Rain or shine you'll find It's Playtime! pals enjoying the outdoors. Check out these great activities sure to get you and your kids outside!
I love Forest Tots! What kid wouldn't enjoy an outdoor preschool/playgroup experience in the woods? They even play in the rain! Last week they shared Parachute Games with Water. Bless them for not being afraid of a little rain and using it in play. My kind of families!
How about some good, clean, messy fun? Play Create Explore shared their Saving Cream Slip-n-Slide. You don't even need a real slip-n-slide for this fantastic activity!
Looking for something less messy or wet? Beautiful Somehow shared their Clothesline Play which combined fine motor practice with a quiet outdoor activity.
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Now, on to this weeks play date!
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Nesting isn't just for the birds! Over at It's Playtime some of our friends have shared wonderful, hands-on ideas for creating nests sure to spark learning and imagination.
With spring comes new life, new flowers, and loads of new ideas on It's Playtime! Here's my features this week celebrating spring.
I generally don't think to use toilet paper when creating with the kiddos but these Toilet Paper Flowers from Let Kids Create are colorful and easy to make.
At Home with Ali shared this lovely Fairy Princess Flower Crown. Little fairies will love roaming the garden, dancing amongst the spring flowers wearing this creation.
Creating spring trees is as easy as fingerpainting! Babylandia shared how they used paint to celebrate Springtime Arriving.
Enjoying the Journey used science to create these beautiful Flower Crystals.
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Now, on to this weeks play date!
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While there were many cute spring and Easter ideas linked-up this past week, I came across two posts dear to my heart. I'm from a family of artists. My aunt Patti is a terrific pastel artist, showing her art in several galleries and a piece at the San Diego Natural History museum. My mom paints beautiful flats and historical figures, winning awards around the world. My dad has used his artistic talents in many ways from creating fabulous set pieces for plays and classrooms, to designing puppets and puppet theaters for he and my step-mom's ministry. Art is in my blood. I've dabbled in painting, drawing, and photography but loving them all so much, I've never settled on one thing, which is my down fall because I don't do much with any of them.
With art being so important in our family, I want to instill that love in my children as well. My daughter is a budding artist, taking classes at a local studio. She's pretty good and I can't wait to see what will become of her. My son, well, he's a boy. Although I promote art, he has little interest in the subject. He's starting to draw a bit, moving from scribbles to recognizable shapes. Occasionally he'll paint, but for the most part he'd rather be climbing trees then enjoying fine art time with mommy.
Which brings me back to It's Playtime. Two posts last week stood out for me. There are ways to introduce famous artists and art concepts to little kids without going over board. I felt these posts did a terrific job of just that...
Sunnydaytodaymama shared Jackson Pollock for Children. Kids can easily relate to Jackson Pollock
's style of abstract art and have a lot of fun attempting an inspired creation. She also includes a short video showing the man at work.
Another way to create abstract art as well as teaching children about opening up to themselves and their feelings is through Soundscapes. The Art Club Blog shared how playing different types of music for children can inspire different paintings. Even with little children, try playing some classical music and ask them to paint/draw what it sounds like. You may be surprised with that they produce.
How have you introduced art and/or artists to young children? What concepts do you teach?
If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."
Now, on to this weeks play date!
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:
's style of abstract art and have a lot of fun attempting an inspired creation. She also includes a short video showing the man at work. 
