This was such a sweet little project. We read an African book in which a friendship between various animals is seriously challenged.
The variation of the animals helped children decide between three different animals they should blend into one.
The cocktail was delicious! 
Pipe cleaners and beads
I find pipe cleaners and plastic pony beads somehow off-putting. I could include some other stuff here like googly eyes, school markers or colour-ins for example. I think with me anything to do with easy crafts goes in that brain field.
But I do know all these things are also really unbeatable. If you want to work on child’s coordination, on fine motor skills or just do something relaxing without them really need to think, hey, pipe cleaners, colour ins, pony beads, school markers, googly eyes!
And yes, why not.
This is a great and valuable exercise for little finger muscles and wrists, for concentration and patience. And they had much fun! More then I would like to admit! But I swipe my pride under this table.
St.Martin’s Lanterns
The magic of 11.11 and the beautiful city of little lights and songs singed by tiny voices.
We were ready! We made the pretty lanterns with crayons, water colours and inks. We used aquarell paper and thicker drawing paper, both were fine. When the paintings were dried I oiled them with kitchen oil, children beaded the wires and wrapped the sticks in wool (one could just as well use some tiny tree branches and they would look even nicer).
They looked lovely in the night but my phone photos are no prove at all so I’m not posting any!
Studying Paul Cézanne and still life
Still life, fruit plates and old stories. We went in the past and enjoyed the process a lot. Children drew and cut out the fruits and then made different structures with various tools. They made some plates, some juice glasses and straws too. Voila!
Printing Elmer
We read a book Elmer the Elephant in the Mini class and we did some sponge dipping for the patchwork elephant and some brush painting for the carnival elephant.
Of course you have to read the book if you want to understand that!
It was fun!
Observational drawing
We had a lovely class on observational drawing of insects. I printed out different insects and children mostly decided for a bee. They observed, compared, counted and did all of that fur in a certain direction. Just as it grows. The wings were great too. If they drew them too hard and thick, pressing their pencils as they so often love to, the wings were not really wings but something hard and stiff, closer to an air plain parts. BUT! if they soften their lines… voila! Something else…
They enjoyed the whole experience very much and it was extremely relaxing. In addition these little bodies are so complex there is always something new to discover and add.
Imaginary playgrounds
There are projects on internet so perfect I can not only not avoid trying them out but I can’t even make myself change a slightest thing!! This original creation is by Artbar and it blew my mind.
It was a busy hour with a group of 3-6 year olds. Children had a blast with these squeezing paints that are also actually pretty good quality. One little girl started painting the paint. Ha! Can you do that?
The results of lovely little imaginary playgrounds are all here.
Collagraph printing
These beautiful autumn days have been high in printing spirit. Full of experimenting and anticipation, some disappointments, some surprises but mainly excitement. Printmaking just is like that!
It’s time to fly away!
These beautities were made at Minis, parent-child classes. There was some work and a lot of inventiveness on the mothers’ sides. Children did the deco, all the important buttons and helmets too of course.
I know they will have A LOT of good time inside of them.
Everyone needs a rocket once in a while.
Me too. Like my own one. In the kitchen. Doooh.
Getting familiar with clay
Mini classes had a chance to play around with clay. I find children always skeptic about it at first, not knowing what to do and not wanting to damage anything they’ve made but as they get familiar with it, realizing they can fix just about anything that seems they’ve messed up, it becomes such fun. It’s why I always think the classes should be repeated few times. Maybe not the projects but the materials and techniques.
Anyways, we’ve read a book at this class, The tiger who came to tea and children and their mums were invited to make tigers, saucepan and dishes, tiger food and also whatever children could think of. They are small, they should be able to just have an open clay play factory.
It was fun and lately they’ve been eager to get their sculptures back from that long firing. Sorry guys, here they come!
