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…

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

Growing Snow Crystals

Growing Snow Crystals

Have you grown crystals to make a snowflake (or rather a snow crystal!) this winter?     This winter-themed, kid-friendly project utilizes fine motor skills, creativity, science observation, and mathematical skills, including addition, multiplication, estimating and measuring. To get started, first you and … Continue reading

Snow Crystal Geometry

Children are always learning from the world around them.  When studying mathematics and science can be connected to their everyday surroundings, children more readily engage in these activities.  Right now, as we brace for this very cold winter, snow and ice … Continue reading

Do You Want to Build a Snowflake?

Try this 3D twist on the classic cut-out snowflake! Continue reading

Gumdrop Engineering

Providing engaging and exploratory learning opportunities allow curious children to develop their creative and analytical skills.  This simple building activity promotes creative thinking and innovative problem solving for children of various ages and interests. Using colorful gumdrop candies (or marshmallows) and … Continue reading