1) MAKING FACES Inventing surreal new faces from old catalogs is an absorbing game for quiet afternoons. Old magazines & catalogs can be the source of several instant cut, paste, & draw activities. Ask the children to bring in extra magazines. Have them cut out eyes, noses, mouths, & hairstyles of all varieties. When you have a HUGE collection, the children can glue down the pieces onto a paper to make a collage to create a face. A paper plate also makesa compact canvas that the child can use as a mask. 2) Stickers Have kids paint with water colors on a computer address labels (do not peel them off until they are dry). Each child can have a section of about ten labels to paint. When the "stickers" are dry, the kids will get excited to pull their personalized stickers and mount them on to a piece of colored (use a color that brings their stickers to life) construction paper. At our school we laminated them and displayed the class' creations on a bulletin board. It was a hit! 3) Mirror Doll Glue yarn hair around the top and sides of a mediun-sized nonbreakable hand mirror. Take turns with the children looking into the mirror to create a mirror "doll". Make the doll look happy, sad, sleepy, or angry. Make white plastic spoon puppets by drawing happy, sad, sleepy, angry, surprised faces with permanent marker. 4) Foam Art Stacked Animals We took them and cut them out and made stacked animals. cut one peice for the head, another for the body another for the legs then one for the back side the a tail. We also made buttelflies. Cut out the shape of the butterfly. Using different colors, cut out the shapes for the spots, stripes body and antennea. We stacked the spots with different colors on this project too. 5) Sticky Socks Put a pair of socks over each child's shoes. Go outside on a 'sockwalk' and see what sticks to the socks. 6) Sticky Hunt Give each child a piece of masking tape about six inches long. Let each child go on a 'Sticky Hunt' on the rug to see what sticks to her tape. Make a list of things that stuck to the tape. Go on a 'Sticky Hunt' somewhere else, in the classroom or outside. 7) MUD SCULPTURES Fill several dishpans with dirt and set them on a table Have the children add water to the dirt to make mud Then let them sculpt the mud into a variety of shapes Ask what happens when they add more water What happens when they add more dirt. 8) MUD FINGERPAINT Mix dirt and water in a big bowl to make mud Put mud on the table and let the children fingerpaint If desired add glue to the mixture and have them make handprints on a large piece of paper 9) WHERE DOES DIRT COME FROM Explain to the children that dirt or soil is made from rocks plants and animals First show them a rock and some sand Tell them that after years and years of warming by the sun freezing by the snow and ice and wearing away by wind and rain the rock eventually breaks into smaller and smaller pieces and becomes sand Then show the children a sample of sand and a sample of dirt. Explain that dirt is sand that has tiny pieces of decaying plants and animals in it which is why it looks and feels different from ordinary sand 10) DIRT SAFARI Go outside and spread a newspaper on the grass and put 2-3 scoops of dirt on it Give the children sifters and a magnifying glasses to use for examing the dirt Can they see any parts of plants animals or rocks in the dirt What does dirt look like What does it smell like? 11) DIRT AND WATER Fill a large jar partway with dirt and water Stir up the dirt and water and have the children observe what happens Have them continue to watch the jar. Why is the dirt sinking. What would happen if you stirred it up again 12) D SOUND Fill a large dishpan with dirt. Bury a variety of objects that begin with the letter d. Have them take turns digging to find the d objects. 13) I LOVE DIRT (tune 3 blind mice) I love dirt I love dirt It can't hurt on my shirt I love to squirt it with my hose I love to squish it with my toes The fun I have just grows and grows I love dirt 14) Nature Boards We went out and picked up anything that was colorful or differant or not so differant. We brought them in and we glued each thing to a piece of card board. We had things like rocks, leaves, sand, grass, flowers and whatever! We had so much fun doing it and the whole time we were glueing we talked about nature and how things grow and die, and how nature resicles it self. 15) Beach Nature Board Items required: Plastic bag (could be paper but the children like to see what they have picked up) Sand (I usually get a baggie full for everyone to share) items from walk White liquid glue Small pieces of drift wood (each child is allowed to chose one piece on their walk, it must beable to fit in their bag) Treasures found on walk (shells, crab shells, seaweed etc) 1. cover drift wood with glue 2. let children place items found on walk 3. sprinkle sand over finished project 4. let dry This made a real nice Fathers Day gift one year, also talk to the children about what they saw, even about the bits of garbage which people left behind (polution) 16) Nature Bracelets Take a peice of duct tape, and wrap it around each child's wrist. When you are outside collecting nature items, you can simply put them right onto the bracelet. They are pretty-- especially when you are able to get wildflowers and other colorful objects! 