Sunday, December 30, 2012

Art from Recycled Paper Bags

The creative freedom using a paper bag for ART is endless. The children stuffed and painted these very colorful stuffed bags, which I found at the Teachers Recycling Center.

 

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Materials:

Paper bags

Liquid Watercolors

Paint brushes

String or Rubber bands

Tinsel foil drape

 

Directions:

1.Stuff paper bags with newspaper or shredded paper.

2. Scrunch top together and wrap with string or rubber band.

3. Paint paper bag with liquid Watercolors.

4. Set aside to dry.

5. Staple tinsel foil.

 

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Using recycled paper bags for ART is just one solution to our waste problem.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Free Play+Creative Play= Happy Children

 

Free play is ALL about children making choices; it does NOT involve adult ruled decisions. We must make room for FREE PLAY in our early childhood classrooms and family child care homes.

 

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The children learn to make plans, focus on creative self expression, and take turns. Free play is the only time that children have control of their own environment.

 

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Play should be fun and pleasurable!!!

 

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Creative Play is a great partner of Free Play. It enables the children to interact with their environment, to manipulate objects and express their feelings and ideas.

 

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The light table is a wonderful place for children to play freely and creatively.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Sensational Colors

Color is OUR favorite thing about art. Color is the ultimate best way to catch anyone’s interest, and young children are the best example to demonstrate this fact. Colors tell a story in a very effective way because they generate a personal emotional reaction from the artist and the viewer.

 

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Color, never stays constant. It changes depending on the amount and the type of light in the immediate environment.

Colors in the garden are different in the morning than early evening hours, when the sun is setting. In the classrooms colors look different under florescent lights, incandescent bulbs, and natural light streaming through windows. Incandescent bulbs bring out a much warmer color compared to the cooler tones of the florescent lights.

 

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Encouraging young children to paint daily gives them the much needed edge  in understanding the importance of color harmony.

 

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It is a gift that will continue throughout childhood and beyond.

 

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Sunday, August 19, 2012

How We Captured the Spirit of Motion.

Sometimes, we need a camera to capture the spirit of motion. A camera’s shutter speed can be the greatest tool in CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY. It allows you to freeze water, stop high speed actions, separate subjects, among other super cool stuff.

 

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What is shutter speed?

It is merely a measure of how long the camera’s shutter is open for. The longer the shutter is open the more light flows in the camera sensor. It allows us to see seconds, minutes, and even hours of action in a single photograph. Sometimes we can use this kind of creative photography to record stuff that the naked eye cannot capture in real time.

 

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What is painting with light?

It’s a form of ART that does not use paper, paints, and brushes. It is a technique that requires a light source to illuminate a dark environment. The source of light could be anything that can be seen in darkness. We used finger flashlights which I purchased from the dollar store.

The children just moved the light source as if they were drawing or painting.

 

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Where can I purchase these finger lights online?

http://http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Afinger+flashlights&keywords=finger+flashlights&ie=UTF8&qid=1345407881

 

We will definitely try this again! Smile