Project a day for March

brightning · February 2011

Just thought I'd share a project that we're going to be doing. Every day for the month of March, I'm trying to kickstart my DD's creativity and interest in art projects (she's been a little reluctant lately) by doing a different project every day. Most of them are new activities, but a few we've done before. I'm really trying to build some anticipation for this month including making a fun banner with origami balloons that have each day's activity inside, so she can open it each day. I tried to make the projects as open-ended as possible, use materials in new ways and appeal to her very girly nature (plus lots of rainbows in honor of St. Patrick's Day and what is hopefully our rainy season here in AZ). We'll see how this goes ...

1. Homemade puffy paint - 1 T self-rising flour, 1 T salt, 4 tsp salt, food coloring. After done painting, microwave for 30 seconds. 2. Hole in the middle art - Cut hole in paper before giving it to child. 3. Newspaper sculpture - Roll sheets of newspaper into tubes. Give to child along with tape. 4. Crayon etching - Cover paper with colorful crayons, then top with black crayon/paint. Etch with paperclip. 5. Sponge chalk prints - Dampen sponges. Draw on them with chalk. Make prints. 6. Salt painting - 2 T liquid starch, 2 T water, 1 T paint (or 2 squirts food coloring), 1/2 cup salt 7. Goop - 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup water combined on cookie sheet 8. Mardi Gras mask 9. Foil sculpture 10. Bubble prints - 1/4 cup dishsoap into container. Add paint until bright. Blow with straw. Capture bubbles on paper. 11. Branch weaving - Weave yarn around branch 12. Plain boxes - Give child a collection of paper-covered boxes to decorate/build. 13. Marshmallow sculpture - Mini marshmallows and toothpicks 14. Rainbow jello 15. Iridescent ice - Fill bowl with ice, add salt, drip on neon food coloring 16. Plant herb container garden 17. Potato prints 18. Dye white flowers 19. Sidewalk chalk 20. Rainbow crayons 21. Dino dig - Store bought kit 22. Umbrellas - Rubber cement resist on watercolor paper 23. How to draw a caterpillar - Vertical lines, connected on top and bottom 24. Cornstarch dough or soda cornstarch dough - MaryAnn Kohl's recipe 25. Dough day 2 - Paint creations 26. Collage from things child cut out or found 27. Fingerpaint using offset spatulas 28. Do-a-Dot stampers 29. Rainbow pancakes 30. Bring sketchpad to zoo 31. Easter wreath

james_lover · February 2011

What an awesome list! I saw the homemade puffy paint on someone's blog last week and I bought the self-rising flour yesterday. I can't wait to try it, it looked so cool. Be sure to post all your awesome stuff here when you're done!