17) BALLOON PRINTS materials: Partly inflated balloons Paint Paper Have ready, one color paint (in wide bowls) for each balloon you have. Dip the partly inflated balloon in the paint. Dab the paint covered balloon onto the paper. This makes a neat looking print, depending on how big your balloons are, etc. 18) SPRAY PAINTINGS materials: Thinned down paint Spray bottles Paper Squirt the paint onto the paper! You get a different effect if you hang it on a fence and let the "spray paint" drip. This can get rather messy! 19) MESH DAB PRINTS materials: Plastic mesh bags (the kind onions come in) Foam, old nylons, or fabric scraps Paint Old Sponges Paper Make mesh dabbers by filling mesh squares with foam, old nylons, etc. Tie off with string or rubber bands. Spread thin coat of paint on top of old sponges to make "ink pad". Press the dabber onto the paint covered sponge. Print with the dabbers on paper. 20) TENNIS BALL ART materials: Old Tennis Balls Bowls Paint Paper (large sheets work well for this) Cardboard Box or Rubbermaid type container Set up your paper inside large box or rubbermaid container (this is to keep balls from rolling all over the place). Roll the tennis balls around in the paint until covered. Have the child drop the tennis ball into the box so it lands on the paper. As the ball lands and bounces, it makes a splat, or a line as it rolls. 21) Running Art Have kids use washable markers on finger paint paper. Take the picture outside & tape to a fence. Have kids spray paper with water using a fine mist. Colors will run & blend taking on an underwater effect. 22) Markers & Oil Pictures Have student draw with permanent colored markers & pens on drawing paper. Using a paper towel carefully spread cooking oil over entire surface. The color of the paper will change. It resembles stained glass. 23) Ink Blow Pictures Drip blob of ink on drawing paper. Quickly use a straw & blow to spread in different directions. Let ink dry. Add color by using watercolors, markers or tissue paper. Can frame with black construction paper. 24) Dip & Dye Mix food coloring with small amount of tempra & add water. Put into seperate bowls. (OR small containers of paper dye is avalable in art stores - use 1/8 tea. per bowl) Fold coffee filter or paper towel in any manner. Dip the corners & edges into dishes of color. Unfold & dry by pressing between layers of newspapers, then open & dry on newspapers. (Decrease drying time by placing in warm oven or microwave.) Can wrap a pipe cleaner around the center of bunched up filter to make a flower on a stem or a butterbly with antenna. 25) Chalk & Buttermilk Pour 1/4 cup into small bowls. Have kids dip chalk into buttermilk & draw. OR use liquid starch in place of buttermilk. 26) String & Glue Art Have various thickness of different colored yarn & string pre cut. Have kids pull each piece through watered down glue & squeeze off excess glue. Arrange on dark paper or matboard & yarn will stick when dry. 27) Roller Painting Put paint in shallow pan. Roll: a cob from corn, paste objects to a rolling pin, cut designs in a spool & use with pencil as center roller, glue yarn on a tin can, carve notches in a cardboard tube, roll a hair culler, use a paint roller, etc. 28) Contact paper is great (I have a couple of local sources for free/inexpensive rolls). I place large pieces on the wall and under tables for group collage (using sequins, yarn, odd recyclable scraps, . ..) and smaller pieces in frames at the easel for individual work. 29) Shaped sponges Can be provided to go along with any type of theme. My younger students often use them to paint while my older students use them to print, sometimes creating their own patterns, designs. 30) Paintbrushes Almost anything can be a paintbrush--one of our favorites is the funny shaped dishwashing sponges on sticks 31) Prepare Parents Try to prepare families early on for the possibility of their children not bringing something home everyday. That it is okay for a child not to choose an art activity and that some art activities don't result in something to bring home. . .process not product! 32) BALLOON PRINTS Partly inflated balloons Paint Paper Have ready, one color paint (in wide bowls) for each balloon you have. Dip the partly inflated balloon in the paint. Dab the paint covered balloon onto the paper. This makes a neat looking print, depending on how big your balloons are, etc. 33) SPRAY PAINTINGS Thinned down paint Spray bottles Paper Squirt the paint onto the paper! You get a different effect if you hang it on a fence and let the "spray paint" drip. This can get rather messy! 34) MESH DAB PRINTS Plastic mesh bags (the kind onions come in) Foam, old nylons, or fabric scraps Paint Old Sponges Paper Make mesh dabbers by filling mesh squares with foam, old nylons, etc. Tie off with string or rubber bands. Spread thin coat of paint on top of old sponges to make "ink pad". Press the dabber onto the paint covered sponge. Print with the dabbers on paper. 35) TENNIS BALL ART Old Tennis Balls Bowls Paint Paper (large sheets work well for this) Cardboard Box or Rubbermaid type container Set up your paper inside large box or rubbermaid container (this is to keep balls from rolling all over the place). Roll the tennis balls around in the paint until covered. Have the child drop the tennis ball into the box so it lands on the paper. As the ball lands and bounces, it makes a splat, or a line as it rolls.