ART ADVENTURES

ART ADVENTURES from the Lawrence Arts Center Early Childhood Education experts

Homebased projects to keep young children creative!

Art is a healing medium.

At home art and play experiences can provide comfort and security during times of limited social interaction. Children need extra opportunities to express their feelings when familiar routines are disrupted, and it is often easier for children to do this through creative play experiences.

This booklet is packed with ideas for creative projects using supplies commnly found around the home.

We’ve also included storytime and singalong videos featuring Lawrence Arts Center teachers recorded during the spring 2020 quarantine.

For more about Lawrence Arts Center art education programs for all ages, please visit lawrenceartscenter.org

PLAYDOUGH LETTER WRITING NATURE WALK Art Center Home based Project Ideas PUPPET SHOW IMAGINEER BLANKET FORT COOKING LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE PAINT RESIST STORYTIME Much love to you all from your art center family.

We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love. We believe that continuing art and play experiences in your home as a continuation of your child’s typical weekly routine experience can provide a bit of comfort and security during this difficult time. We also believe that art is a healing medium. Children will need extra opportunities to express their feelings and it may be easier for children to do that through a variety of art and play experiences.

Our Favorite Playdough Recipe Mix together in med. pan: 2 c. flour, 1 c. salt, 2 c. water 4 tsp cream of tartar, & 2 TBS vegetable oil Optional: food color Cook on med. heat, stirring until the mixture loses its stickiness and a dough ball forms. Remove from heat. Let cool before playing with it. Store in an airtight container.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home. Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Write letters to friends & family

Go on a nature discovery walk.

Make observations about what changes and what remains the same each time.

Include a drawing or painting.

Write it in a secret code (remember to share how to decode your message).

Storytelling Set up an Imagineer Lab Put on a puppetwith show Priscilla Howe onpuppets Zoom Gather your recyclable materials, scissors, using homemade paper, paperclips, glue, & all kinds of tape. or common household Let your little engineers explore the https://zoom.us/j/874033582 objects materials & build endless creations!

Children could also write & draw about their creations.

Perhaps the kids will get Put on your puppet show inspired to make their own for friends and family — set puppets & put on a puppet up a zoom meeting to share show for your family!

Bring out the blankets & sheets. Build a fort together.

Remember the flashlights, tell funny stories, play games, & have a PJ party.

Have children write & draw the ingredients in the recipe.

No-Bake Powerball snack:

1 ¼ c Oatmeal, ½ c nut butter, 3 T honey, dried fruit &/or choc chips Mix & roll scoopful into a ball.

Repeat. Enjoy!

online!

Build a Blanket Fort

Cook together as a family.

Learn a new language!

Hola!

Bonjour!

Ciao!

Paint w watercolor. Shake on some salt. Observe the changes.

Draw with a white crayon or wax candle first and then paint.

HABITATS LETTER WRITING SHAPE GUESSING DICE RACE WATERCOLOR WICKING COLOR SCIENCE PIZZA DOUGH SCAVENGER HUNT LISTENING GAME Art Center Home based Project Ideas STORYTIME We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

Much love to you all from your art center family.

Create an animal habitat

Gather some animal toys. In a large tub design and build a habitat for them. Gather materials to create your animal’s habitat (rocks, grass, sand, water).

Where does your animal live?

What does it need?

Blanket Parachute

Take a sheet or a thin blanket outside & have each family member hold onto the edges.

Place several small balls on top of the sheet. Raise and lower the sheet corners & make the balls bounce. Work together to keep the balls bouncing.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Send a list of your favorite music for your reader to download & enjoy!

Walking Rainbow Gather 3 small glass jars and 3 paper towels. Fold or twist the paper towels into a thin rope.

Wet the paper rope. Add each end of the rope into a different cup, & continue adding the rope pieces until you have a rope loop connecting each cup.

Fill each cup with colored water. One red, one yellow, and one blue. Observe over time.

Book Scavenger Hunt Have a reading adventure together!

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home. Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Guess the Shape

This is a listening game. You list a group of things that are all a certain shape & your child guesses what shape they are? ring, plate, pancake= circle pillow, door, rug= rectangle

Sticks & Stones: Race to 100 Roll 2 dice. Collect the number of stones as rolled on the dice. Exchange 10 stones for 1 stick. Work to get 10 sticks (100)!

Wet on Wet Watercolor

Begin this technique by getting a piece of paper wet. Place the Homemade Pizza Dough: wet paper on a baking sheet.

Mix 7 oz warm water, 2 TBS honey, & ½ tsp yeast. Rest for at What do you think will least 5 min. to let yeast bloom. (it should look like a foamy happen? mound).

Add 2 ¼ c. flour, 1 TBS oil, and 1 tsp salt. Mix Paint on the wet paper with together well.

