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Keeping Kids Busy with Crafts
by Diana Kentfield
Chalk Drawings
Materials:
Liquid starch
Large flat paint brushes (foam ones work great)
Construction paper
Water
Newspaper
Colored chalk
Procedure: Mix 1 part starch to 1 part water in a container. Put down
newspaper to protect work area. Give each child a piece of construction
paper and a paint brush. Let your child dip his paint brush into the
starch, and then brush it onto their construction paper (they will want
to cover the paper with the starch mixture). Then using the chalk, your
child can draw their design on the starch-covered paper. When the paper
dries the starch acts as a fixative and won't rub off the paper.
Litterbug Collage
If you ever wanted to a project that would also teach your children an
important message than this is it!
Materials: trash, paper, glue, small sack for each child.
Procedure: If the weather is nice outside and not too windy, then take
the children outside and give each one a sack. Talk to your children
about how awful it is to litter and how you are going to not only make
the world look better with your project, but you are going to have fun.
Also be sure to explain to your children to not pick up anything that is
sharp or that will hurt (broken glass, wires, etc.). Take them on a
litterbug walk and have them pick up the trash that they see. When you
are all done, return to your work space and have each child glue their
trash on a piece of paper...be sure to do a lot of talking about the
trash they found as they do their gluing, and explain to them the
importance of throwing trash away in the proper containers.
Nature Collage
Materials:
Any kind of large paper
White glue
Collected items from nature
Procedure: Give each child a paper sack or baggie and walk outside.
Encourage them to pick up all kinds of leaves, grass, sand, pine
needles, weeds, etc. Return to your work space and have each child glue
their findings on their piece of paper.
Raceway Painting
Materials:
Paint
Die-cast cars such as Hot Wheels
Paper
Procedure: First, be sure to protect your work space with newspaper.
Place a small amount of paint on the child's paper...you may want to
give your child several "globs" of paint of different colors. Using the
Hot Wheel, have your child run the car all over the paper, while running
the tires through the paint. Have the child continue with his design
until finished with his masterpiece. NOTE: Kids *love* this.
About the author
Diana Kentfield is the owner of HerCraftIdeas.com, a website full of
great craft ideas for the whole family. Stop by her place at
http://www.hercraftideas.com/
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