Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. – William Arthur Ward For Thanksgiving we focused on themes of sharing and caring, community and compassion for each other. We practiced saying ‘thank you’, discussed how we can make each other feel good, tried to remember who helped us with…
Liquid Watercolors
Autumn Shadow Boxes
Collecting and creating art with pieces of nature encourages us to observe the changing seasons and engages our senses. During nature walks the children like to collect leaves, pinecones, sticks and small rocks etc. We talk about the different colors, shapes and textures: “Some of the pinecones are spiky!”, “The wood is so soft!” etc. …
Leaf Banners
After observing and talking about the changes outside in nature and reading various books about autumn, the children started to notice how many different leaves there are and wondered more about leaf veins and why leaves fall off the trees. Their thoughts and questions about autumn are constantly present while playing and creating. Through art projects…
Mountain Styrofoam Prints
Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace. – Janice Anderson Printmaking is always fun with any age group. As older children grow increasingly critical of their drawing abilities they sometimes get frustrated and often end up reluctant…
Tape Resist Flowers
Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. – Hans Christian Andersen Tape-resist is a simple and fun process art technique for young children. You can create any design, make open-ended abstract masterpieces or create to a topic like we did. Materials: Watercolor Paper Painter’s Tape Liquid watercolors Thick paintbrushes…
Spring Shadow Boxes
We love making Shadow Boxes! They create the perfect depth and backdrop to capture any little keepsakes and lend themselves perfectly to display miniature scenes, three dimensional artwork and other found treasures! You can hang them on the wall or place them on a shelf and they’ll always look neat and finished! Inspired by the various…
Mother’s Day Banner
Some of my favorite art projects for young children include canvas fabric and liquid watercolors. There’s something magical about watching the watercolors bleed into the canvas and children are usually mesmerized by how beautifully the colors mix. Ever since seeing Meri Cherry’s lovely Mother’s Day Banners (head over to her website to see how they’ve…
Mother’s Day Perfume
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. – Marion C. Garretty Why make perfume? Do your children love playing with water and anything else that involves pouring, scooping, dripping and stirring? Perfume making provides some great sensory and fine motor opportunities. When stirring their concoctions children get…
Earth Day: Litterbug Banner
The child is not a citizen of the future; he is a citizen from the very first moment of life and also the most important citizen because he represents and brings the ‘possible’ […], a bearer, here and now of rights, of values, of culture. It is our historical responsibility not only to affirm this…
Painting Snow
A high fun, low cost toddler activity for the winter is playing and painting with snow. This is guaranteed to hold your toddler’s attention span and will keep your children engaged for hours. Yes, seriously! Materials Snow Kitchen utensils (trays, scoops, spoons, pans etc.) Optional: Large storage container filled with snow (or better: your summer…
