paper and a few markers
can transform your child’s
fingerprints into little masterpieces like bugs, fairies, octopuses and more...The
ideas are truly endless and the keepsakes are priceless!
I’ve used this activity so many times…and, it’s always a
hit! At my son’s 3rd birthday
party—a Pizza Party Pirate Style, I set up a fingerprint art station where the
kids lined up to create ocean themed fingerprint art which they stamped onto ocean
themed scenes. They used their thumbs to
create fish and octopus bodies and then used a marker to draw in the details
such as the eyes and face. To complete their octopus creations, they added 8 squiggly little legs. The activity was simple to set up, simple to
instruct and left the kids feeling very proud. Even the most reluctant artists can use their own fingers to create adorable little creatures.
They come in all different shapes and sizes. They’re free, and fun to find, skip, and
collect. They’re also perfect for
painting on!
Who would have thought that rocks would make such an
excellent canvas for the imagination? Klutz, that’s who (okay and maybe grandma, too)!
Made up of crystals and minerals, each backyard treasure,
with its own unique shape and size (and a little imagination) has the potential
to become a painted masterpiece. In
their book, Painted Rocks, Klutz provides “tips, techniques, and inspiration”
for painting on one of nature’s most abundant resources. The book comes with paints, a brush, and even
a rock as well as a few googlie eye accessories…The rest is up to you!
I purchased my copy of the Klutz book a few years ago, and
found myself completely inspired by all the colorful examples of rock art! Since then, it has become a family-fun
favorite activity. Over the years, we’ve
used this craft as an inexpensive addition to birthday parties and backyard
picnics. Our rock painting booth was an
especially popular addition to the Country Fair themed birthday party we threw
one year.
Nice Clean Rock: Before
From dinosaurs and monsters to pirates and frogs…the rock
painting possibilities are endless. So
gather up the kids, your paints, brushes, some water and rocks (of course),
then get out your creativity and begin!
Before you know it, you will have a beautiful collection of painted
rocks to share or keep.
For us,
searching for the perfect rocks to paint was as much fun as painting them. I hope you enjoy it, too!
“I am an astronaut!” seven year old Neil beamed as he pulled a paper-made helmet over his head. “I am a scientist!” exclaimed young Albert as a purple liquid oozed over the sides of his tube. Is it a coincidence that these students share their names with two of the most famous men in history, or did these events really take place while Neil Armstrong and Albert Einstein were young boys? Whether preparing to walk on the moon, developing the Theory of Relativity, or simply participating in pretend play, imagination is central to the creation of new ideas.
“All human beings, even small children, are creative and that creativity is the foundation for art as well as for science and technology. This creative ability Vygotsky (1995) called imagination” (Lindqvist, 2003, p. 249). “Imagination is a form of knowing that children, by the indigenous nature of their childhood, use as an active way of understanding—of being at the very heart of theirs’ and others’ aliveness” (Lewis, 2007, p.23). However, in the educational world of standardized curriculum and tests, imagination in the classroom often seems left out.
A young boy once became fascinated with the old saying, “No two snowflakes are alike.” During each snowfall, he wondered what the tiny white flakes really looked like. He went on to capture the first photograph of a single snow crystal. In his lifetime, he photographed more than 500 snowflakes and found that the saying he heard as a child was true. Just like the children in a classroom, no two are alike. The boy became known as Snowflake Bentley (Briggs-Martin, 1998).
“I have a dream,” Martin Luther King said. As it turns out, he is not the only one. In classrooms where teachers value imagination, are students more likely to realize their dreams? In the past, imagination and creativity in education were often associated with the arts (Claxton, 2006). But, how is imagination in education perceived in these modern days of the 21st century? As rapidly changing technology and innovation become society’s focal point, one has to wonder, how would a young Neil Armstrong, Albert Einstein, Wilson Bentley, or Martin Luther be viewed today?
If children are to have the maximum opportunity to learn, strategies and techniques must be partnered with approaches that best do so. Could gaining a clearer sense of imagination and bringing imagination to the forefront of education lead to better classroom instruction and deeper learning for all?
fingerprints into little masterpieces like bugs, fairies, octopuses and more...The
ideas are truly endless and the keepsakes are priceless!
