Let it Snow – Heather McKee

It’s fabulous fun to play in the snow. There are endless opportunities to be creative. If you are not fortunate enough to have snow where you live, why not make some! It is super simple and lots of fun.

Learning Intention

Use a modelling material to make three-dimensional work.

Resources

Cornflour, hair conditioner, cup and a bowl

Activity

1. Add a 400g bag of cornflour to a large baking bowl.

2. Add 1 cup of hair conditioner; lightly scented (I used a cheap coconut conditioner).

3. Mix together using your hands until you get the consistency of snow.

4. Now get creative!

Rainbow People! – Megan Morgan 

Let your child show their arty side and make decisions for themselves by becoming a rainbow person!  

Learning Intentions:  

To work with the visual elements to explore and create visual outcomes

To talk about and comment on what they produce 

Activity:  

1. Have a look at some pictures of rainbows with your child, discuss what colours make up the rainbow. 

2. Create a rainbow picture, using any resources you have at home, for example colouring pencil or paint. But feel free to get creative!  

3. Once your child has recognised all of the colours of the rainbow, see if they can dress up as a rainbow person! See if they can put on an item of clothing or accessory of every colour of the rainbow. This can include; clothes, hats, scarves, jewellery, shoes etc. If your child doesn’t have an item in a specific colour, see if they can get creative. Search someone else’s wardrobe (with permission), or create something!  

 4. Count how many items your child has on and take a picture!  

 You could also listen to the rainbow song here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g0NbaukkQc  

Playful Art Using Natural Resources

Here is an easy “Art Activity” that is fun, engaging, low cost and creates open-ended learning for your child.

Learning Intention

The children will learn about the natural items that they can use to create art.  Allowing independent learning and development.  Increase self-motivation and creativity through Art.

Resources

Video for full explanation of the art activity, a bag to collect the items, natural materials ie: pinecones, leaves, sticks, etc that the children collect during their winter walk, paper, glue and paint Brush

Activity

1. Talk about the natural materials from the outdoors that can be used to create artwork that is at a suitable level for the children.

2. Go on the winter walk to collect the natural resources that can be used to create the collages.

3. Start to look at different examples allowing the children to create their interpretation of the collage.  Talk to them what they think it could be Ie: a winter forest, carol singing it could even be space depending how the children look at it.

Extension

Try adding different items to the activity like coloured crayons, pencils and paints, talk about the different colours (mixing Primary colours).

Get Creative and Make Some Snow! – Heather McKee 

It’s fabulous fun to play in the snow. There are endless opportunities to be creative. If you are not fortunate enough to have snow where you live, why not make some! It is super simple and lots of fun. 

Learning Intention 

Use a modelling material to make three-dimensional work. 

Resources 

Cornflour, hair conditioner, cup and a bowl 

Activity 

1. Add a 400g bag of cornflour to a large baking bowl. 

 2. Add 1 cup of hair conditioner; lightly scented (I used a cheap coconut conditioner). 

3. Mix together using your hands until you get the consistency of snow. 

4. Now get creative! 

Making Patterns using Natural Materials – Louise Orr

Enjoy time exploring outdoors in the natural environment with your child, collecting natural materials such as stones, twigs, leaves, and pine cones.

Learning Intention

Explore the concept of pattern by using your natural resources to create unique patterns with your child’s chosen materials.

Activity

1. Wrap up warm and go outdoors.

2. Encourage your child to search for natural materials.

3 Use your materials on a blank page and support your child with creating their own patterns.

4. You may want to provide glue if your child would like to keep the pattern they create.

5. Allow time to explore the many various patterns that can be developed through using natural open ended resources.

My Snowman – Colleen Megarry   

Creative experiences are a wonderful way to help children express and cope with their feelings. Through these opportunities children will also use their imagination by trying out new ideas and ways of thinking.

Learning Intention

Create and use imagination to develop an idea while using a range of materials.

Resources

Page, colouring pens, pencils, scissors, glue (Any materials from around the home) e.g. sticks, tinfoil, tissue paper, buttons, bottle tops, pasta

Activity

1. Prompt the child to create a winter picture of a snowman through going on a hunt around the home to gather resources and materials to use.

2. Encourage the child to have fun by exploring the materials and by using their own imagination for their creation. So remember your child is creative and can lead their own design through using their own ideas. Try to hold back and allow them to be creative.

3. The child will love spending time with the adult, so join in the play by also creating a snowman alongside them. This will provide an opportunity to further the child’s thinking through discussion and by asking a small amount of questions about their creation. Most importantly have fun together.

