Fun with insects!

Being a  family childcare provider with a not so big budget

 I am always on the look out for supplies on sale. While looking 

through the clearances at Micheals I came across 

packs of card stock shapes marked down to 99 cents!

Needless to say I bought  lots of assorted shapes.  

Today we got out the pack of insect shapes. I had the kids

pick 4 of their favorite insects. I put a small piece of double 

sided tape on each one and we stuck them on a piece

of white construction paper. Then I set out the DO A DOT painters. 

These wonderful painters are available at 

Micheals (as well as teaching stores and Amazon). I use my 

40% off  Micheals coupon as they are a bit pricey, but with the coupon

  reasonable. The kids covered their paper using lots of different 

colors.  We then carefully peeled off the shapes. What fun to see the 

insects appear all in white! After they had dried the kids added

 faces to the insects.

Supplies needed

pre-cut shapes

double sided tape

large white construction paper 

DO A DOT painters

googly eyes

markers

glue

Spring gardens

Today at the art table we sponge painted lovely gardens. 

I decided to add white paint to the primary colors of  paint which made 

nice shades of pastels for the gardens.Whenever I put sponge

 painting out I always hot glue my sponges to cups or  medicine bottles

to make handles for sponges. This way they are much easier 

for the kids  to print with and the paint does not end up all 

over their hands! I set out large pieces of construction paper 

and encouraged the kids to fill up their paper with lots of colorful flowers.

They enjoyed  sponging the flowers close together so their  flowers

 would touch each other. They figured out how the small  flowers could be 

the centers of their large flowers. They had a great time with 

sponge painting, and were very proud of their gardens!

Supplies needed

flower shaped  sponges

washable tempera paint

shallow bowls for the paint

large white construction paper

Letter X superheros!

You have to get pretty creative with art activities

 to go along with the letter Xx! One of my favorites is to

 let the kids build a superhero Xman or  Xwoman.

Its fun to watch how creative they get with

  a plate of collage materials,a  

large X cut out of tag board

 and a superhero mask cutout.

I put out sparkle stickers, colored pasta

colored craft sticks(cut in half), buttons,eyes, and 

  I gave each child a super hero mask for their X.

After passing out  the glue bottles they were busy getting creative!

 They loved adding stick arms and legs, pasta buttons and bows,

 shiny stars, and big googly eyes.The mask was a big hit! 

I enjoyed sitting and watching  the kids work as they

 chatted about their superhero Xman and Xwoman). 

They enjoyed picking through  the collage materials in 

search of just the right items to glue on their superhero!

 I love that no two superhero Xs were alike!

Materials needed

precut Xs (out of tag board)

precut super hero masks

collage materials

googly eyes

white school glue

Beautiful  butterflies

My kids love blotto painting! 

They love dropping the paint onto their paper 

folding it closed, rubbing it gently 

 and opening it up to see the colorful surprise inside! 

It doesn't have to be a precut shape

they are happy with just a piece of paper!

Today as we finished up our spring theme we

did blotto butterflies. I cut out butterfly shapes

and left  them folded in half.

 For easy cleanup I set them onto a piece 

of folded of newspaper.  

I  cut egg cartons in half and filled them with paint. 

I found perfect mini appetizer spoons at party city

that work great in the paint. 

The kids drop paint onto the butterfly.

 Be sure and leave it folded in half. 

Then when they are done carefully fold the butterfly keeping  

 the paint inside the butterfly shape. Slide it in between the newspaper.

 Let the kids rub it to squeeze the paint all over the butterfly. 

The excess paint will be on the newspaper instead of your table! 

Let the kids carefully open their butterflies and watch their smiles

 as they see the gorgeous creation they just made!

Supplies needed

precut butterflies

Egg cartons for paint

mini spoons (or craft sticks)

washable tempera paint

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