Spaghetti Painting!

One of my favorite art projects for my three year old class...also one of my messiest :) I cook spaghetti (Use a regular size spaghetti, NOT angel hair...it will break) until it is a little bit al dente. Spray the spaghetti with a non stick cooking spray and put into a large ziplock bag. I do this the night before the art project, and refrigerate it so it's completely cooled off the next day. In front of the children I choose my color and pour a good amount of paint into my ziplock bag...close it *TIGHTLY!!* and shake. Obviously, since we were painting pumpkin cutouts, I chose orange. This is a really great tactile activity for children who aren't afraid to get a little messy. I did this during our "Sense of touch" week and they loved it. :)

 

 

 

 

Give a Hoot

Another great "Earth Day" project...you will need two tiny circles for eyes, two small circles (one cut in half for the wings), two small orange diamonds (one cut in half for the feet), one large oval, and one 'head shape'...(not really sure how to describe that one, just use the picture as reference)...in the middle of the owl you could either write on the original circle or make another one saying "Give a hoot...don't pollute!" The kids thought this was cute...and it lead into a lesson on pollution...I was surprised how interested they were in learning about ways to keep the earth clean, but I guess it's a good sign. :) 

Playing with your food...

During "Earth week" we focused on things that came from the earth that are good for us. This project was fairly simple and not very expensive. The day before I planned on doing this art project I went to the grocery store and bought various vegetables. You can use whatever you like, but I used corn on the cob, a pepper (cut in half), mushrooms (cut in half), carrots (cut in half), celery and a potato (cut in half). I had the kids dip each vegetable in different colored paint and stamp or roll them on their paper. Who says you can't play with your food?

Foot-er-flies

It's butterfly week! After we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and check to see how big our caterpillars got while we were home for the weekend, we make these "foot-er-flies". This is a butterfly I made with my nephew's feet when he was a couple of months old, but I do it with my 3 year old class each year. They crack up when I paint their feet :)

Simple Volcano

Science is very popular in a three and four year old classroom...and I'll do anything to keep those kids sitting still on circle carpet for more than thirty seconds :) I made a volcano with them today that they absolutely loved...and it was so cheap and simple that I'll probably do it a few more times before summer break.  All you need is baking soda, vinegar, two paper cups (one with a dime size hole cut in the bottom), and food coloring if you want to make colored 'lava'. Put about a quarter cup of baking soda in the bottom of one cup and add some optional drops of food coloring on top. Cut a dime size hole in the bottom of the second cup and tape it to the top of the cup with the baking soda. (Make sure you do this on some sort of tray or you'll have a huge mess) Slowly pour vinegar into the hole...the more vinegar you use, the more the 'volcano' will erupt. Simple, cheap and fun!

The Purple Crayon

One of my favorite things to do is fun activities tied in with great children's books. The kids love the book "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson, and I wanted to give them a chance to bring it to life in their own way and make the connection that reading can be really fun. I bought a large inflatable purple crayon and had each child pose for a picture holding it however they wanted. After reading the book to them I gave them a half sheet of white paper and one purple crayon and asked them to draw someone or something that makes them feel happy. After developing the pictures I cut around each of their bodies and the large crayon they were holding and found a good place to put them into the pictures they each drew. The results are adorable, and probably one of my favorite bulletin board ideas of all time :)

 

Adorable Spring Bulletin Board

For our Spring theme I wanted to do something cute, and I love using pictures of the kids because they're cute...win win! I bought a foam board from a local craft store and cut an oval in it toward the top of the board. I painted a flower on one side for my three year old class, and I painted a bumble bee on the other side for my four year old class. I hung them on a bulletin board with the saying "Spring is in the air!" It turned out great! (I erased their faces for these pictures, but you get the idea) I also did the same thing for a November bulletin board with a foam board and a turkey painted on it...also adorable...I have a really cute class :)