Do You Want to Draw a (Perspective) Snowman?

Originally posted on Design in Play:
Snowmen at Night is one of my kids’ favorite wintertime books.  It’s become a bit of a tradition to pull it out in January, just like reading seasonal and holiday-themed books other times of the…

Fall Faces

Every October, my young children look forward to going to the pumpkin patch to select their individual pumpkins and several “crazy looking” gourds.  While the whole family enjoys this annual outing, this year we reflected on how little the kids … Continue reading

Color Mixing and Marbled Eggs

Inspired by “shaving cream marble prints” that have become so popular and the color mixing experiments that fascinate my kids, we opted to try “marbelizing eggs” this year with a similar process.  Not wanting to expose our food (with it’s … Continue reading

Simple Shapes & Custom Cards

This year, picking Valentine’s Day cards for school was a challenge.  While my six-year-old hoped to find whale-themed cards, my nine-year-old insisted that cards prominently featuring Guinea pigs must be available somewhere. Well, they were not so easy to find. Using simple cut … Continue reading

Do You Want to Draw a (Perspective) Snowman?

Snowmen at Night is one of my kids’ favorite wintertime books.  It’s become a bit of a tradition to pull it out in January, just like reading seasonal and holiday-themed books other times of the year.  The story is entertaining and the … Continue reading

Simple Snowmen (with Shading & Highlights!)

Drawing with shading and highlights is typically taught later in elementary art.  However, this easy snowman drawing technique is simple enough for a preschool art project and has a big visual impact when complete.  Using basic geometry, and just two colors, a … Continue reading

Thaumatrope Snow Globes

First of all, what is a thaumatrope? A thaumatrope, roughly translated from ancient Greek as “wonder turn,” is the most basic of paper movies.  By simply moving a handle, a thaumatrope creates the optical illusion of two images merged into one. Since … Continue reading

Monster Crafts

Just in time for Halloween party crafts, but fun for kids any time of the year, these “monster” paper crafts combine origami, cutting skills and zentagle-style pattern making to create clever monster-themed bookmarks. Monster Bookmarks – Basic Supplies: 1 1/2- 2″ strips … Continue reading

Balancing Buddies

Using art and physics, this simple craft plays with an object’s center of gravity to make a fun little toy that surprises and delights little engineers! Throw a ball in the air and gravity pulls it right back down, but not everything falls straight … Continue reading

Paper Bridges

A bridge is a structure built to span a gap or obstacle without closing the opening underneath.  For example, a bridge may provide passage over a river, a valley or a road.   The design of a bridge varies depending on its function, the terrain of its location, and the construction method and building … Continue reading