We have been spray painting with liquid watercolor. It has been fun and fabulous. First, we make a literacy connection by reading “Mouse Paint” by Ellen Stoll Walsh. It is great little book about three little mice mixing and stirring primary colors.
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Denise gives consideration to every detail of a book. Every word and inch from cover to cover has been carefully and thoughtfully designed. She described some of the small details in her books that can easily go unnoticed:
At her website, there are dozens of activities, patterns for hats, recipes, and instructions to make illustrations using her techniques with paper pulp. Denise encourages adults to set the mood when reading to children. Turn off the lights, make a campfire with battery powered flickering pumpkin lights, (found at Lowes) tissue paper, and cellophane. Use drama and props when reading, have your children act out the story and use movement for each of the words. She did a great job of demonstrating the use of animal puppets. She prefers puppets from Folk Manis because they can easily be moved and manipulated to appear alive. The supplies that she uses for activities are cheap, and can be found at the Dollar Tree, end of the season sales at Joanne’s Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and other local discount and craft stores.
Denise was fun and funny. She likes the Aussie show “McLeod’s Daughters”. She chatted up the crowd while we waited for her to sign the books, then drew a cute little illustration along with her signature.
Be sure and check out her website! The handouts from the conference are there too. And if you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak…go!
Denise ~Thanks for visiting the Show-Me State!
All you need are four long pipe cleaners (chenille wires) and one short one.
First, take the short one, make a loop and twist it so that it holds. Then, at about half way, twist together pairs of the long pipe cleaners. Have your child do the twisting for fine motor development.
Place the loop on the legs and twist to secure
Once all body parts are secure, shape them into a spider. This one is similar to the grand-daddy long legs that we see frequently in our neck-of-the-woods.
There are many creative and educational options. The spider can be any color. It can have short or long legs. The body can be larger or smaller. It can be associated with a science lesson on spiders by researching and discussing their habitat, webs, and food. Are You a Spider? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries is a simple non-fiction read for young children that describes basic characteristics of spiders. Reading the Very Busy Spider is another delightful literacy connection.
Making the spider is just a fraction of the fun. The real fun is playing with it. It can be formed it into various shapes. Children can engage in pretend play by having it climb onto furniture, up the curtains, onto cabinets, and around table legs. They love having it climb up there arms and onto their head. Scaring their mother is the best!
Have fun together!
This activity has been linked to NurtureStore and Red Ted’s Art Blog!!!!
I recently discovered Little Blue Truck by Alice Shertle, with illustrations by Jill McElmurry.
It is a fun story. It has a cute main character,
farm animal sounds,
…adorable illustrations, rhyming words, and more animal sounds…
But best of all, it is a story of friendship and helping others.
I plan to use this book and incorporate dramatic play with cars, animals, blocks, boxes, and toys.
Match box cars were recently on sale at Walmart for dollar each, a great find!
I used a small blanket, blue painters tape, duct tape, scissors, a wrapping paper tube, and a variety of toys that I have used over the years to make a portable community.
Blocks can be stacked to create buildings and various constructions.
Your children can use whatever action figures they have to create action in their play.
Clean up is easy. Just toss the toys in a box and roll up the blanket and you are ready to go!
Another option:
For a more washable version, I have decided to use an 8 foot vinyl table cloth, fold it in half, then sew or hot glue the edges together. This gives a smooth surface on both sides that can easily be cleaned with a disinfectant wipe. We can then use dry erase markers to draw rivers, buildings, woods, and etc. on the surface. The possibilities are endless!
Have fun together!
HUG by Jez Alborough is a favorite children’s book for Valentine’s Day. A literacy connection can easily be made with the Valentine’s Day with art and activities too!
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Snowballs by Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite winter books for preschoolers.
The story is simple. It describes a snowfamily.
What shines are the great illustrations. So while you enjoy the story you can revel in the language rich collage of eclectic snow people. To the left is the cool snow boy. There are many opportunities to stretch the story by talking about the pictures such as the nuts for eyes, the cinnamon stick mouth, and pine branch hair. Have you seen a squirrel in your yard?
The family snow dog is complete with button spots.
There are many connections that you can make with this story.
1) Read this book after playing in the snow with a cup of hot chocolate.
2) Read this book before you play in the snow. Talk about what you will use to decorate your snow man. Go on a hunt around the house to gather supplies for your snow person.
You don’t have to brave the cold weather to make a snowman.
The above box contains my scraps. You can gather up your scraps of paper, yarn, fuzzy balls, cotton balls, stickers, and anything else that is safe and glue-able. You need a few circles, construction paper, and my favorite disappearing purple glue. Give your child the scraps, the glue, and let them have free reign to make their snowman.
If your child is an early 3 year old. The scrap snowman might look like this:
This is typical art for a 3 year old. They are learning the steps to gluing, they are exploring the textures, shapes, and colors. This is perfect. They don’t need to be directed to how to put the pieces together, just let them create on their own. You can talk about how feathers feel, the colors, sizes and shapes.
If your child is an older 3 year old or 4 years old, their scrap snowman may look like this:
A four year old has mastered the details and steps of ‘how to’. They have moved forward and now they can focus on the specifics of the construction They can see a model, such as the snow people in the book, and form their art to resemble the model.
As always, the main idea is to…
Have fun together!
This activity has been linked to JDaniel4s Mom ~~ Read. Explore. Learn. Thank you!!!
It has also been linked with A Mommy’s Adventure~~stART. Thank you!!
Here’s a super simple cutting and literacy activity that maks a great literacy connection to “The Mitten” by Jan Brett.
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