kinderdoodle: idea 6 : archive kid art

E., age 4, multimedia collage

My son loves drawing planes. There are planes all over the place - dozens and dozens. How do I encourage the time and creativity without turning our home into a library archive of 100 versions of the same plane?
Today's idea: Photo Archive your KidArt! In other words, take a picture of your kiddo WITH their piece of art.

By taking a photo of my child with his art, I can see little Mr. Plane Designer growing WITH his artwork. Then I might be able to get away with throwing away a few of the originals (I'll keep a few choice pieces)! Of course, now I'll have to come up with a way to organize all those digital photos...

My mom always wrote the date and my age on my artwork...so this is a new-fangled version of that tradition (Thanks, Mom!).

kinderdoodle : idea 5 : the invention box

My kids love to make things. And I love to recycle! We've combined both of these loves in today's art idea: The Invention Box.
A friend of mine, who used to teach kindergarten, said this idea was one of the things her students really loved.

All you do is collect - things like paper towel tubes, old yarn, stickers, interesting plastic pots & jars, buttons, the innards from those greeting cards that play music, lids, yogurt cups, anything you can think of. For older kids, beads and glitter, glue, etc. The more random the stuff, the better!

When I stick the invention box on the table for art-time, I pre-rip pieces of masking tape so the kids can tape things together to their hearts' content. Last time, my oldest made a 'cucumber gun that also shot marshmallows'. Thankfully I hadn't put any cucumbers or marshmallows on the table. That was pure imagination. But the invention was pretty cool. It had a moving lever adjusted with a piece of string!

(Older kids might enjoy the invention box idea whilst using a hot glue gun!)

Try this idea - I think your kids will like it.

kinderdoodle : idea 4 : art smock

One thing that keeps us from letting our kids explore art is ... well ... the art supplies! They are crazy colors and they do tend to get um, how do I say this - ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I've found that an old short sleeved t-shirt, preferably adult sized, makes a great smock. It's nice and long and if the shoulders are too wide, you can cinch it up in the back with a clothespin. Easy Breezy.

Look at this girl go!

kinderdoodle : idea 3 : tape the edges

We've talked about taping down the paper as your kids are painting or drawing to make the whole experience easier for little hands. I've used masking tape loops on the back of paper, but there's another tricky thing you can do.

If you use thick paper (like watercolor paper or card stock), tape down the paper all the way around the edge by using masking tape on the front. Try to get these pieces semi-straight and uniform.

When the artwork is all done and DRY, carefully peel the masking tape off. It creates a nice white space around the edge of the artwork and really makes it pop.

Have your kiddo sign their work along with their age. Voila!

kinderdoodle : idea 2 : marble painting

Marble Painting! (not painting the marbles, but using the marbles to pain)

My kids love this and whipped out six amazing pieces yesterday.

The finished project! Reminds me of Jackson Pollock's work.

Supplies:

A pan for each child. (I used foil baking pans but cookie sheets with sides also work.) Cardstock, cut to fit inside pan. I taped these down with masking tape loops on the back.

Paint : lots of colors! (We used acrylic craft paints but tempura paint would work as well.)

 Marbles and egg carton. Spoons help.

Cute kids. Your kids don't have to be THIS cute, but it helps.

A certain amount of procrastination on the state of the kitchen. (Full disclosure here.)

It's very straightforward. Dip a marble into some paint and transfer it into the pan. You can use as many marbles/colors as you like - either all at once or one at a time. Experiment! Here's Sissy tilting her pan for maximum marble painting effect.

"tie-dyed marbles"

Please remember to use the kinderdoodle kid art mantra:

I can clean up when they're done. 
I can clean up when they're done. 
I can clean up when they're done.

kinderdoodle : idea 1: tape down the paper

As your little button sits down to draw, color or paint - a simple thing you can do is tape down the paper. This helps little ones gain confidence - they don't have to be able to hold the paper with one hand AND draw with the other. They can just concentrate on the fun part. Also, it's surprising how well it helps to contain the paint/crayon/pen marks! (My three year-old is much less likely to run off with the pen and paper and use the couch as a table when her paper is taped down!)

engaging

So, I didn't really come up with any New Year's Resolutions this year. I mean, I thought about it, but really, I never, ever keep them! But, I have been thinking about ways I'd like to change - things I'd like to do more of because they seem good & right.

The main one I've been thinking about is engaging with my kids.

I'm kind of a list person. I can get overwhelmed with all the things I'm responsible for. And then, I make a list. (Not that I do half the things on the list, but it makes me feel better in the short term.) All this to say, that I can get wrapped up in the things to do, and I forget about just being.

In short, I want to just 'be' with my kids more this year.*

Recently, I heard in a sermon about a theologian whose journal mentioned going fishing with his son, and how it was such a waste of time when he could have been working. But the same day, mentioned in the son's journal, was a highpoint of the kid's life! I find that extremely sad. Sad that the dad had no idea how valuable that day actually was. He was too caught up in what he thought needed to be done - rather than the relationship with his boy.

Lord, help me to engage and 'be' with my kids more. They are so amazing and I want to soak up Your glory, displayed in them, every day.

*I'm happy to report that I just got done playing a great round of 'cash regishjer' with my daughter.

Sunflowers Make Me Happy

Did you know that bees are responsible for approximately every 3rd bite of food?

Here's a neat project you can do this Spring! It's called The Great Sunflower Project. Basically, you obtain a specific species of sunflower, plant 'em, and then take observations every so often after the flowers bloom. How many bees visit your flowers in a 15 minute period? The biologists are trying to learn about our wild bee populations as so many beekeepers have had colonies fail in the last decade or so.

Bees are really important - so this is a neat way to cheer up your garden as well as help gather data from all over the country about our wild bee populations.

Give it a try!

Also, if you're interested in another similar study, check out some information about growing/observing Chia (yes, like from the cheesy terracotta animals sold at Christmas). Only, you grow it in your garden and let it flower.  Plus, you can harvest and eat the seeds!