Preschool Art: Abstract Art, Line Drawing Necklaces with Shrinky Dinks!

This was a fun and easy project. It would be great for all ages. With my group of preschoolers I just had to take care of the tracing, cutting, hole punching, and of course, the shrinking in my toaster oven.

You will need:

• Shrink plastic (I used the original Shrinky Dinks brand, just like my childhood days in the 70's. You will want the Rough and Ready. It has a slightly rough side) I purchased mine at Michael's.
• Black Sharpie markers (fine point) and (extra fine point)
• Colored Pencils
• A hole punch (medium size)
• A playing card (for tracing)
• Parchment paper or a piece of a brown paper bag
• Thin yarn for the necklace
• A toaster oven, or conventional oven
• Oven mitt 
• A large flat lid or something similar to flatten piece when it comes out of oven
• Optional - small jump rings. Or just tie a slip knot. (I used jump rings because I am also a jewelry maker and I had them handy) 

Let's get started:

 Use a sharpie marker to trace around a playing card, on to shrink plastic paper. This image shows the difference in size after the piece has been shrunk.

Cut out, keeping the tracing line visible. (I did the cutting) Instruct children to do a little line drawing on their piece and then color in the spaces with vibrant colored pencils. Have them sign their masterpieces. (or you write their name) 

Punch a hole in the center.

Here's a shot of a few of them all together before shrinking. Aren't they fun?

Place on a piece of parchment paper or brown paper bag, one at a time in the toaster oven. In a conventional oven, you could do a few at a time. Follow manufacturers instructions for oven temperature.

Set timer for 3 minutes. They are really fun to watch! They twist and curl a bit as they shrink. If supervised, kids love to watch this part!

Remove from oven. They cool and set hard really fast. Have a large, flat, metal lid handy to gently press flat if it appears that it is kind of bent looking. Work quickly.

String a piece of colorful yarn through and tie a not. Wear proudly! 

For more fun projects for children of all ages, see my Preschool Art Page. 

Preschool Art: Handprint Owls

Children always seem to love projects with owls in them! These Handprint Owls were no exception. The parents loved them too because they were cute, creative, and a fun keepsake. Those little hands don't stay little for very long!

Note: This fun art project would be great for older children, as well and they can do so many of the steps themselves. 

You will need:

• Pre-made templates for owls and eyes (see instructions below) Also, canning jar lid or something circular to trace for eyes. Smaller lid for pupil
• Construction paper for the background in your color choice
• White construction paper for owl body
• Orange construction paper for beaks and feet
• Black Fine Point Sharpies for signing names
• Crayons
• Glue (for older children, give them each their own glue) For preschoolers and the interest of time, teacher does the gluing
• Scissors to cut out owl body and eyes (older children can do their own)
• Tempera or acrylic paint in various colors
• Little tubs or lids to pour paint into for making dots and finger marks on owls

Lets get started: Making the templates for tracing (Teacher does this) 

(You can have the children color in the pupil with crayon or you can do it ahead of time)

Now for the owls!

For Preschoolers, teacher can trace the owls and eyes onto white construction paper (using the templates) and cut out and glue ahead of time. (Older children could do this themselves) Also, cut little triangles for beaks and half circles for feet

I laid out pre-glued owls and little boxes of crayons. (Hint: the boxes are the plastic ones that mushrooms come in. I love them for so many storage ideas)

After putting each child's name on their painting with Black Sharpie, instruct the children to color their owl with the crayons. Lot's of bright color is the best!

The kids loved all of the steps. Add little pre-cut beaks and feet. I let the kids glue those on themselves, (with help for positioning) using a glue stick

When coloring is done, take the crayons away

Put out little pots (or lids) of paint. (We used tempera paints)

Kids used their fingers to neatly dab little bits of paints all over their owls. We used one color per group of four and then traded colors with another group when all were done.

Now for the handprint wings!

Teacher paints each child's hand in color of their choice

Turn the painting upside down to have the wing facing the right direction. Stamp handprint with thumb facing the owl body. Little ones need assistance. Older kids could do their own. Keep paper towels handy to dry off painted hands. (washing hands can be done at the end of the project)

HERE'S A FUN ART ROOM/CLASSROOM HACK:

Use stacked chairs for a drying rack!!

For more art projects for children please visit my Preschool Art Page

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Preschool Art: Coffee Filter Snails

This is a fun, colorful and fairly easy art project for children of all ages. My preschoolers loved it!

You will need:

• Coffee filters
• Construction paper (choose colors that markers will show up on)
• Black construction paper (for mounting)
• White construction paper or other paper (to lay wet coffee filters on to dry)
• Markers (non-permanent ink)
• Black Sharpie (fine point)
• White or light-colored crayon (to add the tentacles at the very end of the project)
• Glitter Glue
• White sticker labels (for artist signature)
• Spray bottle filled with water
• Glue (to glue the pieces to the black construction paper)
• White poster board or card stock (to create the snail body template)
• Scissors (for cutting out the snail bodies)

Let's Get Started:

Step one: Create a snail body template from white poster board or card stock. If the class is large, create several. Size it to fit on a standard sheet of construction paper. (as shown above)

Have children trace the snail body onto their choice of construction paper.

Step two: Cut out the snail bodies and have the children color them with markers. Don't forget to add a cute little face. (younger children may need assistance with cutting)

Step three: Instruct children to draw a swirl on the flattened coffee filters with the black Sharpie. Use the colored (non-permanent) markers to decorate the snail's coffee filter shell.

Step four: Give each child a piece of white paper and write their name in the corner with the Sharpie. Lay the decorated coffee filters on the paper and spray lightly with water; watch how the marker colors blend. The children loved this part! 

Step five: Gently lift the coffee filters up and move them every few minutes to prevent sticking while they are still quite wet. The other fun thing about this part is that they make a beautiful print. The kids loved this part, as well and were thrilled to take their print home as a piece of art too! Allow to dry. (may take overnight)

Step six: When decorated coffee filters are dry, place several dots of glitter glue of your choice on a sheet of scrap paper. (I used a 3x5 index card) Instruct children to dip a finger in the glitter glue and dab it on their snail bodies and shells. The glitter adds a beautiful, sparkling finishing touch.

Step seven: Glue the snail body to the black construction paper. Then glue the coffee filter shell on, as shown above. Have the children make two little tentacles on top of the snails head with a light-colored crayon. Add their name tags, as well. 

For more Preschool age (or older) art projects see my Preschool Art page. 

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