Pasta Art

On occasion, I have used pasta in my art lessons.  It allows for another sensory experience that is unique to the pasta.  

For this lesson, I colored pasta using liquid watercolor and hand sanitizer to make the colors richer.  I set them up in the same color trays as the pasta on the table for a visual experience as well.  I often find that presentation is a big part of the amount of participation I get in a project. I had these cardboard pieces from the recycle center that the children were  able to glue on to make some colorful pieces of art. 

The infants had a fun experience using pasta, too.  I cooked some pasta and, after it cooled completely, added liquid watercolor and hand sanitizer.  The sanitizer keeps the color from coming out of the pasta when it's played with.  The children had so much fun squishing and tossing the pasta.  This was a great sensory experience and baby safe. 

Spiky Ball Sculptures

We gathered these spiky balls from the ground outside.  I don't know what tree they come from but there are a ton of them on the ground. 

The children stuck a toothpick them and into a block of Styrofoam.  I gave them glue paint and collage materials to make fun sculptures.  

Pasta Art

We used pasta that I colored in the art room and recycled cardboard pieces to make pasta art.  I love the visual appeal of the art trays with the same colored pasta. 

Kool-aid Painting

This week, we had some fun with painting.  The children mad their own paint from kool-aid packets, flour, and water.  

We experimented with color and thickness by adding different elements.  Our paintings came out amazing and smelled really good!

Piet Mondrian

I introduced the children to the simple abstract art of Mondrian.  After showing them pictures of his work and showing them how to use the materials, 

they began making lines and adding color.  The children had so much fun with this.

Sand Play Dough

It's been a long winter and we all want to go to the beach. 

It's too cold to go to the beach so I brought the beach to the art room. I offered the children colorful sand dough that I made, seashells, sea glass, drink umbrellas, plastic fish and sharks, and pinwheels. I also played some sounds of crashing waves in the background. The children had so much fun building their own personal island getaways.  

Snow Painting

This is one the most popular activities at my center.  I gathered as many bottles as I could find and filled them with tempera paints, watercolor paints, and colored saltwater.  I also grabbed some glitter, big paint brushes, and paint tray and headed outside. 

As you can see, they loved making designs in the snow.  

And loved showing their families at pick-up.