Knead the dough, working it with your hands for watercolors. What happened about 8 min or until it stretches without tearing. Place the dough when you added the paint? in a well-oiled bowl & let it rise for 2 hours or until doubled in Was it what you expected?

What did you think about that? size. Then, flatten the dough onto a baking sheet, add sauce & your desired toppings. Bake at 450 for about 10-12 min.

Did you like how the wet This dough can be divided & made into individual pizzas, used paper affected your painting? to make calzones, or stromboli!

Find a picture of the sun in a book.

Find a frog in a book.

Find someone helping someone else in a book.

Find a book that makes you laugh.

Find someone sleeping in a book.

Find a boat in a book.

What’s that I hear?

Gather plastic eggs & have children help you choose things from around the house to put into the eggs. Have the children cover their eyes while you mix up the eggs. Play a game to figure out what is in that egg when it is shaken.

You could also play this as a listening memory game if you fill two eggs with the same objects. Shake to find the same sound.

(Fill with buttons, rice, Legos, rocks)

BODY TRACING BACKWARDS WRITING BOWLING Art Center Home basedSOUNDS Project Ideas SUDOKU ANIMAL COLLAGE TIC TAC TOE We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a CLAY bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

SCULPTURE HOMEMADE TOAST PAINTING Much love to you all from your art center family.

Body Tracing

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Trace your child’s body on the sidewalk with chalk & let them color themselves in! They can create different action poses!

Wear your clothes backward!

Say your names backward!

Walk backward! & have dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Have a silly day together!

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Artist Toast: Add food coloring to softened butter. With a clean paint brush, let your child paint their toast!

Write & draw out one of your favorite recipes that you think someone else will enjoy!

Stick Sculptures

Backyard Bowling

Reuse plastic bottles as bowling pins. Set them up, step back, and roll a ball to try to knock them down.

Create some nighttime fun by adding glow sticks to the plastic bottles & set them up in the yard to go night bowling!

Solve Sudoku together Find or create a Sudoku board for your child using the numbers 1-4 or using 4 colors. Each square can only use each number once. Each row and each column can only use each number once.

On a well papered surface, supply your child with glue & popsicle sticks or gather sticks together from the yard. Let them build!

Children can also paint their build with watercolor after it dries!

Air Dry Clay

Mix 1 c. baking powder, ½ c. cornstarch, & ¾ c water in a pan over medium heat. Stir until mixture thickens and can be lifted from the pan in 1 large piece (about 10-15 min.). Set the clay aside & allow it to cool. When cooled, the clay should be soft enough to knead, but not so soft that it sticks to your hands. (If it’s too sticky you can add it back to the pan & cook it a bit longer.)

At this point you can begin to create with the clay. You can form it into any shape. You can cut it with cookie cutters. You can stamp into the clay with nature items, kitchen items, or toys tracks.

Clay takes several hours to a day to dry completely.

When it is dry you can paint it.

What does it say?

You say an animal & your child says the animal sound.

This can also be reversed & you can say an animal sound & your child identifies the animal who says it.

Nature Collage

Go for a walk together & gather items from nature.

Organize and glue items into a collage.

Optional: Items could be glued onto a “Nature Crown” cut from a brown paper bag.

ICE PAINT COSTUMES SINGALONG Art Center Home based Project Ideas PUPPET SHOW JOKES OMELETS PUPPETS We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

MANCALA Much SHADOW ART OBSTACLE COURSE love to you all from your art center family.

Ice Paint Pops

Add watercolor & water to paper cups or old ice cube trays. Add a popsicle stick for a handle. Freeze overnight.

Remove from molds & paint outside with the paint pops on paper or on the sidewalk.

Imitate classic art pieces with your family & post to LA’s Getty Art Museum on Twitter.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Include a funny joke for your reader that you write and draw out or a grown up writes & you illustrate!!

Maybe create a comic strip or a whole joke book for them!

Knock, Knock! “Who’s there?”

Costume Day

Pull on some costumes & assume a different character role for the day! Create & write down a story about your character’s adventures.

Play the Ancient African game of Mancala

The object of the game is to capture more stones than your opponent.

4 playing pieces are placed in each of the 12 empty holes in the game board. If you do not have a mancala board, you can play the game using an egg carton & 48 pebbles, seeds, or buttons. Each player has a store or Mancala, which can be a cup or a bowl on each end of the egg carton.

Play begins when 1 player picks up all of the pieces in any one of the holes on their side.

Moving counter-clockwise, the player deposits 1 of the stones in each hole until the stones run out. If you run into your store, deposit a stone, if you run into your opponents store, skip it. If the last piece you drop is in your store then you get to go again. If the last piece you drop is in an empty hole on your side, you capture that piece & any pieces in the hole directly opposite. Always place all captured pieces in your store. The game ends when all 6 spaces on one side of the mancala board are empty. The player who still has pieces on his side of the board captures all of those pieces. Whoever has the most pieces in their store at the end of the game is the winner.

