Need Arts and craft Preschool Camp ideas! PLEASE!

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:10 pm

I've been a preschool a&c counselor before.

bubble art: fill bowls with soapy water. each bowl gets a few drops of food coloring. give kids straws. have them blow bubbles in the bowls until they nearly overflow. quickly place a piece of paper on top. the bubbles will pop and leave a bubble print.

sponge paint: buy or cut out sponges in shapes. have them dip in paint and stamp on paper.

how messy do you want to get? I got a lot of ideas from zoom, on pbs. (I don't think it's on anymore, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the ideas.)

check out family fun magazine online.

I seem to remember making snowglobes out of baby food jars. we also made carousels out of apples, straws, animal crackers, and marshmallow fluff. I tried to do a lot of edible art, the little kids stuck everything in their mouths anyway.

amother

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:29 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

Thanks so much mummie - I'll take any ideas that you have. I can't do edible food as there is already an edible food art counselor. I really like the sponge painting. The bubble idea is really creative, I have to wonder if it will work out with so many kids in each class.

Please keep the ideas coming!

amother

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:40 pm

enneamom wrote:

Here are some ideas off the top of my head, but they're pretty simple and not that creative. Maybe they'll help, though.

-Cheerios/Fruit Loops necklaces
-Dried colorful macaroni necklaces
-Paper plate puppets (e.g. frogs)
-Sock puppets
-Paper bag puppets
-Plastic cup sun catchers: these are a little tricky and might not work for that age. You color around the outside of a plastic cup with permanent markers, then put it upside down in a toaster oven and bake until it shrinks into a hard -plastic disc. You might want to look up exact instructions online; I might not be remembering the process correctly.
-Leaf rubbing - you know, when you put a leaf under a paper and color with crayons on the paper to get the shape of the leaf.

The leaf rubbing is very creative - thanks! I hadn't thought of that! Keep em' coming!

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:43 pm

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

divide the kids into table. one or two bowls per color per table.

also, bubble wrap print. have the kids smear paint on the bumpy side of bubble wrap. press dry paper onto that.

you want to have real fun? papier mache. blow up balloons and have them cover the bottom half with papier mache. allow to dry, pop balloon. you have a bowl they can paint during a second session. if you want to make it a little more fun, blow up different shaped balloons and have them attach stickers to create faces. put the balloons in the bowls (they can glue them) and you have bowls of wacky fruit.

you can make "lava lamps." fill empty water bottles with water, glitter, and little odds and ends from the crafts store. seal the cap on with hot glue. I did this with my kids for succah decorations (we used the mini bottles) and we tied large ribbons around the necks. we hung them from the schach.

if you have the funds, get the kids blank tshirts and some fabric paint. use letter sponges to put their names on.

also, allow them a few sessions of free art. give them fingerpaints and stand back. this age needs some time to do what they want with art supplies.

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:50 pm

oh, similar to leaf-rubbing: collect healthy moist leaves. tape them to a paper. tape the paper to the table. place a piece of white cloth on top, tape that down at the corners. give the kids wooden mallets. have them hammer the cloth. you'll get leaf prints made of leaf juice. you can glue the cloths onto dowels so they can be hung up.

oh, and the classic tissue-paper painting. have the kids rip/cut different colored tissue paper. place the pieces on a white paper in any pattern they want. paint over the tissue paper with water. allow to dry and remove the tissue paper. the result should resemble a watercolor painting. lots of fun and minimal mess.

go on a rock hunt. paint rocks.

life-size portraits. use a roll of butcher paper. set them up with partners. each kid traces his/her partner. everyone colors/paints/decorates their own silhouette to their satisfaction.

animal masks- search online for a template.

baseball caps- give them a good fabric glue and some plastic jewels and embellishments.

amother

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:57 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

I LOVE the paper mache bowls - I remember doing that as a kid - but how do you blow up 150 balloons even with help? Would I have to do them all the night before???? I def. will not have the funds for t-shirts and while iI totally agree with you regarding free art time, I have to write up lesson plans, and so have to figure out how to present that. You're amazing and really helping me. I really appreciate it. Keep it coming! Smile

amother

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 10:02 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

You have some great ideas - I'm going to try out the water color painting and see if I can afford the ball caps. Also, I like the life size portraits, but don't have enough room or help for that. I also like the rock hunt and am going to try that. I saw this great idea on pinterest in which you wire a rock onto a necklace and have it hanging down like a pendant - this would fit in great with that.

mummiedearest

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 10:05 pm

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

yes, blow up the balloons in advance. if possible, get some junior counselors to help you.

you can give them free painting time and have a lesson plan about mixing colors. most preschoolers don't know much about secondary or tertiary colors. you can do one lesson on mixing colors with paint, another on mixing food coloring, another on combining paint with shaving cream (let them spread that on paper with their hands Smile

). you can introduce them to oil pastels.

let's see... you can give them sturdy plastic trays, place a piece of paper inside (tape it down on the underside). squirt some paint (different colors) in each corner. give each kid a couple of marbles. they can jiggle the tray to make marble tracks across the paper.

fingerprint characters- use a washable inkpad. have them make fingerprints, then they can draw facial features, arms, legs, etc on the prints.

amother

Wed, Apr 17 2013, 12:10 am

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

amother wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

OP here - your ideas rock. I really appreciate it and I'm writing them all down. Please, as many as you can. I'm going to try and get trays - I have to look for them. I love the art lessons; secondary and tertiary colors..