the design.


We then laid down a piece of paper onto the design, gently rubbed the back, peeled it up and… viola! A print!

These red and white prints will make great valentines cards!
For a different printing experience I taped large bubble wrap to the table for the kids to paint on.

This is how the bubble print turned out.

After a short time at the table, the kids began to move around the studio.
Sometimes toddlers just want to toddle.

Rogan shows Karuna a necklace he’s found on the shelf.

Logan and Austin are intrigued as Elizabeth demonstrates the watercolors that Logan found.


Rogan is checking out his most recent artwork (the yellow strokes on Karuna’s head).

What’s baby Will thinking about? Could it be brother Austin’s new hairdo?

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January 29, 2010  by

Printmaking

For the third class in this 4 week session, we’re learning about monoprints. Valentines Day is coming up so I decided that we could make use of our prints by turning them into cards.
Each child was given a small acrylic box frame as a base. They started off painting it with a brush and we made our first prints with these brush strokes as the positive space on the card.

Then they used the rollers to cover the surface completely and drew a design into the paint with cotton swabs (I got this idea from a truly inspiring blog called The Artful Parent).

Their drawings became the negative space in the design.

Kirsten was more interested in the easels today, so she took her brushes and paint and moved to a new workspace.

Karuna promptly joined her.

Our next printing exploration was with bubble wrap. I taped it to the table and gave the kids a few more paints.

Then we used the same printing process to make cards with bubble prints. Once the bubble wrap was covered in paint, we pressed the cards down into the design, gently rubbed the back with our hands, and then slowly peeled it away.


Kirsten and Karuna collaborated well and continued to move between the easels and table.

Kate and Grace sat at the table (for an entire hour) hard at work on their paintings.


It was a treat to clean up (and check out the garden) in the warm morning sun.

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