BEAUTIFUL NUMBERS (K-4) This art activity focuses on the shape of numbers. A good tie-in to math for younger students. Materials: a.. Cardboard or bristol board     b.. Pencils     c.. Scissors     d.. Tempera paint or markers     e.. Paint brushes     f.. Water containers     g.. Water     h.. A covered work area     Directions: a.. Choose a number.     b.. If you are working in a classroom situation, you might want to have children draw numbers out of a hat to avoid a class full of the same numbers).     c.. Children can draw the number on cardboard or bristol board. The number should be large and bulky (not small and skimpy). Have your kinder artists concentrate on the shape of the number.     d.. Carefully cut the number out.     e.. Outline some fun designs on the number shape.     f.. Using markers or paint, fill in the designs.     GARDEN JOURNALS     (K-3)     What a wonderful way for kids K-3 to learn about and share in the excitement of gardens ... even in those cold winter months. This lesson incorporates Art, Reading, Writing and Science.         Materials:             a.. A large sheet of thick paper eg: poster board or Bristol board.         b.. Construction paper or felt --- many colors.         c.. Scissors, glue and a hole punch.         d.. String, heavy yarn or raffia.         e.. Pencils and regular printing paper         Directions:             a.. Cut the thick poster paper into 2 equal pieces. These will be the front and back covers of your journal. Punch three holes on the edges of your paper.         b.. Next, draw and cut out all kinds of things found in gardens. Use your colored construction paper. Flowers, plants, butterflies, bean stalks, blades of grass and yes, even weeds! Be sure to draw and cut out a sunshine ... gardens depend on the sun after all! Visit KinderGARDEN for inspiration         c.. Glue your garden images onto your front cover.         d.. Write on your front cover in BIG BOLD LETTERS The Grow Zone         e.. Punch holes into your plain printing paper and put your book together using the string or raffia to tie it together.         f.. Inside the journal you could write all sorts of things. Here are some ideas:         1.. Descriptions of plants. red roses; tall corn stalks; tasty peas         2.. Animals and insects found in gardens.         3.. Types of gardens (water, vegetable, flower)         a.. You could also do some planting in the classroom and keep a journal of what seeds were planted, when and how many. Also you could write down how much water the seeds get. When the growth started and how much the plant grows every week.                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --         SNOW SCIENCE ART     (K-6)     Lorie Marchant - a parent and teacher - did this project with her 1st graders and it was very successful! She is kind enough to share that lesson with KinderArt now. It comes from Teaching Chemistry With Toys.         Materials:             a.. Water & Containers         b.. Q-Tips         c.. Alum         d.. Epsom Salt         e.. Lite Salt         f.. Sugar         g.. Black Construction Paper         h.. Glossy White Paper         i.. White Construction Paper         Directions:             a.. Make mixtures with 4 substances and water ( alum, Epsom salt, lite salt and sugar.)         b.. Have the kids fold 3 types of paper in 4ths (black construction paper, glossy white paper and white construction paper.)         c.. Ask the question: "Which mixture will make the best snow crystal picture?"         d.. Children will make predictions and then draw snow pictures using q-tips dipped in the solutions. The tricky part is keeping them from dipping it in several solutions.         e.. Children should label their 4 sections on their papers with 1, 2, 3 and 4, one for each mixture.         f.. Let the pictures dry and later make comparisons and vote on which made the best crystals.         g.. Use mag lenses to look closely at the crystals and look at geodes, too.         h.. Talk about how snow is made up of crystals.