Design & Run through a Backyard Obstacle Course Line up several buckets. Run while weaving your body through the buckets.

Jump the planters.

Kick a ball through the legs of outdoor chairs.

Throw a bean bag through the rungs of a ladder.

Balance across a 2x4.

Omelets in a Muffin Pan: Mix 12 eggs, ⅓c. heavy cream, ½ tsp dry mustard, salt & pepper to taste.

Grease a muffin tin very well. Add any desired omelet ingredients, including chopped veggies, cooked sausage, ham, &/or cheese to the muffin pan.

Pour in the egg mixture.

Bake at 375 for 20 min or until eggs are set.

Explore Shadows w/ Art On a sunny day, place toys & objects on paper outside & trace their shadows. Leave them in the same positions and trace the objects at different times of the day.

What changed? & Why?

Clothespin Puppets

.

Design and cut out puppet faces (people faces, fish, etc.). Cut the puppet face apart between the top and the bottom part of the mouth. Glue the top & bottom parts of the puppet onto a clothespin. The puppet “talks” as you open & close as the clothespin.

PICNIC SYMMETRY PRINT BOOK SHARING Art Center Home based Project Ideas CANDY MAKING QUESADILLAS BUBBLE PAINT We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

BIRD FEEDERS COLOR HUNT STORYTIME Much love to you all from your art center family.

Family Picnic

Enjoy a meal together outside!

Symmetry Paint Fold a paper in half.

Paint on one side. Fold paper closed & press.

Open up to reveal the symmetry!

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Create an advertisement for a book that you enjoyed by writing & drawing all about it. Send it to someone that you think may also enjoy the book.

(If you are a younger book lover, you may need a grown up to help ask you questions about the book & help you by writing down your ideas. You can also illustrate what your grown up wrote out.)

Share all the things that you enjoyed about the book and why you think others should read it!

Who was your favorite character & why?

What was your favorite part of the book?

Did you learn anything new as you read the book?

Going on a Color Hunt

Go on a walk together in search of something that represents each color in the rainbow.

ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)

Make Bird Feeders

Gather pine cones. Add ribbon or pipe cleaners to the top to hang the feeders. Spread PB or shortening all over the pine cone & then roll the coated pine cone in the bird seed.

Hang the feeder near a window so your family can watch the birds. Bring out the binoculars & bird identification books. Your family could even track all the different kinds of birds that visit your yard, your favorite park, or that you see on a hiking trail. How many different birds will your family identify?

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Rock Candy

This is an old fashioned treat that is made with science. In this experiment the sucrose crystallizes & forms rock crystals that you can eat.

Gather a clean glass jar, a pencil, string, 3 c. sugar, & 1 c. water. (optional: coloring) Tie the string onto the pencil & place on top of the jar allowing the string to dangle into the jar (make sure the end of the string doesn’t touch the bottom or the sides of the jar.) Boil 1 c of water. Begin stirring the sugar into the water about a tablespoon at a time.

Continue adding the sugar until it does not dissolve when you stir the mixture (saturation). Pour the sugar solution into the jar (avoid adding any undissolved sugar). Set the jar in an area where you can watch it, but where it can be undisturbed. Place a paper towel over the top to keep out dust. The process of growing sugar crystals can take several days to a week. When they have reached the desired size, pull them out, dry them, keep them, or eat them!

Green Chili Quesadillas

Mix shredded cheddar or mont. Jack cheese, 4 oz can green chilis, Âź c. frozen corn, 1/4c. chopped red onion, & black beans or cooked diced chicken. On medium heat, in a greased pan, add a tortilla & spread cheese mix onto it. Top with another tortilla. Flip when cheese is melty & tortilla is browned & crisp.

Bubble Paint

Add washable paint to a bubble mixture & blow bubbles toward a piece of paper. As the bubbles pop, they are painted on the paper.

Another fun way to paint with bubbles is to add the washable paint to a small tub of bubble mix. Use a straw to blow a pile of bubbles. Put a piece of paper on top of the pile of bubbles to make a bubble print.

CHALK PRINT FLOWER PRESSING SOLAR SMORES Art LITTLE Center Home based Project Ideas MOUSEY BROWN WATERCOLOR COMPASS We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

BALLOON TENNIS BOAT FLOAT SIDEWALK CHALK Much love to you all from your art center family.

Grated Chalk Prints

Finely grate a variety of chalk over a waterproof tub filled with water. (Grate over an old screen or even over a fine mesh wire strainer from the kitchen).

The chalk will float on top of the water.

Gently swirl the water with the handle of a paint brush or popsicle stick, if desired.

Lay a piece of paper (cut smaller than the tub size) on top of the water. Gently press the paper to connect with the water. Pull the paper out & reveal the beautiful & always unique chalk print!

