Friday 29 June 2012

Art Ideas For Kids During The Holidays

Setting aside some time for you and your kids to do some crafts, is not only a great way of teaching and letting your child express their creativity, it's also a great time for parents and kids to make the most off their bonds together, in today's' world of hustle and bustle this can often be overlooked, not purposely of course, but that's just the pace of life in the 21st century I'm afraid.

That's why in today’s article, we are going to concentrate on some art ideas for kids, this is going to be family time for you and your children. So why not make the best of it and get involved in craft activities that you and the kids can remember for years to come.


Art ideas for kids at thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a special time for you and the children, not only is it a celebration of the thanks giving dinner, it's also a time of the year when most parents get to spend some quality time with their kids. So with that in mind and the time of the year, what better way to introduce them to the nature of the land.

This craft is a fun time for both boys and girls, and I’m not kidding when I say the adults will learn something too. Simply pop along to your local store and buy some jotters or writing pads for the kids,
and while your their get yourself one too.

With the leaves falling off the trees and still in a glorious range of colors, simply pick up all the different types of leaves you can, and have the kids sellotape them into the jotter or writing pad. This is where your part comes in, if you know the names of the trees from which they fell, remember to have the kids write them down alongside the leaves they previously sellotaped in their writing pads.

Collect as many leaves as you can, you should be able to find at least fifteen varieties. Whilst picking up the leaves try to impress upon the kids the potential age of the trees from which you are collecting their leaves. Also impress upon them that these are living things, telling them things like this tree was here before your grandmother or grandfather was born, if the tree is big enough it's probably 100 percent the truth you’re telling them anyway.

Not only will this give the kids the wow factor "really mom?" "really dad?" it impresses on them a sense of morality, when they now see that this is a living thing from a time long before the Internet and mobile phones and such, this start to implement care and compassion at a young age. This will also impress upon them the beauty and wonder of our natural living environment and world.

When you feel you have enough leaves, or the kids are getting too cold, then off you pop back home. Now home with your kids jotters filled with fallen leaves (yours too I hope) have the kids draw around the leaves. This will not only preserve the shape once the leaf starts to crumble, it starts a hand to mind connection that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I can still remember the shape of oaks and maples and many other tree leaves purely from drawing around them when my mum took me out doing this exact same thing when I was a kid. Now that the kids have drawn around the leaves, either below where you sellotaped the leaves, or using the back of that page. Have the kids write down all the details on that tree that you know off, what you don't know, Google. I'll give an example below:

OAK Tree Leaf

Found Central Park

Date---------

Who was with us? Mum, dad etc.

Life of an oak tree, 500/600 years (holy moly!)

The kids comment: me and mum where in central park and we decided to pick up some leaves...blah, blah.

You can see where I'm going with this, this is a brilliant and fun activity for the kids, adults too. This gives you great bonding time with the kids and memories that'll last for the rest of all your lives.

Not only is it a fun art ideas for kids, it's highly educational too. I surprised many a teacher when I was young just because of this very activity. The environmental knowledge this will impart on your kids will be huge too. With this information about the natural wilderness and environment imparted at such a young age, your kids will grow up with a respect for nature and the living world that not many have today.


Art ideas for kids on Independence Day

This is a very simple yet effective art ideas for kids on independence day. This something you as an adult have probably done before, but if you haven't, it's impossible to get lost here.

This craft idea is a simple independence day lantern. You're going to need a couple of sheets per lantern of construction or thick cartridge paper. The colors are up to you, but being Independence Day, the colors of the flag are preferable.

You are going to need a stapler and a pair of scissors. Glue works instead of the stapler; however you will then need to wait for the glue to dry. Simply fold the cartridge paper length ways leaving you with a thin long rectangle. Then using the scissors, cut into the fold you made, up to about an inch from the two open ended folds of paper. Do this from the start of the fold right up to the end.

Make sure you cut the last bit off, this will be the handle of the lantern. Now turning the cartridge paper the other way, make both ends meet to create the lantern shape. Either staple the bottom end and top ends to secure the shape, or use the glue mentioned earlier.

You now take the single strip of paper you cut off earlier and staple it to the inside of the lantern, just think of a bridge shape, you'll get the idea. You can now create as many off these as you want, if you have the neighbor’s kids or relatives over, they're kids can join in too. Giving them all something that can be done by everyone at the same time.

You can now string all these lanterns together to hang outside on the porch, or even inside. Before you string them together, get the paint set out, or coloring pens and let the kids decorate them, Bingo, great fun time for the kids and adults, and something everyone can join in together with.

Well that's all for today’s article, I hope some of these art ideas for kids has been useful to you, till the next time!

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