Easy Art Activities For A Snow Day Or Any Day (Part 1)

I had originally wanted to call this post "Artsy Ways To Survive (Yet Another Snow Day) With Children" but it seemed a bit desperate-sounding...

We just came off of our Winter Break and then this past Friday the kids had a snow day. I'm a homebody (as are many of my kids) so when we have days off we hang around the house. But I'm trying to discourage the amount of screen time they have and I found out that yelling, "Go Play!" over and over at them doesn't usually work to encourage them to find something to do...so in this series of posts, I'll share some tips for days at home with kiddos, be it a snow day, a lazy weekend or a school break.

1. ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY (Also known as "Set Yourself Up For Success")

All of my children are creative, but in different ways. One of them MUST do art every day. I used to keep all of my personal art supplies, my classroom art supplies and my children's art supplies together in my office. Problem? Well, I was constantly running back and forth grabbing supplies for my children, they were always getting into my classroom supplies and using things I had set aside for an upcoming class, and after a creative binge, the cabinets looked like a tornado went through...so I finally figured it out. If I want my kids to be creative, they need access to supplies and they need to be able to put them away themselves. I want this to be 100% access all the time. So, where do they work? The dining room. Where are their art supplies? The dining room.

Our house is small and this set-up isn't going to earn us a spot in Better Homes & Gardens, but this works right now for us. I suggest setting up a temporary art center in a corner of your home and trying it out and making adjustments before buying fancy organization "stuff." See how your children work and do what works for your family.

Here's a tour of our ART CENTER:

LEFT DOOR: Restickable hooks hold regular scissors ad decorative scissors, the red thing is a apron.
TOP SHELF: Elmer's glue, glue sticks and tape such as masking, electrical, duct, and clear tape,
there's a bin for watercolors with brushes, watercolor paper and a water cup, old yogurt bins hold colored pencils and markers.
BOTTOM SHELF: a bin of assorted punches, Twistables, a sketchbook for each child, and a slot filled
construction paper, a bin of crayons with a crayon sharpener.
RIGHT DOOR: rulers hanging on restickable hooks

My kids usually prefer to work at our dining room table, but we're
trying out this table-turned-desk. There is a roll of IKEA paper on there
(which they actually never use)

This ain't pretty, but it is a repurposed bookcase with a place
for "How-to" books o drawing and origami and coloring books,  along with
bins for clay, recycling and interesting bits for sculptures, etc.
along with our scrap paper bins organized by color
(I know that seems a bit weird, but it actually works well so you
can find the paper color you need fast).

Other things that are not shown here but are available to them, on an as-needed (mom-involved) basis:

Tempera paints
Acrylic Paints
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Higher quality watercolors and paper
Higher quality paint brushes
Craft stuff such as beads, pipe cleaners, craft sticks

I keep the above items high up on a shelf in another room. Every once in a while I take a handfull of crafty supplies and leave them in their art center as an invitation to create, but I wouldn't leave the whole box of craft stick or pom poms out--they'd be gone in a day (or more accurately strewn all over the house)...if they decide they need 100 craft sticks I can always bring the bin out and they can use however many they need.

I must say that I've tried MANY versions of an art center with my kids over the years and usually I have to pack most of it away once I have a new baby and they start walking (and putting the art supplies in their mouths), but at this moment, we are out of the baby phase so I can keep this stuff available all the time.

The addition of an art center to our home has increased creativity for all and I see the children choosing to "do art" more often and it is a cinch to clean up (for both the children and me) because everything has a place.

So, take the plunge and create an art center for your home today!

Where Have You Been?

"Where Have You Been?!"

Well, I'm glad you asked! I've been enjoying the summer with my four monkeys! We've gone on two camping vacations and they both were great and we had lots of fun.

This week, I've been teaching art camp at the Peabody Mill Environmental Center in Amherst, NH. I have a great group of 5- and  6-year-olds and I'm loving being around that energy! My art classes usually have me teaching children in grades 2-5, so this has been a treat for me (and I've been able to try some new stuff out).

My students modeling their Painted Turtle Costumes
(And that's my helper, John. Thanks, John!)

The folks at PMEC allowed me to design my own curriculum for the week, so I chose to have a different theme for each day: one day we learned about trees, another day we learned about insects, etc. PMEC is a wonderful place that has ponds, streams, trails and a great indoor space. My room, called the "Mushroom," has an adjoining patio for shaded outdoor play, so it is perfect for this age group.

Daily Schedule

I wanted to be able to get a couple of art projects done with the children each day, but also give them lots of time to explore the grounds, run a bit, and play. So, I decided this would be the perfect time to use Centers with the children. I've been wanting to try centers for a while now, but the way my usual classes are structured, I haven't had the opportunity until now. Here's our daily schedule (this isn't set in stone, I allow for wiggle room, obviously!):

9:00: Children arrive and opening announcements as a group

9:10: Let's get going! We go on a hike that allows us to focus on the day's theme. We do an activity in the field such as looking at a book, observing and collecting specimens, sketching, etc.

9:50ish: Head inside for a potty break and snack, while they are eating I read a book (if I didn't outside), we talk about what we saw and I give them a little instruction

10:20ish: Main Art Project as a group (step-by-step instruction)

10:45ish: Potty break, wash hands

11:00ish: Sit and look at an item related to our theme in an "Up Close" way: looking at a model of a bird, a real bumblebee (not alive) with a magnifying glass, a cross section of a tree. Then explain the centers for the day, break into partners and start Center work. 10-15 minutes per center. Minor art project done during this time.

11:40: Head outside for a snack and play (explore the pond, play a game),

12:00 Be at pick up area for children to be dismissed

12:20 Children gone, head back to room for clean up and prep for next day

12:45ish...WHEW! Job well done!

It's really important to not rush through any part of this process. While I don't want it to be a free-for-all, I want the children to have fun. If they are exploring and it's going well, we keep exploring and I adjust accordingly. If they are antsy and having trouble keeping still, we head outside and play leap frop with the carpet squares as lily pads or a game of duck, duck, goose. It's all good!

This schedule allowed us to get lots of stuff done, but also allowed the children to relax and enjoy everything Peabody Mill Environmental Center has to offer!