We Make Gold!

Need some gold? It's easy to make your own. 
Just get dried large lima beans and a can of shiny gold spray paint. Lay the beans out on a piece of cardboard and spray until coated gold. Wait 20 minutes for them to dry, then turn them over and paint the other side to create your own little golden nuggets. 
They can also be used for collages or used to fill up a reward jar.

Paper Towel Roll Crown

This recycled craft idea was created by a 4 year old.

Unroll the cardboard tube from and empty roll of paper towels. Carefully unroll the cardboard tube.

Lay out flat for the child to decorate with crayons, markers, paints, stickers, feathers, or other collage materials.

Once decorated, staple the ends together.

Painting an American Flag

Perfect for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Veteran's Day, or any day you want to show your love for the USA!

Here's a fun and easy way for even a young child to make an American Flag

1. Draw a box and fill it in with star stickers (older children can do this and count out 50, for younger children, 50 might be too overwhelming)
2. For young children, cover the box with a piece of paper.
3. Supply red paint to make the stripes.
4. Then remove the paper over the box and supply blue paint, encouraging the child to paint all in the box and cover up all the stars.
5. Once the paint has dried, carefully peel off the star stickers. 

by a child just 2 1/2 years old.

Consider sending some flag painting to deployed soldiers
www.anysoldier.com

Shaving Cream Paper Marbling

 
This activity is a great one where children can make something that looks neat and elegant.
It provides a way to make a beautiful stationary craft that can be used for thank cards, cards for teachers, Mother's Day Cards, etc.
It is great for all ages- toddlers-adults (of course the toddlers will need much more assistance.

Spray Shaving cream on a plate or tray.

Drop droplets of watercolor onto the shaving cream (if you do not have watercolor you can use food coloring. I prefer watercolor as it will not stain as bad, but both do work)

Gently swirl the colors around so they mix some, making the marbling effect.

Set a piece of paper (a heavier paper like cardstock is best) or a plain white notecard on to of the shaving cream. Press lightly until the whole paper has touched the shaving cream.

Gently lift the paper and set it on a paper towel. Use another paper towel to wipe off the shaving cream.
The paint, in it's marbling effect will stay behind.

Shaving Cream Body Paint

$1 can of cheap shaving cream can provide lots of fun!
Fun outdoors on warm days or even in the bathtub... it's OK to get messy because this is truly clean fun!

Add a small out of liquid water color to the foam (not to any surfaces as without the shaving cream it will stain, but it will not if a small amount is mixed with the shaving cream).

Body Tracing

Teachers of young children will sometimes do body tracing in the classroom, but most families do not have that same large white butcher paper at home.
The same activity can be done paper free, just using sidewalk chalk and cement. After being traced, children can draw on their faces or clothes.
Children get a kick out of laying down to be drawn and out of seeing how big they are.
This activity promotes bonding, self awareness, lessons in anatomy, and language development.

Sidewalk Chalk is included in Packed 4 Fun's "Fun In The Sun" pack.

Sidewalk Painting - Easy and Mess Free!

Water, a paint brush, and a nice day to go outside... that is all you need to create a sensory art (and basic science) experience for kids.

Write letters, draw pictures, time how long it takes the masterpiece to disappear.... Often, the simple activities are the ones that hold a child's attention the longest.

There are spill proof painting cups designed to hold paint or water, but if using large paint brushes, you can also make your own

Coloring Mixing... Mess Free!

Color mixing science and exploration. What happens when you mix yellow and blue together? What if you do a lot of blue and just a little yellow? How can we make all the colors of the rainbow if we only have red, blue and yellow paint?
Children can discover it all without getting a drop of paint on themselves!

Using quart size ziploc bags works best as the sandwich bags are not as sturdy. Adding a little shaving cream in with the paint makes it a little easier for children to mush the paints together and it lightens the colors a little bit.

Next the children could get messy, and paint with their personally created colors.