Ice Painting

 

While summer coming to an end, it was time to get in some ice painting.  I froze some water with a three drops of food coloring in each compartment of the ice cube tray (could have probably used less). I used a star tray, because my little guy is obsessed with stars.

To make things easier, I used a poster board rather than regular paper, but any kind of paper would work fine. Then we headed out into the sunshine!

I was really surprised that he didn't mind the cold.  He wanted to carry the stars around! 

Archer is little enough, he just used his hands to smear the ice around.  An older kid could use popsicle sticks (even frozen right into the cubes).

Cookie Colosseum

Xander has been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus series (again and again and again).  He has become a little obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology.  To try to feed this interest, I suggested we try to build a Parthenon out of cookies.  He liked the idea, but decided he'd rather build a Colosseum.

We started out by Googling some pictures of the Colosseum.  I also found an illustration in our Encyclopedia of the Ancient World and dug out our toy Colosseum from his World Landmarks Toob.  We also found a two episode documentary on the Colosseum on Amazon Video that we watched.

We used the Betty Crocker Gingerbread House Frosting recipe as our mortar and wafer cookies are our stones.

I had him start by trimming some down and start figuring out a layout before actually frosting them together. Then it was time to start building!  He ended up cutting the wafers into thirds for supports and then using a whole wafer with the corners trimmed as the top of the arch.

He was pretty proud of his final creation. It was a little wonky looking, but I was impressed with how long it was able to hold his attention.  He is not a kid who loves arts and crafts.

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Coloring the Snow

Winter is definitely here!  We've been having lots of snow and cold lately, so I decided to get us out in it!  Last weekend, before the weather turned dangerously cold, I bundled Xander up and we headed outside with some squeeze bottles of colored water.

First I wrote Xanders name, which was much harder than expected.  Then he stomped all over it to do his own art.

Mostly we just squirted out the water randomly.  We ended up with this big circle or rainbow colors.

Very simple and easy, but a fun way to enjoy the cold weather.

Window Leaf Craft

As part of our Halloween Week we did this leaf craft to go in the window.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but was really happy with the results.

We started with a sheet of clear contact paper I taped to his table.  I printed a leaf outline I found with Google, traced it onto construction paper, and used an Exacto knife to cut out the inside (much easier than it sounds, I was a little apprehensive).

 I cut a bunch of squares of tissue paper for him to stick inside the leaf.

 He may have dumped one of the bags...  Luckily it was after most of the leaf was covered, so they didn't all stick.

 I covered it in another sheet of contact paper, cut it out, and hung it in the window!  Tada!

Coffee Filter Dolphin Craft

As part of our second Dolphin Week, we did a fun coffee filter dolphin craft. I started by giving him a bunch of cool colored washable markers and a coffee filter.  (Ok, so I wasn't careful enough and not all my markers were washable...)

I had him color all over it.

Then I filled in a lot of the white spaces in between his doodles.

We sprayed it with a little bit of water...

and squished it all up into a ball.  (See the reason for the washable markers?)

This is what it looked like when we uncurled it.  Then we let it dry.

When it was dry I glued it to some card stock.  Then I printed off some dolphin outlines to glue on top.

Tiny Artist

I mentioned last week that I was going to make an effort to do more arts and crafts with Xander (a tough thing to do at the end of my semester).  Since last week was our heart week, I decided to do a heart themed project.

I gave him a heart shaped sponge and some paint and let him make a big mess.

For some reason he decided to taste it (glad I used non toxic paint).  He didn't much care for it.

 I let it dry and cut it out in a heart shape.  Xander helped me glue it to a piece of paper (I put the cap back on the glue for the picture).  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE his desk for projects like this?

The finished project.

Boys will be Boys... Painting

A few weeks ago I ordered Xander a Crayola art smock that had full sleeves.  I had been wanting it for a while so that we could do more art projects.  We decided to try it out over break.

I gave Xander some red paint to finger paint with.  He would dip his finger in the paint, touch the paper, and dip again.   I was glad he was so focused.

Then apparently he got hungry.

And then rubbed the paint on the only part of him that wasn't covered by the art smock.  Next time I need to buy one with a hood...

Lil Leonardo?

We did our first painting project (other than bathtub paints)!  Xander had soaked his shirt with his water bottle after our walk, so I decided to just feed him naked.  After all, why change outfits again?  As I was feeding him his prunes, he turn his head, getting it all over his nose.  Something is wrong with me, so instead of thinking "what a mess" I thought "wow, that really shows up on his skin."  Hence the inspiration for painting.

I grabbed some paper and put some of the prunes in the lid of the baby food jar.  I dipped his fingers in and touched them to the paper, showing him what to do.  After that, he took off with the idea. 

Concentrating so hard.

This is what we did as soon as we were done...

It may not be much, but I am still proud to put his first picture on the fridge.

Tub Paints

Lately I have been trying to think of more ideas for craft activities for Xander.  Most require a big mess, which always makes me think the bathtub, leading me to think of tub paints.  Women think in spaghetti, right?

Doing a quick internet search, you will find most recipes call for about 3/4 of a cup baby shampoo, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and food coloring.  We did both blue and green that way, but then tried baby wash for the red.  I have to say the baby wash was much easier to mix!  It seemed to absorb the cornstarch a lot better.  For the other two I stirred, stirred some more, and whisked and still didn't get it all in.  On the other hand, the baby wash blend probably could have used a bit more cornstarch because it was a little thin on the walls of the tub.  Next time baby wash with more cornstarch will be the way to go!

I stuck Xander in the tub with a kids paint brush and a foam brush and showed him how it worked.  Xander thought it was great fun when I painted him with the brush.  I think it tickled, so I got rewarded with good giggles.

He enjoyed playing with the brush.  While he understood the concept, his execution needed some work.  He ended up just banging the brush against the side of the tub rather than actually painting the walls.  I am just happy he tried.

And, of course, he had to try the paint... a couple of times.

One of the very few things Xander has tried and not liked.

Overall, it was a nice activity. We will be able to do it many more times, we have a lot of left over paint.