Paint (Weekly Unplugged Project)
We’ve been getting so fancy lately with our Unplugged Projects, that this week I decided to keep it simple. It was a warm, unscheduled day full of happy play, indoors and out. An 8 year-old visiting school friend was here for the afternoon, so I just set out watercolors, washable tempera paints, paper, and crayons and let them have at it to see what they would do.
At first they just painted and tried a little wax-resist with a white crayon:
Then our friend had the idea of pouring on paint and folding the paper in half to make “ink blot-style” paintings. My oldest daughter and her friend had fun with this for quite a while. Here is our friend’s first “ink-blot” piece, a butterfly:
Here are some more:
And a few of the finished paintings:
My 5 year-old son did a bit of real painting, but he was more in the mood to do his paint with water book. If you are not familiar with these, they are like coloring books, but the pages are pictures filled in with colored dots. All you do is brush water over the page to make the colors emerge and appear to have been painted. Not the most creative activity in the world, but quite fascinating really. In fact, I distinctly remember absolutely LOVING paint with water books at about his age. This one is Babar (from the local dollar store):
I wisely left my little 2 year-old daughter bare chested for the project. By the time she had finished her purple masterpiece she was, herself, also a purple masterpiece:
A good time was had by all, and some very fine art resulted from our fun!
+++++++++++++++
Did you paint with us this week? If so, then please put a link to your project in Mr. Linky. If not, then consider joining in next week. It’s easy and fun. Click here for more information.
+++++++++++++++
The theme for next week’s Unplugged Project is a little different. I’m just going to leave you all with an adjective:
Sticky
This doesn’t mean that the project needs to leave your kids and your house a sticky, horrible mess! Free associate with sticky: Tape? Glue? Velcro? Honey? etc. etc. etc.
Good luck and I can’t wait to see what we all do for sticky!
Tags: Activity Ideas, arts and crafts, arts and crafts, painting, Unplugged Project, Unplugged ProjectRelated posts
Posted: June 1st, 2008 under Activity Ideas, Unplugged Project, arts and crafts.
Tags: arts and crafts, painting, Unplugged Project
Comments
Comment from Spookiez
Time: June 1, 2008, 8:48 pm
Okay, maybe not with Recipes! LOL!! It seems to have picked up my name from Menu Plan Monday ;)
Spookiezs last blog post..Menu Plan Monday
Comment from Julie - Havin’ Fun Yet?
Time: June 1, 2008, 9:24 pm
With the temps rising, we froze our paint
Julie - Havin’ Fun Yet?s last blog post..Freeze Frame
Comment from world preschool mom
Time: June 2, 2008, 12:46 am
Marble and straw painting.
Comment from Claire
Time: June 2, 2008, 1:15 am
Looks like you all had lots of fun! There are some beautiful colourful creations there!
I used to love the water paint books as a child and have often tried to track them down for my own children but have only come across them on a couple of occassions, which is a real shame. Perhaps they just aren’t so popular as they once were? I think they’re great!
Claires last blog post..Unplugged project - paint
Comment from Tina
Time: June 2, 2008, 3:26 am
Paint butterflies are timeless and great for any age! my kids love doing these.
Tinas last blog post..Sunflowers Round Two!
Comment from Pam
Time: June 2, 2008, 4:37 am
My kids loved doing the paint and fold activity when they were a little younger. Maybe I should try it again!
Pams last blog post..Our Watercolor Projects
Comment from Michie
Time: June 2, 2008, 5:22 am
I almost got out the paint with water book for Paige too. I got one for her because I remember loving them as a kid too!
Michies last blog post..Unplugged Metal and Paint
Pingback from Homemade Paint « Julie K in Taiwan
Time: June 2, 2008, 6:43 am
[...] check out what the other families did this week for the Paint weekly challenge. What painting activities do you do with your [...]
Comment from Julie K in Taiwan
Time: June 2, 2008, 6:49 am
Great paint ideas, and I think it’s wonderful that they were given free reign. We tried outdoor painting with homemade cornstarch paint.
Julie K in Taiwans last blog post..Homemade Paint
Comment from Let’s Explore
Time: June 2, 2008, 8:37 am
Glad to be back this week. Paint blots are always fun! My girls love those water paint books too — the kids think they are magical!
Let’s Explores last blog post..Painting on Canvas
Comment from amanda
Time: June 2, 2008, 8:53 am
Paint was a fun inspiration in combination with the gorgeous spring weather we’ve been having, so we had a blast making outdoor ‘chalk’ paint.
amandas last blog post..kid-made sidewalk chalk paint
Comment from TopazTook
Time: June 2, 2008, 10:33 am
Our paint was “scratch and sniff” (generic Kool-aid) “paint.”
Comment from Becky@BoysRuleMyLife
Time: June 2, 2008, 10:37 am
I love doing “it looks like” paintings! We’ve got that idea in our Bored Box! :) Looks like you guys had a blast!
We painted our breakfast!
Becky@BoysRuleMyLifes last blog post..Painting Breakfast
Comment from Kate in NJ
Time: June 2, 2008, 10:48 am
We’re back..love to paint!!
I often have P make a “blot print”
of her paintings when she has used too much paint
on the paper so it is too thick to dry properly.
Kate in NJs last blog post..Unplug Your Kids Group Project
Comment from Tanya
Time: June 2, 2008, 12:16 pm
Our first Unplugged Project….we’re SO about the painting!
:)
Tanyas last blog post..Unplugged: painting
Comment from warillever
Time: June 2, 2008, 12:31 pm
We love “blot prints” !
Come over and see the mess we made. Lots of fun.
warillevers last blog post..The Painters Three
Comment from Christin
Time: June 2, 2008, 1:25 pm
Wonderful project! I hope to have ours completed and up tomorrow! :) It was too nice a day out today to be inside. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain all day, so it’s the perfect time for projects indoors! :)
We should have some kind of “gardening” project. That would be fun!
Comment from Heather
Time: June 2, 2008, 4:28 pm
we are back. sorry we missed the last couple of weeks. great project the boys actually did the same thing this week.. they used stampers then folded. They had a great time.
Comment from *pixie*
Time: June 2, 2008, 5:34 pm
Wow. The water books bring back the memories for me.
*pixie*s last blog post..pomp & circumstance ii
Comment from ToddleBits
Time: June 2, 2008, 8:31 pm
I remember water paint books, too! I enjoyed watching the colors magically appear on the page. Looks like everyone had fun!
ToddleBitss last blog post..Tuesday’s Toddler Tornado #4: Lookie Bottles and Bags
Comment from kristen
Time: June 2, 2008, 9:04 pm
Love those folded paper prints!! I remember doing those when I was a kid! This week my kids painted everything from the garbage cans to sticks to themselves! Thanks again!
kristens last blog post..Painted Sticks and Trash Can
Comment from Melissa
Time: June 3, 2008, 1:58 pm
I loved paint with water books, too, and I have the same Babar book for O!
Melissas last blog post..Unplug Your Kids: Paint
Comment from Meg
Time: June 4, 2008, 7:00 pm
I just found you, and I hope to join in the fun! I already have a great idea for sticky! :) My two year old girl will love it.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Meg
Megs last blog post..Breathtaking
Write a comment