Temporary Natural Art – Traci Hefferon

Creative Art using Natural Materials.

Learning Intentions

To encourage children to explore the outdoors, find and collect natural materials and develop fine and gross motor skills.

Activity

1. Encourage your children to collect various leaves, stones, twigs, moss, pebbles and flowers from the garden.

2. Encourage them to use the collected materials to make a picture on any background.

3. Encourage your children to take a digital photograph of their picture and send it to an elderly relative or friend with a short message.

Wonderwall – Mechelle Caughey

Unleash the creative artist in your child as they create their own large scale masterpiece.

Learning Intentions

Children will have the opportunity to explore colour through mixing paint.

Activity

1. Hang a large sheet or wall paper on an outside wall.

2. Give your budding artist a choice of paint rollers, brushes and paint.

3. Let the activity be totally child-led – stand back and see what they come up with.

4. Leave the sheet up on the wall and let the children watch how it changes with the changing weather. You can revisit this activity and get them to decorate it with leaves, feathers or other items they may find.

Tin Foil Art – Jaimie Carlile

Looking for a new art medium? Get your children to paint on tinfoil using a variety of materials and watch the amazing results!

Learning Intentions

Develop creativity by exploring and mixing colours and allowing children to experience a range of materials and tools. Express and communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings, responding to visual stimulus.

Activity

1. Resources:  cotton buds, blue, white, green paint (fairy liquid added), tin foil (cut to size), paint brushes, blue paint/paper, yellow/green/orange crayons, gold stars, black crumpled paper, swirling pearl stickers.

2. Invite the children to look at a photograph of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

3. Encourage the children to share what they see: the crescent moon, swirling clouds, the stars, a church and houses with lights on.  Ask the children what colours they can find in the painting.

4. Children can then create their own Starry Night painting on foil using a variety of materials and tools; cotton buds, paint brushes, blue, white, green paint. This will allow the children to experiment with mixing colours.

Sock Bunny – Brooke Hanna

Create your own ‘sock bunny’ toy using a sock, rice, some string and a marker. You can use ribbon and cotton wool for additional effects.

Learning Intentions

Development of fine motor skills, manipulation of materials and design and creativity skills.

Activity

1. Fill the bottom of a sock with rice to make a body and tie off tightly with string around the top of the body to keep the rice inside.

2. Pour more rice into the sock (not as much this time) to form the head. Again, tie the string tightly.

3. Cut the remaining sock down the middle, and stretch into two ears.

4. Add eyes, nose, whiskers, etc with the marker.

5. You could tie ribbon around the neck of the bunny or add a cotton wool tail!

Bubble painting – Amy Woods

Create fascinating bubble pictures with your children using paint and washing up liquid.

Learning intentions

Explore how mixing paint with bubbles can create different prints and patterns on the page. Discuss what they can see on the page and talk about the colours they see.

Activity

1. Resources: paint, washing up liquid, pots, straws, paper.

2. Mix paint and washing up liquid into a pot or tray.

3. Using a straw, blow into the pot/ tray until large bubbles form.

4. Using a piece of paper, gently press the paper on top of the bubbles to see the prints the bubbles make.

Natural Paintbrushes – Amy Woods

Experiment with paint and natural ‘paintbrushes’, exploring the prints and markings made by them.

Learning intentions

To explore and experiment with a range of natural materials found outdoors and paint with them – exploring their patterns, prints and markings.

Activity

1. Resources: natural materials, paint, paint trays, paper.

2. Gather a range of natural materials that may be used as natural paintbrushes such as grass, leaves, flowers, pine cones, etc.

3. Alternatively, tie some grass, plants, etc. to a stick to be used as a paintbrush

Bubble Wrap Printing – Brooke Hanna

Make fascinating shapes with this fun activity. Can you resist popping the bubble wrap afterwards!

Learning Intentions

Early development of pencil grip, experimenting with colours, creativity and imagination, patience and motivation.

Activity

1. Paint with different colours onto bubble wrap (you could try a picture).

2. Place a blank page on top of the painted bubble wrap, and gently peel off to reveal the pattern!

3. Let it dry. You could cut your pattern into different shapes and sizes.

Mono printing – Kerry O’Kane

Learning intentions          

Children will make a block print; understand that print is a record of a surface; learn about mono printing and other printmaking techniques

Activity

1. Resources: paint, pencil, paper, foam/ polystyrene (can use the foam from a frozen pizza box)

2. Use a pencil to press in an image of a mini beast into polystyrene square. Roll paint over the image and then press face down onto a rectangular page. Lift and press down to create a row of prints.

3. Extend learning by adding different colours to the foam print