Where the Wild Things Are

For art appreciation month we are slowing down and working on our art techniques. We focused on a famous quote from Bob Ross, "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."

One of my favorite projects we did was create monsters using oil pastels and watercolors. I got this wonderful idea from deepspacesparkle.com. This is a fabulous blog with so many art lesson plans. It is perfect for someone like me who is a little artistically challenged!

To start the lesson we read "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. As we read, I asked the students to look closely at the illustrations in the book. They used ideas from the book to create their own monsters. I had them start by drawing a head and body with oil pastels. I made sure that they took up most of the page. Then the students created details with different colors of oil pastels. When they were finished with their drawing they used watercolors to complete their picture. I love how vibrant their pieces turned out!

Make your own liquid watercolors!

This week we are learning about different modes of art. We are slowing down and learning different techniques in painting, drawing, and sculpting.

If you have ever seen a child paint with watercolors, you know that they do not last long! With several watercolor lessons planned I knew I needed to figure out a better/less expensive way to watercolor. I stumbled upon liquid watercolors, but soon realized those were equally expensive! Then I looked up DIY liquid watercolors. Low and behold- I found a recipe to make my very own!
I found the recipe here: http://www.curbly.com/m/12172-how-to-make-diy-liquid-watercolors

I modified it to fit my needs. I found these cute storage bottles at Michaels that hold 2 oz each.

2 cups boiling water
1 TBS vinegar in each container
About 10 drops of food coloring in each container

I put the vinegar in first and then filled the rest of the container with boiling water. I added the food coloring, put on the lid, and shook hard. I had to make sure they worked so I painted a rainbow. I think they worked pretty well! I can't wait to experiment with more colors with the kids at school!

DIY Easter Baskets

Last week we had an egg hunt at school. Instead of having every child bring their own basket, we decided to make them! They only hold about 3 eggs which was perfect for our hunt. They were easy and turned out super cute!

Materials:

Liquid starch
Strips of construction paper
Styrofoam bowls
Pipe cleaners

Step 1:
Paint the styrofoam bowl with liquid starch.

Step 2:
Apply strips of construction paper one or two at a time. Our kiddos just ripped their own strips!

Step 3:
Paint with liquid starch after applying one to two pieces of paper. Continue process until entire bowl is covered.

Step 4:
Let air dry for about 24 hours. Remove from bowl.

Step 5:
Punch holes at the top and add a pipe cleaner! Voila! Your very own Easter Basket!