Garden Flags

I cut triangles from an old sheet with pinking shears then let my children color the cloth with fabric crayons.  Idea came from The Artful Parent.

 I also found a tree monkey in the garden.

My 'Lil Painter

Earlier this week we walked down to the neighbor's. They were painting in the driveway. Sister has been dying to test her mad skillz with the paintbrush and I finally relented.

She was in heaven.

Today was one of my neighbor's 37th birthday.  We had a kid-friendly party in the driveway.  Complete with paint -- and birdhouse gourds. (Thanks, Mom & Dad for the gourds you sent...last year!)

Sister could have cared less about the gourds.  She was in her element with the paint.

Look at that diaper all saggy.  It was so cute.

Full-bodied paint, people.

Then I plopped her in the utility sink in my laundry room.  Yes, be jealous, I have a utility sink.

Bonus material - don't you just wanna eat her up?!

PS - For the record, my son would have never sat in a chair at her age.  He was in constant motion needing adult supervision and intervention at all times.

PSS - As of yesterday she is WALKING!

Pointillism

The Artful Parent gave me the idea.


He started with two colors, then asked for green.  The second picture he wanted to use the q-tips as a paint brush - which was fine with me.  I asked that he finish the first picture with dots.


The third picture he asked for white paint and colored construction paper (and I was thrilled he used pointillism on his own!)

Draw. Write. Now.

Veteran homeschooling mom, Lori Davidson, tipped me to this resource.

Draw. Write. Now.

I. Love. It.

In conjunction with the Draw and Write Notebook from Handwriting Without Tears,

he did this:

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Standing in the toy aisle, he was deliberating how to spend $3. It was burning a hole in his pocket. I was more than ready to go.

The sidewalk chalk caught his eye. Not sure why, but I convinced him to forgo it and we could make some at home. He was excited at the idea but that meant longer in the store for me. Why do I suggest such things?! :)

Once home, we searched the internet for a recipe. Basically, just use equal parts corn starch and water then add food coloring and stir like mad. If you start with the cornstarch in the cup first, it will come together easier.

He did all the measuring and most of the stirring. Granted he made a bigger mess than if I'd done it for him but it wasn't that big of deal to swipe the counter with a sponge and call it a day. As he added the colors we did a quick review of primary and secondary colors. I'm always surprised at how well he remembers.

The weather has been gorgeous lately and these five colors occupied him for quite a while.

Welcome to everyone - except those who steal trucks.

Recycled Wreath

Bottle tops strike again.

HT: Crafty Crow

How to Draw a Turkey

Art Projects for Kids has a great step by step tutorial on how to draw a turkey.

I meant for Mr. Intensity to draw with pencil then fill in with color but I was preoccupied when he decided to do the project.  He'd finished before I knew he'd begun and didn't want to add color.

Salty Painting

This afternoon we copied the Artful Parent.

You can read her post on how to do it but basically you squeeze glue, sprinkle salt and paint with watercolors.  Very fun activity.  Even (or especially?) younger children would like this project.

Primary Colors

When I presented Mr. Intensity with the tray he said, "Primary colors!!"  He had a good time and enjoyed the syringes more than the dropper.

Thanks Chasing Cheerios for the idea!

Images from My Kitchen

Cracking eggs for our lunch quiche, I chuckled then grabbed my camera.  The smile wasn't so crooked when I went searching for the camera.

Last night I saw this idea from Art Projects for Kids.  I read the instructions to Mr. Intensity and he made the following with oil pastels.  Ever the optimistic entrepreneur, he asked that I put a $25 price tag on it, "in case we meet someone in the grocery store who has money and wants to buy my picture." [update: he's since colored 4 more - each one is more expensive!]
And my quiche?  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Preschool Art Group

In preschool art group this week, they painted the salt dough ornaments from last week.  I was brave (or silly) enough to let them use acrylic paint.  To my great relief, wasn't that bad.  They really had a good time painting and chatting. 
With minutes before the other children were to arrive, I realized I hadn't followed my golden rule: ALWAYS make the craft before starting.  So, I quickly tried this idea and decided to tweak it.  Instead of using glue and foil, I gave them contact paper.  Actually, I tried it with liquid starch.  The tissue paper stuck to itself, but when dry, it came off the foil.
Lastly, they practiced sewing a popcorn garland with a real needle.  No blood drawn, or causalities I promise!  Along with the popcorn, I let them count out ten mini-marshmallows.  They had the option to eat the sweets or put them on the garland.  Only one (of the 30) survived to the garland.  And, I think they all tasted a cranberry.  Wish I had my camera ready for those puckered faces!

As you can see from the end results, their attention spans were a bit short.  I think Lucas would have lasted longer if the other two could have glued themselves to the chair.  Julia, we missed you - hope you're feeling better soon.

Preschool Art Group

Salt dough ornaments were on the docket for this week's preschool art group.  This week we made (and baked) the ornaments.  Next week we'll paint them.

I tried to steer them towards the creation of something "Christmas-y."    We even talked  about pictures and symbols that reminded us of Christmas.  However, the bulk of my cookie cutters were along the lines of transportation and shapes.  And so shall the ornaments be.

After the art time the kids quickly transitioned into free play and

 finding a few rolls of masking tape.  They made a wonderful web in the living room that  morphed itself up the stairs.  It was fun to watch them enjoy and create.

All was not lost during clean up time.  Mr. Intensity rolled it into a ball then took it to show Dad.  It's the size of his head.

Of course they had to play a quick game of catch.

Thanks again, Shelley for the tape!

Solo Art Group

Preschool art group this week was quite sad boring.  Levi's family left for Kenya, Julia's mom was sick, and Destany & Lucas just needed home-time.  So, that left me and Mr. Intensity.

We started the day by making a turkey.  He loves using the stapler, and he bammed a few feathers into a paper plate.  Lovingly he affixed a beak and legs then scribbled more feathers.

The next craft was copied inspired by Chrissy & Annabelle: blowing paint onto paper in the shape of a turkey.
He then requested a paint brush.

And this picture of his mid-morning snack was taken by Mr. Intensity.  Downloading my pictures is a treat.  I usually find a random picture surprise.  Or, at least I don't remember taking a picture of cheese and crackers.

Preschool Art Group

Today's preschool art group theme was Thanksgiving with tribute to Native Americans.  First the kids painted paper sacks to make vests.

Whew  - they were WILD by clean-up time.  Two words: paint everywhere.

Mr. Intensity was banished to his room for spitting on another child. The other children asked, "What will happen to him?"  

I told them, "At our house, we follow God's word in the Bible that says, 'He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.' So that means..."

The children enthusiastically filled in the blank and actually cut me off by saying, "He gets a spankin'!  We do too!  That's what my Mom and Dad believe, too!"  And they took turns telling me (funny to me) details.
After the momentary affliction, Mr. Intensity re-joined the group to make a head dress.  When I told the kids we were making a "head dress" one of the boys said, "Boys don't wear dresses!"
While they made their feathery creations, I told them a story from the book I'm giving away.
And ended the story by making popcorn, since the Natives showed the Pilgrims the wonder of POP!  This simple treat made me the most fun mom, ever.  I'd planned to add a bit of real maple syrup (again, like the natives showed the Europeans) but the kiddos seemed perfectly content with bland pop corn.  So I skipped the sweet.  They were wired without it.

Wanna guess who's kid is crying?  It really was a good morning, I promise.