More Painting Ideas

Painting with various medium is a great way to increase children’s eye-hand coordination. There are so many items you can use, be creative and just try your ideas.  Here are a few suggestions to get you started.  The possibilities with paint are unlimited.

Alphabet Block Prints

Using alphabet blocks with raised letters, dip in thick paint and press on manila paper.

Pine Needles

Dip the tips of the needles in white paint and stroke across black construction paper, or they can be dipped in colored paint and stroked on manila paper.

Fingertip Prints

Place a sponge on a plate and put paint over it.  The child then presses one finger at a time on the sponge and applies it to paper.

Colored Chalk

Here are two different methods for you to try.

1.  Child dips the end of the chalk in water and then applies it to manila paper.
2.  Child immerses manila paper into a pan of water and removes it immediately.  Dry  colored chalk is then used.

Ice Cubes

Start by placing a blog of thick paint on manila paper or finger paint paper.  Have children push the paint across the paper with an ice cube.  A paper napkin or paper toweling may be wrapped on the top of the ice cube to make it less cold for little hands.

Sports Ball Prints

Using golf, tennis, ping-pong balls, etc. dip them in thick paint and printed or stroke over manila paper.

Painting with Toy Cars

The wheels of the car are dipped in tempera paint that is mixed with liquid starch.  The car is then wheeled over manila or other paper.

Potato Prints

Cut potatoes in half and carve a shape on them.  Instruct your child to dip a half-potato into thick paint and press it on manila paper.

Fruit Prints

Using two apples, the first is cut in half from top to bottom; the second is cut in half around the middle.  Let the child dip an apple-half into thick paint and press it on manila paper.

 

More Science – Thirsty Plants

There are many activities you can conduct with children to emphasis science in your classroom.  Here is one of my favorites in which results are seen pretty quickly.

Supplies:

Celery

Glass of Water

Food Coloring

Have your children mix some food coloring in a glass of water.  (I suggest doing this with several glasses and colors.) Place a celery stalk in the water.  Watch what happens for a few days.  Does the celery stalk change over time?  You can have the children make predictions of what they think will happen before the experiment and later they can tell what actually happened.   This is also a great way to teach children how plants grow by drinking water.  It provides a great opportunity for conversations on the importance of children drinking water and staying hydrated during these hot summer days too.  

 

Bubble Experimentation

Bubble blowing naturally gives rise to scientific investigations.  Children will notice that not all bubbles look the same or even behave in the same way.  Let you children experiment with bubbles for several days.  They may discover answers to some of the following questions:

What happens if they blow softly?

What happens if they blow hard?

What color are bubbles?

Are all bubbles the same shape?

Are all bubbles the same size?

If you touch a bubble, what happens?

How long do bubbles last?

These activities can lead to many discussions and create lots of fun at the same time.  See future blogs for recipes to make your own bubbles and ideas of bubble blowers you can simply make.

 

 

Falling In Love….With Fruit & Veggies

Beets are red and blueberries are blue, please eat your fruit and veggies too! Imagine sitting at the dinner table and your kids are actually eating their veggies! What a great day that would be! It can be like pulling teeth to get your child to eat their vegetables which are very important to their growth and development. Let’s not forget about the sweet delicacy of fruit which are equally important. Fruit and veggies are good for the decreasing obesity, increasing their nutrition and their performance in schools. If you have a picky eater there are a few techniques that will help you sneak them in. Smoothies are a great way to pump your child with the nutrients of fruit and veggies and your child will never know that the drink is healthy. Some other techniques for adding more fruit and veggies into your child’s diet are:

• Leading by example– if your child sees you eating your fruit and veggies than they are more likely to eat them themselves
• Let your child help prepare the dish– if your child has an active role in the preparation of the dish than they will have a greater desire to eat their creation.
• Sneak in fruit and veggies into their favorite dishes– adding these items into their favorite foods will increase their probability of eating them such as with the smoothies listed above or maybe adding carrots to their favorite spice muffins.

Easter Egg Fun with Natural Dyes

Today is Good Friday and many people are preparing to celebrate Easter.  One of the fun parts of Easter for children is dying eggs.  There are commercial egg dyes available, but have you ever tried to color your eggs using food items?  I did this with some of my employees and they were amazed at the colors and technique.  So here is some suggestion for dyeing this years’ eggs.   Please share your pictures or other ideas.  Remember to keep eggs refrigerated for food safety, do not use them for your egg hunt.  They should not be kept out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours.  Plastics are much more safe and you can eat the ones you dyed.  Have fun while exploring.

Eggs simmered in water to cover for 15 minutes with 1 tablespoons of white vinegar for each cup of water with your choice of one of the materials below will produce a shade of the color shown.  Use your own judgment about quantities..  This is art – not a science so, explore and see what wonderful colors you discover using some commonly found items.

MATERIAL	COLOR
Fresh beets, cranberries or radishes or frozen raspberries	Pinkish red
Yellow onion skins	Orange
Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin	Delicate Yellow
Ground turmeric	Yellow
Spinach leaves	Pale green
Yellow Delicious apple peels	Green-gold
Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves	Blue
Strong brewed coffee	Beige to brown
Dill seeds	Brown-gold
Chili powder	Brown-orange
Purple or red grape juice or beet juice	Grey

Be Creative with Natural Dyes