Process Art for Groundhog Day

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Most kids like the idea of Groundhog idea; the idea that an animal can predict the coming of spring.  It's fun to think about and fun to "celebrate" at home or at school.  But when you search Pintrest for "Groundhog Day Activities" or "Groundhog Day Crafts" you find a lot of printables and fairly difficult craft projects that simply aren't appropriate for toddlers and young preschoolers.  I do love this Negative Art project from Tippy Toe Crafts, which is shadow-like, but still not process art.

Volunteering at The Duck Pond has many advantages.  One is being the large amount of arts and craft supplies the founder has collected over the years.  Being the artsy one in the group, I get to design the "make & take" projects used each week.  Working on February's projects, Groundhog Day stumped me.  We don't use printables at The Duck Pond and I'm trying to move our art towards more process and less craft, which is far more stimulating to the average 2 year old.  So I ventured into our supply room and pondered colors and materials that could represent Groundhog Day.  A simple yarn collage was the result.

I gave my daughter some supplies: various earthy shades of yarn, a piece of paper, and some glue.  My daughter, being a typical toddler, loves glue, and was immediately excited at the prospect of using more (she'd already done the weekly project earlier, which took a lot of glue).  She squeezed glue all over the paper and set out to piling the yarn on top of the glue.  I showed her that unless there is more glue, the piles of yarn won't stick.  She understood and spread things out a bit.

The beauty of this project is in it's simplicity.  Even young toddlers can explore the yarn and glue to create whatever they want.  If you are nervous about the amount of glue your child might use, then squirt some on the paper and allow your little one to add the yarn.  But I encourage you to let them do as much as possible, because that's the point of process art; it's not about the finished product, it's about exploring the materials and creating what the child desires.  Try to step back and give them the freedom to use their imaginations.

Materials:

1. Yarn (earthy tones if you want the Groundhog Day theme). Cut yarn into various lengths. 
2. Half sheet of Construction Paper
3. School Glue

Enjoy watching your child and feel free to share their finished projects on my Facebook Page.

Easy Toddler Activity Inspired by The Cat in the Hat

This activity is incredibly simple, which for an active toddler, is perfect.  All you need is:

• White paper
• Red paper cut into strips
• Glue (glue sticks are the easiest but white glue works fine too)
• Q-tips (if using white glue)

You can easily use this activity as an invitation to create.  Place paper, strips, and glue on a table.  Invite your little one over and let them explore the materials.  I did show my daughter how to use the Q-tip to spread the glue on the strips because she's never experienced that direction before, but feel free to see what your child will do on their own.

That's it!  Simple and toddler friendly.  Plus it's an invitation to read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (or at least part of it because it's a long story).

Happy Birthday Theodore Geisel!

Chalk Art on It's Playtime

Today I'm off to play with my kids in the mountains.  It's all about exploring nature with hiking, waterfalls and maybe some wild animals.  So in an effort to keep things short and sweet here is my fabulous feature for this weeks It's Playtime!  It's all about the mess....

Creative Playhouse shared their Crushed Chalk Art.  Simple, open-ended, and messy; just the way I like it!  Your kids will enjoy crushing the chalk as much as creating a colorful piece of art.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma
* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

Painting with Easter Eggs

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Plastic eggs have many uses.  I've shared a post on It's Playtime that included 10 ways for repurposing these little treasures.  One of my favorite activities involves a bit of paint and a little messiness but a lot of fun for little hands.  Here are two ways to paint with plastic eggs:

Box Rolling

Materials:

• Small box or box lid
• Paint
• Construction Paper
• Glitter (optional)
• 2 Eggs (you can weigh them down by putting marbles inside and you may need to tape the eggs shut)

Place your paper in the box lid and squirt in some paint.  Add the eggs.  While holding the box, roll the eggs around.  You don't have to weight the eggs down (I didn't in the above photos), but if you don't, they tend to stick a bit.  Don't be afraid to allow little hands to roll the eggs instead.  For added mess, I mean glitz, sprinkle some glitter over the wet paint and leave picture to dry.    

Paint Stamping

Materials:

• Paper
• Paint
• Paper plate
• Plastic eggs of different sizes and shapes
• Glitter (optional)

Set out a paper plate with different colors of paint and the halves of plastic eggs.  Your little one(s) can dip the eggs (or hands and fingers) in the paint, then stamp them on the paper.  You can use this chance to talk about shapes; the difference between circles and ovals.  Sprinkle the wet paint with glitter and lay out to dry.    

For more Easter ideas, as well as other activities involving plastic eggs, check out my Easter Pinterest Board.  

Art doesn't have to be complicated.  It's about the process rather then the product.  You simply need to be brave enough to accept the mess as part of the experience.