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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October 4, 2010  by

Colored Glue Collage and Garden Art

This week we focused on gluing and collage. In addition to gluing on paper, I brought out the children’s dried clay work from the previous class for them to re-visit. I offered them colored glue and trays of collage material such as buttons, beads, sequins, pasta shells, and cotton balls.




Some of the kids experimented with the glue, rubbing it over their hands like finger paint. Although it may look like paint, they soon found out that it didn’t quite feel like paint!



Before heading outside for the second half of class, some of the children found time to make prints and check out the shelf for more materials.
Because of the hot weather, I decided to bring the kids outside for the second half of class. We began with a bleeding tissue and water collage where the kids placed pieces of tissue onto a large paper and sprayed the whole thing with water. When it dries, the tissue falls off, but the color remains.


The rest of class was spent playing with water, making mud pies, and painting on the easels.





Some of the finished bleeding tissue collages!

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September 26, 2010  by

Clay for 2s and 3s

For the first few weeks of a session, I like to keep the projects very sensory-based and experimental. This way, the children can get to know the materials and the open-ended style of the class before they learn new art techniques. Along with tempera finger painting, clay is a great medium for this type of introduction. I began by cutting each child a slab of clay from my block (they watched how I used a wire to cut through the moist clay). Initially, I offered the children only a few materials to work with, such as rollers, and modeling tools so they could really focus on the clay. Eventually, I began to add new tools to the table.After working with the clay for a bit, I explain to the kids that clay can dry out as they are working with it and that it’s helpful to use a little water and sponge to re-moisten the clay. Of course using a “little” water is just a suggestion. Most of the time, the children want to use the squeeze bottles to add much more than just a little water!




The children began to collect new materials to use with their clay: paints, glitter, toy cars, and even collage materials.







This week the children got more into using the acrylic easel as they moved around the studio.

As Kirsten scratched into her painting with a cotton swab, she said “look I made a design!” Then she used a piece of paper to make a print.

Atticus found a new way to use the Corian samples on the shelf.

An impromptu apple party after class!

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July 24, 2010  by

Salt Dough and Colored Glue

This week we started off making salt dough. Salt dough is similar to playdough, but it is meant to be baked and decorated like clay. If you’re interested in trying this at home, click here for a simple recipe (or here, for a gluten-free recipe) To make the dough each child was given a bowl and spoon for mixing and a cup to scoop out the dry ingredients. After mixing the flour and salt, I offered them a squeeze bottle of water (with only a little water) to add to the bowl. We added more flour and water when needed, then mixed and mixed until the dough was just right!


Once the dough was the right consistency, the kids dumped it out onto their mats to begin their work. They used cookie cutters, pizza cutters, plastic knives, and clay tools to mold their dough. I also brought out some spray bottles and more flour to keep the dough moist and pliable.








Sometimes the dough was too sticky so we had to add more flour!

After a while of working with the dough, the children began to check out the shelves for new materials and tools.

For the children who were ready to move on, I put their dough creations on the shelf to dry and brought out some paper, colored glue, and plastic lids.
The children then squeezed the glue into the plastic lid, which is used as a mold. Once the glue dries, you can pop it out of the lid to create a transparent window hanging (this fun idea came from a great blog called Darling Clementine- check it out here).
But of course the best part of this activity is the squeezing!





Where there is glue, there is almost always glitter and collage materials!


This week instead of the usual paint, I put markers at the easels. Some kids really enjoyed the change!

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July 5, 2010  by

Leaf Prints in Clay

I wasn’t planning on doing clay this week, but of course being open to an emergent curriculum means tossing my plan out the window if necessary. Last week I had many requests for working with clay again and I wanted to honor those requests and let the kids continue to explore clay in different ways. This time I offered them a red firing clay (as opposed to the white modeling clay), which is much softer and a little grainy. I first gave them some time to get to know this clay with familiar tools.



After a bit of exploration, I brought out a variety of leaves and demonstrated how to make a leaf print (explaining that it is similar to making a print with paper and paint- which they are experts in!)





The leaf printing was very exciting for about 5 minutes! Then the kids began to gather paint, glue and other materials to use with their clay.




Eventually, the easels were visited as the kids moved around the studio.




Some of the kids brought scissors to their clay work and learned how to cut the clay!

After working with the clay, the older class decided to work with markers on the floor. When some of them began to draw faces, I offered them hand mirrors to see the details of their own faces like we did with our self-portraits.


Sometimes when we wash up outside, the kids request the spray bottles…

Some of the finished clay work

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May 27, 2010  by

Last Class of Spring Session

For the last class of the session, we worked on finishing our projects to get ready for the art show. The children began class by adding to their sculptures with more scrap materials, paint, and glitter.


When they were ready to move around the studio, the children worked more on the large group painting to get it finished for the art show.

I recently found a low bench (a friend was giving away) and thought the kids would have fun painting it. I asked them to help me paint it so that we can put it in the garden when it’s finished. Soon, I’ll coat it with an exterior sealer and add it to the kids area outside.

Hard at work to prepare for the show!

