This house garland can be painted in endless ways. Here I used some white crayon resist, watercolor, and a splash of gold tempera paint. Set this out for a group of children and let them explore the resist technique used when mixing crayon and watercolor. You could make these in a classroom, or at home…
Styrofoam Printing with Kids
Printmaking is one of the fine arts (including painting, drawing, collage, and sculpture) that involves making a “master plate” which you then can use to make multiple images which are printed in reverse. There are so many ways to print, it’s almost endless! Potato and veggie printing, linoleum printing, mono prints, bubble wrap printing, yarn…
Jackson Pollock: Large Scale Collaborative Painting with Kids
The American artist Jackson Pollock is one of the most recognizable painters of our time. His drip, splatter and pour technique is now so iconic, there is probably not an art teacher in the world who hasn’t adapted his action-centered art making in their classes at some point. But although his style in now ubiquitous,…
20 Paper Mâché Ideas For Kids
Paper mâché is one of those classic art techniques that all children should experience at some point in their childhood. Getting your hands covered in ooey, gooey paste is a rite of passage! You will need some preparation and planning, but the process is so enriching and the end result is always kind of magical….
Wire and Washi Tape Crowns
These wire crown are pretty easy to make with minimal supplies and just some nimble fingers. Make them for a party or for the dress-up corner. You can even make them using only wire and no tape for an even more minimal crown. Twisting this pliable wire is so fun and satisfying, you will find…
Make: World Flag Garland
We made this world flag garland back in 2014 for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but I recently dusted it off because it is so awesome. And I do mean awesome. This one kept my kids busy for days and days. But more than that, it sparked so many interesting conversations about the world. It…
Cardboard Circus Tents
One of my all-time favorite art camp projects we made on the very first week of summer art camp I ever did were these Cardboard Circus Tents. The theme of the week was Join the Circus and we made clown masks, trapeze mobiles, ice cream cones, and lots of cheery bunting. These circus tents were…
16 Liquid Watercolor Art Experiences
Liquid watercolors have become one of my favorite art materials. They are not as convenient as regular palette watercolors, which we use more often just because they don’t require as much set-up or clean-up, but they are just so beautiful to paint with. The colors are very rich and vibrant, and you can cover large areas…
Solar System Mixed-Media Art with Kids
To celebrate Earth Day this year, which falls on April 22nd, I decided to do this very process-oriented solar system mixed-media art project with my campers! It is truly perfect for every age, from preschoolers to middle schoolers. It is a two day process and an exploration of circular shapes, painting with droppers, and deep…
Cardboard Egg Garland
In the last art camp I held in my house, before the pandemic shut everything down, I had the kids paint a bunch of cereal box cardboard. I set it out with some paint jars and expired gifts cards and had them scrape the paint all around. After it was dry, we used that cardboard…
