Collage Treasure Hunt!

Before beginning our monochromatic collages, we began by going on a "treasure hunt" to find our collage materials. The children each chose a color, then searched around the yard for treasures in their specific color.

When the kids found a color other than their own, they immediately ran to give it to the person looking for that color. What great teamwork!

The 1s class also went on a treasure hunt, but it wasn't limited by color. Most of them were just trying to understand the concept of collecting and keeping the treasure in their baskets!

After our treasure hunt, we returned to the studio to create a collage using glue and our new found materials. I think the treasure hunt helped to get the children excited about using only one color. After the hard work of hunting, they formed a special bond with their color!

 The 1s class used colored glue to add to their colorful collages.

After making our collages, we worked on a variety of projects. Some children squeezed colored glue into plastic tops- which will dry and become translucent window hangings.

Other children worked at the easels...

painted the window...

and some got messy outside with gross motor tools: bouncy bean bags, child-sized mops and a broom!

Shrinky Dink Beading and Splat Painting!

As I mentioned last week, we began our final class of the session making "Shrinky Dinks" (I was inspired by art teacher, Erin, from Laugh Paint Create). The 2s classes drew with colored Sharpies on large sheets of shrinking plastic. Then I punched a hole in the top before baking them so the kids could make them into window hangings.

For the rest of the window hanging, the children beaded a string that will be tied to the finished Srinky Dink.

The 3s/4s kids made small Shrinky Dinks the week before to make jewelry. Once they had strung half of the beads for the necklace, I showed them how to add the Shrinky Dink on as a pendant.

Then they helped each other!

After Shrinky Dinks and beading, I brought out some materials to try a super fun throwing "splat" painting. The kids first began to do their own thing, excited to use the spray bottles and paint, but soon got really into the splat painting!

First they covered some cotton balls in watery paint...

 

Then grabbed a soaked cotton ball from the plate...

and threw it to make a splat!

 The kids got really creative with it too!

So much Fun!

Mixing Paste for Collage, Painting with Cars and Balls

We began this week by mixing our own colored paste of flour, water, tempera, and sand. The flour, water, and sand mixture creates a thick bonding paste that can be used as a base for a collage (and the tempera adds color for fun!).

After mixing their paste, I offered the children scraping tools to move the paste around their tagboard. They used small rakes, plastic putty knives, scrub brushes, combs, and plastic notched scrapers for tiling. This is a great introduction to making mosaics! The kids learn how to spread out the adhesive, and lay down materials into a design. After they master this technique, we can try grouting!

After plenty of spreading and scraping, the children added collage materials to their paste.

The oldest class did this project last session, so I took it to the next level and offered them cardboard frames (that I cut out of a large box) as a base for their collage.

Although I explained that the paste would work as glue, some kids weren't convinced and used white glue to make sure their items would stay put.

Towards the end of class I rolled out a large paper onto the floor and showed the kids how to have "zooming car races." Two of the cars are the kind that wind up and drive by themselves. They dipped the wheels in paint, and raced them down the paper to see which cars went the fastest and how far the tracks would go.

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we spent some fun, creative time outside as well.

After getting this large box with my new outdoor table, I decided to use it for ball painting!

Window painting!

For her grandma's birthday, Karuna wanted to give her the frame she made so I taped a photo of her behind the opening. Adorable!