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May 18, 2010  by

Sculpture Building

This week, for a 3-D experience, we worked on sculpture building using re-purposed items. I offered the children a base for their work, glue, and various 3-D materials that I got from SCRAP (Scrounger’s Center for Reusable Art Parts) in San Francisco. This is a great project to do when you have a bunch of random items around the house that you would otherwise throw away (wood scraps, broken jewelry, old keys, bottle caps, etc.)
The toddlers work is more flat like a collage, but as they get older they will begin to experiment more with stacking and building.



For most children, the gluing is the most exciting part! In these early stages of art class, I try not to limit their use of glue because it is part of their creative learning experience. As they continue to use and learn about glue they will eventually learn how to self-regulate as well.


After most of the building was done, I offered the children smaller collage parts and glitter to add to their work.



In two different classes the children discovered the scissors and became very interested in cutting.



The older class missed out last week on the floor mural, so I brought it outside towards the end of class for them to work on.
For the next two classes, I hung the mural on the wall and offered the kids rollers and scrub brushes to paint with.


With each class, the canvas gets more and more interesting!
I hope to see you next week at the spring art show!

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March 23, 2010  by

Last Day of the Session!

On our last day of the session, colorful jars were lined up on the the table inviting the children to paint their sculptures from the previous weeks.Richie arrived first and gathered all of the jars next to his clay sculpture to test out the various colors.
Liam, Jordan, and Karuna first began working on their “found object” sculptures.

Richie decided to add to his sculpture by gluing on items he collected from the shelf.
Jordan and Liam watch closely as they pour the paint onto the pine cones. Although this seems like a waste of paint, it’s important to let children experiment with the paint and discover for themselves that they might be using too much. After experiencing what happens when they use so much paint, they will eventually figure out how much they want or need for a particular project.

Pouring the paint proved to be very interesting.
Richie uses the trucks with the paint to make tire tracks on the table.
Jordan works with a comb to scrape the paint towards her, over and over.

Karuna moved to the easel and began making hand prints.

Liam painted the trucks and said, “I’m hiding them.”
So much work being done!
Richie and Liam began to roll the cars towards each other, making zooming noises.
Then they moved to the easel with the trucks, making more tracks in the paint.
Karuna joined in the fun, bringing a truck to the other easel with Richie.
Still working hard…
What better way to celebrate the warm weather and our last day of class than with popsicles!

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March 18, 2010  by

Paint, Prints, and Glue

To end our 3-D art session, we focused on painting the clay sculptures we made the week before. I mixed paint in small glass jars and set them out on the table to entice the children. The glass jars not only show off the vibrant paint colors, but they also teach the children that they are competent and worthy of working with quality materials. Toddlers don’t usually get the chance to work with heavy, glass jars (for a reason! But these are hard to break on the wood floor).
The children were very focused on painting their sculptures as well as the paper-covered table.

Karuna and her daddy, Aaron, work together on her sculpture.
I then added more tools to the table, which Logan took to right away!
Karuna has recently discovered hand-prints. Whenever she has paint on her hands, she slaps them down on some paper and makes a print!
Austin paints with a horse on his clay.
Then he paints the horse!
Karuna and Austin make monoprints together.
As the children moved around, they began to look at the shelf for materials to work with. Austin asked if he could “scoop.” I soon realized that he wanted to scoop a cup of collage materials, so I brought the collage bin to the table. Logan then asked for the glue, which he squeezed into a cup of collage materials.
He continued to squeeze this glue for quite a while!
More experiments with glue…




Hmmmm…. interesting.

I love watching the progression of the children’s work throughout each class. In the beginning, they are quiet and focused on what’s in front of them…
And by the end of class, they are moving around, gathering new materials, experimenting with paint and glue, working together, and still very focused!

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March 17, 2010  by

Painting Clay… and everything else

For our last class of the session, I offered the children paint to decorate their clay sculptures. I used small glass (baby food) jars to mix and store the paint and then lined them up on the table before class. It is important to me to present the materials in a simple, aesthetically pleasing way so that the children respect them and appreciate their unique qualities. In this case, the clean glass jars allow the children to focus on each of the brilliant colors that they will be working with. There is something so beautiful and appealing about a simple glass jar filled with vibrant paint!
I think Grace agrees…
When the children sat down, I brought them their clay sculptures from last week which were finally dry and ready for paint. The table was covered with white butcher paper, which proved to be much more interesting to paint than their sculptures.

With paint jars in hand, Grace and Karuna soon moved to the easels to work.
Kirsten was more interested in painting with the cars at the table.
Once I brought out some more tools to paint with, the table became very exciting.
Grace was very interested in painting new surfaces- after first painting the wall, she was re-directed to the easel where she worked on painting the easel itself!
Kirsten and Karuna worked together at the acrylic easel, making monoprints.


I love that the kids are now comfortable enough in the studio to go to the shelf when they want to work more materials.

Then they bring the materials back to the table to work with.



Busy, busy, busy!
Kirsten has found something interesting in the fabric bin.
See you next session!

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