Toddler Art: Building Blocks

Most of the Toddler Art group came in a little late, but what started off as a very small crowd became big.

I read the board book story, Blocks by Dr. John Hutton and then explained the two crafts for the day.

For our first craft, we used Duplo Lego blocks to do some paint stamping on paper. Some of the kids did some designs and rainbows with the help of their parents and the group had practice holding the Legos and stamping them. They enjoyed this one because they always like using paint.

For our second craft, we made homemade animal blocks. I pre-made the blocks and the toddlers had to glue on their animal faces, bodies, and legs to their blocks. I think they enjoyed playing with them and it was nice to see them do some matching with the help of their parents.

We had some playtime during the end of the program and most of the group ended up going up for our summer free lunch program.

Preschool Picasso: Building Blocks

For Preschool Picasso: Building Blocks, I started by reading Rex Wrecks It! by Ben Clanton. The group was enthralled and absolutely loved the book about a dinosaur who keeps wrecking and knocking down others' blocks. The group was very responsive and liked making the roar sound throughout the book that Rex makes. We talked about how he shouldn't be knocking down his friends' blocks and why the characters were all happy in the end.

For our first craft, I had 3D squares, triangles, and cylinders made out of paper and using die-cuts for the kids to dip into primary color paint and create their art. They could make designs, patterns, or any other ideas onto their paper. The younger kids practiced stamping and the older kids had fun coming up with their own creative ideas.

For our second craft, we made block robots out of printouts and card stock. The kids loved this craft and were excited to show me how they colored their robots. I think they liked having the options of painting and the options of coloring with markers and crayons for both crafts and it was a good mix. Both crafts went perfectly with the story since one of Rex's friends is a robot and because some of the kids built castles out of their block stamping.