Virtual Program: Make Your Own Wrapping Paper

 For my first virtual program for December, I filmed a "Make Your Own Wrapping Paper" program. It was for all ages and I showed three stamping techniques. 

These techniques were relatively easy and I chose these to have a very easy design and two other somewhat harder designs. I actually had two more other designs to show, but I thought the video was going to be too long. I can always save those for next time.

I started with using plain, white wrapping paper or brown craft paper depending on what would make the colors pop on the paper. 

For our first design, I showed how to make a string light design using red and green paint, a black marker, and finger prints or the cap of a glue stick to make the light bulbs. This is the most simple and still so very cute!

Our second design was making a gingerbread scene using cookie cutters, brown paint, and adding some holiday stamp designs to it. I also used some laser tape I found at the dollar store since it looks like ribbon, but is so easy to put on.

Our last design was a beautiful snowman design using the bottom of a glass or cup, white paint, and using markers to draw on our dried snowmen. I will say I liked this design the best because the circles turn out so clean and perfect and it's so adorable. 

Using finger prints, glue caps, cookie cutters, pre-made stamps, and the bottom of cups are some ways to create designs for wrapping paper. 

Of course there are a number of ways to add designs on your paper from making your own stampers out of potatoes or cardboard to just simply coloring on some blank wrapping paper. 

There's also really simple kid-friendly ways like the ones mentioned above to very elaborate skilled ways. 

Toddler Art: Apples

For this week's Toddler Art, we continued with the October theme of apples and read one, short apple story and then completed two painting crafts.

We read One Red Apple, but Harriet Ziefert. This book has beautiful illustrations and is simple enough for toddlers.

Once we got done reading and talking a little bit about apples and their colors, we got to making our two crafts.

For our first craft, I put out shower loofahs, card stock, and die-cut tree trunks with their branches. The trunk was glued onto their card stock and then they used the loofah to dip it into green paint to make the leaves on their tree. After this, they used their finger tips to dip into red paint to make the apples on their tree. They got practice with gluing and painting, with the loofah being a fun element.

For our second craft, we made pumpkin prints using apples cut in half, orange paint and stamping them onto our paper. We used our finger tips for green pumpkin stems and for painting grass for our pumpkin patch scene.

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.