art
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Activities to do with Yarn – Art
If there is one thing that is universal for every single preschool program it’s that you never seem to have enough materials for all of the activities that you want to do with the children. Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at creating fun experiences with very few supplies. I thought it would be fun to focus on one simple supply and share a ton of easy activities that you can do to meet different learning domains. This week is going to be all about things you can do with yarn. Yarn is a creative material – while it is generally intended to be used for knitting, crocheting, and…
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Firefly Crafts
It always feels like it’s officially summer when the fireflies show up – and usually it’s right around this week (at least it is where I live). I know that it’s typical to explore bugs and insects in the spring, but fireflies would be a fun, different summer theme if you’re looking to switch it up from the usual beach and barbecue themes. Here are some fun firefly art projects to try out while you explore these amazing little critters! Eric Carle inspired Firefly Suncatchers 3D Glowstick Fireflies Beaded Fireflies Plastic Egg Fireflies Firefly Jar Which one will you try first?
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Friday Freebie – Teacher Appreciation Collaborative Project
Happy Friday! I hope that you have had a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week, and that you’ve received the recognition that you deserve – or at the very least that you took some time to treat yourself! Today’s freebie is a great project that you can file away for next year’s celebration. This Teacher Appreciation Week Puzzle from Teaching in the Tongass encourages each child to think about what they love about their teachers, while working together to create a beautiful mural that the entire school can enjoy. Go download a copy and have a wonderful weekend!
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Recyclable Jewelry
Yesterday I shared some thoughts on open-ended recyclable art, and today I’ve rounded up some more ideas for those recyclable materials. These fun projects all use recyclable materials to create jewelry, so if you love the way they turn out you could use them as Mother’s Day gifts too! Coiled magazine pendant Soda Bottle Jewelry Washer pendants Yarn wrapped bracelets Fabric and paper straw bracelet I can’t wait to try a couple of these ideas myself, I’d love to know how they work for you too!
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Shape art
Both of my posts this week have been all about understanding shapes, but when you’re introducing a new concept to preschoolers it’s important to have fun with it too. Here are some great ideas for shape art projects that will inspire exploration and creativity! Shape Collages – from Nurture Store Create a city out of shapes Make pictures with shape blocks Recreate shape pictures What other shape art activities do you do? Share them in the comments!
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Movement Art
I planned an entire series of posts for this week thinking “It’s February, everyone’s been cooped up inside all winter and we need to MOVE.” Ha, clearly the joke is on me because it’s supposed to be 60 degrees all week here where I am so, all the little ones I know will get plenty of outside time. If the same can’t be said of your home, then this week is for you! If you’re lucky like me and getting some warm weather then be sure to stash these activities away for cold rainy days that are sure to come your way before spring officially gets here. This particular activity…
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Save your extra wrapping paper!
Preschool teachers are well known for saving everything, so it should come as no surprise that I’m telling you to save your left over wrapping paper. There are so many things that you can use it for in the classroom, here are a few ideas: Create artwork on top of the wrapping paper design. Most wrapping paper is shiny, so it would be interesting to see how paint, crayons, and glue react to this surface. It would also be interesting to see if the children cover the design, or if they incorporate it into their art. Cut wrapping paper into smaller pieces and use it for collages. I always had…
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Easy Leaf Art
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know how hard I try to come up with art ideas that families will not only want to display, but will also keep for years to come. I found the perfect one for this fall with the help of Oriental Trading! This project could not be easier, your students will love it, and so will their families. I got the white ceramic ornaments from Oriental Trading’s Halloween collection. The “dipped” look is pretty popular, so that’s what I was going for. I put a little acrylic paint in the bottom of a plastic cup and added a little water so…
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Friday Freebie – Printable Paint Chips
Happy Friday! I went way back today to pull out a freebie that I haven’t featured in a very long time. This Printable Paint Chips set includes 33 different paint chips that you can print right from your computer – yes, I know that it’s probably more cost effective to go pick up the free paint chips from the store than it is to print your own BUT every time that I needed paint chips I didn’t have time to run to the store – I needed them now! So I made some that I could print in a pinch. The possibilities are endless with these, you could match color…
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Reggio Classroom Decor
My favorite thing about back to school is drooling over all of the amazing classroom decor that I see in all of the best teacher blogs. This fun stuff doesn’t really fit in my Reggio-inspired room, which is probably a good thing because I would spend way too much money on all of it! But that doesn’t mean that a Reggio classroom has to be boring – far from it in fact. I have a ton of great tips for decorating a Reggio-inspired classroom; 1, Have the children help you create artwork for the room. These masterpieces can be incredibly artistic and meaningful at the same time. The act…
