Monday, March 22, 2010

Sculptures

I love art!!! As a former elementary school teacher, I loved anything hands on or art based. However, I had no idea what to do with a toddler when it came to art...except for maybe paint and crayons. When Kaylee was almost two, I stumbled upon this book and I absolutely love it! It is great for toddlers, but older children will love the ideas as well. It's called First Art by MaryAnn Kohl (click here) The pictures below are the "sculpture in a bag" project. Kaylee and Corban loved it! So if you are needing new ideas or projects to do with your little ones, I definitely recommend this book :)






Saturday, March 6, 2010

Painting Pictures

I love art!!! There is nothing better than creating something. It's even better to watch my little ones create something unique and beautiful. However, I am sure as most of you have realized...it can get messy! There are a few things that I have learned that have helped me to not be fearful of "The Mess."
1. Smocks- The blue things my kids are wearing...they are amazing and cheap! They can get pretty messy, but then I just take it off and wash it. I ordered mine through Rainbow Resource (click here) but you can get them at any art supply store. I discovered Rainbow Resource when I was working with homeschooling parents...they have so much stuff...I love it.
2.Washable Tempera Paint- Just in case it gets somewhere I don't want it...I know it will come off.
3. Paper Plates- Love to use these to put paint in...so when they are finished, I throw it away...easy clean up.
4. High chair- My little guy is in a high chair because I know that if I let him sit with his sister or anywhere else for that matter...he will get up move around and get paint everywhere! So....this is my solution.
I hope that some of my solutions will help you with messy projects :) It has been raining a lot here...so we have been doing a lot of projects lately. Here are the pictures of Kaylee and Corban making their pictures: