| How many times have you been in the middle of a | | | | activities over and over again, embellishing in a |
| major deadline with a business project or assignment, | | | | different way each time.So I'm going to do |
| when, all of a sudden, your home office door opens, | | | | something special for you and your business. I'm |
| and it's your child saying "Mommy/Daddy, I'm | | | | going to share one of my more popular art projects |
| bored......" ?You usually just groan and say "Honey, go | | | | with you. It will give your children a fun activity to |
| play with your toys or watch tv...." Children - | | | | do, keeping them occupied for a couple of hours - |
| especially young children - get bored easily. They | | | | giving you a chance to finish that business report or |
| need a constant string of activities to keep | | | | project that's due today.Enjoy!"PAPER MOSAIC |
| themselves occupied.Well, sometimes that works and | | | | ANIMALS"Grade Level: 1st or 2nd Grade (But can be |
| sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and | | | | geared up with increased details or geared down if |
| think of an activity to keep your child busy and out | | | | animal is extremely simple.)Materials: colored |
| of your hair for awhile.One of the more popular | | | | construction papers - 3 x 6" in size, in various colors, |
| activities for children is making art projects. They | | | | 12 x 18" black construction paper, glue, scissors, |
| absolutely love art!All of us can probably remember | | | | pencils, erasers, zeroxed sheets of animals (or |
| how great it felt when we were in grade school and | | | | pictures of various animals),scraps for practice |
| drew or painted a picture of our house or a special | | | | drawingsProcedure: 1)Use one 12 x 18" black sheet to |
| friend. Why did that feel good? Because you were | | | | draw one large animal (rabbits, elephants, turtles, pigs, |
| tapping into that special place inside each of us that | | | | etc.) that nearly fills the paper.2)Choose several 3 x |
| wants to create and express ourselves. Those were | | | | 6" colors for your animal's body parts.3)Take one 3 x |
| your creative juices flowing through your mind-- | | | | 6" color and cut it into 1/2" wide strips.4)Next, cut a 1 |
| sometimes gently, and sometimes in an excited | | | | 2" strip into smaller squares, approximately 1/2" in |
| manner!There seems to be a growing need to | | | | size. Now you have a small pile of tiny squares that |
| promote creativity in pre-school aged children, as well | | | | are about 1/2" x 1/2".5)Use these small squares to fill |
| as school-age children. Creativity is being discussed in | | | | in a part of the animal's body. (Spread a small amount |
| almost every realm: books, articles, tv and radio | | | | of glue where you want the squares to go. Place the |
| programs and the work place. Creative arts and | | | | squares carefully on the glue, close together.)6)When |
| crafts can be used to teach reading, writing, history, | | | | one part of the body is filled, choose another part of |
| etc. We need to get the word out to many teachers | | | | the body to fill. (If you have squares left, use those |
| on how to use art in teaching more than just art. | | | | squares to fill another part of the body that you |
| The arts are extremely important--very basic to the | | | | want to be that same color.)7)When you're ready, |
| total learning experience. They are a means of | | | | choose another 3 x 6" color and cut it into the 1/2" x |
| self-expression: a way to communicate ideas, | | | | 1/2" squares. Use these to fill the next part of the |
| feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Some of the | | | | body that you chose.8)Repeat this process until all |
| values we get from creative expression include | | | | parts of the animal's body are filled.9)Put away to |
| self-discovery, self-reliance, and enthusiasm. We also | | | | dry.Copyright 2006 Alberta JohnsonAuthor Alberta S. |
| learn to use our leisure time constructively. And | | | | Johnson is an art educator who understands the |
| getting an early start with our children is very | | | | importance of children's art lessons in school and at |
| important.So when you provide an art activity for | | | | home. Her company, Family Fun Arts and Crafts |
| your kids, you're giving them an experience that they | | | | makes fully-planned art lessons for children, with color |
| will cherish right then and into the future as well. | | | | photos, available to educators and parents. |
| Sometimes they want to do those same art | | | | |