Around this time of year we usually have a bit of a party and I try to have a few activities set up that are easy and fun for any children that turn up. I have not tried this one before so I do not yet know how it will turn out. But the plan is that those that feel so inclined will decorate this very bare tree with lots of decorations and presents underneath it.
This tree is painted on a large bit of hardboard we had in the shed, I have taped the edges to prevent splinters!
The dog under the tree is not a gift, she is to demonstrate how large the tree is. So there is plenty of room for lots of children to use the boxes of felts I will have handy, to cover this tree with decorations.
Well of course things did not go completely as planned – but not in a bad way! The weather was lovely, and the children were all far too busy to sit down and draw, so we only had a couple of ornaments drawn on the tree – but they are still very cool. This may turn into an annual tree decoration activity – where a few ornaments are drawn on each year. Which would be a lovely crafty addition to our family Christmas traditions.
I initially thought that this is a good one mainly for younger children as it is easy for them to do and is also a great way to learn about some basic shapes. They can make a fish with the prepared shapes or cut out some of their own shapes. However our older children had a go and created some fantastic fish out of all sorts of shapes, and none of them were what I was expecting, they were far more exciting! It is sometimes worth while to try things with different ages and see what happens!
Add a bit drama to a simple crayoned picture with this technique. It is especially good for pictures in a dark setting like a night time scene, a forest or a space craft rocketing through space.
I could not resist another hand shape craft any longer! And with dragons a hot favorite in our household this was an irresistible paper craft.
All you need are some colorful paper hand shapes – add a head and a tail and you have a fanciful dragon. You can also add legs and more hand shapes – play around and make a family of them.
Try changing one element of the paper you offer to your children to create their artwork on. It is surprising how a simple change can alter their process and result.
In this case we have changed the color of the paper for the artwork, this makes even a simple picture a colorful artwork. I think that a display of these in all different colors on a school wall would look pretty fabulous!
Another similar example from a while ago that you may also want to try is Holey Paper for Children’s Art.
When I saw this idea I was a bit suspicious as it looked too effective for the simple steps – I thought it may have taken a long time or many practice runs to achieve this affect. But not so, it really is quite simple. Note that this is my attempt, not a child’s, but it is my first attempt.