You can create a ghost print, by printing this chalky water again without adding any new grated chalk.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Consider pressing & drying a pretty flower or an herb sprig & sending the beauty of spring to your reader.

Watercolor Compass

Remove the pencil from a compass and add a watercolor paint brush.

Dip the brush in the watercolor & paint all sizes of circles while exploring how a compass works.

Balloon Tennis

Keep a balloon up in the air by hitting it with your hand, a fly swatter, or paper plates with popsicle stick handles.

Hit the balloon back & forth & count how many times you can pass the balloon without it touching the ground.

Boat Float Challenge

Build a boat out of Legos, folded paper, sticks, foil, popsicle sticks, or a variety of recycled materials.

Add your boat to a tub of water. Does it float? If it does not, make adjustments & try again. If it does float, can it hold weight? Add pennies, marbles, or small stones & measure how much weight can it hold? Make changes to improve your boat & reevaluate how much weight it can hold.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Solar Oven S’mores

Gather a cardboard box to build a solar oven. Add foil to all sides including the top which will become the reflective roof piece. Add sticks to each side as supports to prop the roof open. These may need to be taped onto the box & attached to the roof. Fix the roof to an angled open position.

Set the solar oven directly in a sunny spot.

Arrange your graham crackers, stacked with chocolate pieces or chocolate chips, & mini marshmallows on the oven base. You can also add an outdoor thermometer if you are interested in observing how hot it gets inside.

Cover the oven opening with plastic wrap or a thin towel to keep out any critters or dirt. Check on the S’mores regularly. The cook time depends on how warm the day is. The S’mores are ready when the marshmallows & chocolate pieces are melty! Enjoy eating this gooey & yummy science experiment!

Chalk Your Walk

Add inspiring messages &/or brightly colored pictures to the sidewalks along your walk! Share your joy with others!

Make a sidewalk chalk mosaic by taping off border lines with painter’s tape. Color in the mosaic & remove the tape.

HAIRDO MAGNETS MAKE & SHARE STICKERS Art Center Home based Project Ideas SPINNING We want STRAWBERRY you all to know that we areJAM thinking of you and sending you andPOTATO your beautifulHEAD children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

GAME OF NIM STORYTIME Much love to you all from your art center family.

Crazy Hair Day

Sport your silliest hairdo on this day! The more unexpected, the better!

Magnet Exploration

With a magnet in hand, encourage your child to discover which items around your house are magnetic and which are not. After they have explored, encourage them to make an educated guess if an item is magnetic or not and then have them test out their theory.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Send stickers that you design yourself by drawing and painting on blank office labels.

Spinning Doodler

Add a large washer to the end of a pencil stub.

Spin it like a top over a piece of paper & watch it doddle away!

Try adding an old cd to a thick marker. Spin it in the same way!

Play the Game of Nim

This strategy game is appropriate for all ages. It originates from the 15th century & is thought to have been shared along the silk road in China.

Gather 16 small objects (small sticks, pebbles, buttons, or shells). Set up the objects in consecutive rows of 7, 5, 3, & 1 at the top. The goal is to leave your opponent with the single final object. The first player can choose any row & pick up as many or as few objects as they wish.

The game continues with players taking turns until a player has to pick up the last object, thus losing the game. Players will learn the strategy quickly!

Strawberry Jam

1 pound or about 4 cups fresh strawberries Âź - 1 c. sugar (This depends on your desired sweetness.)

2 TBS lemon juice & 1 TBS lemon zest (This will naturally thicken the jam.)

Rinse, hull, and mash berries with a potato masher.

Add mashed strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together to a pot over medium heat. Stir until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil and stir continuously while jam simmers on a low boil for about 30 min. Jam should coat the back of a cold spoon when set. Jam can be poured into a jar or even in a bowl with a lid. Let cool and keep in the refrigerator.

Also a yummy & quick jam recipe to make with fresh blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or any combination of summer berries.

Can be canned and kept in a cabinet for a year, but will keep well in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks.

Grow a funny Potato Head Draw a funny face on a potato, stick toothpicks around the middle of the potato in 3 or 4 places. Set the potato with the toothpicks on the edge of a glass jar to support the potato as it is suspended into the water. Watch as your potato head sprouts arms and grows roots.

SINGALONG RESIST WATERCOLOR MAPS Art Center Home based Project Ideas MAZES SUN PRINTS GRANOLA SPOONS LEARN We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

Much love to you all from your art center family.

Glue, Salt, & Watercolor Art

Begin by dripping or streaming glue on a heavy piece of paper or on cardstock (can even be on top of a recycled cereal box). Shake salt over the glue until well coated.

When the glue is dry, gently touch the salted glue with a brush loaded with watercolor. Use a variety of colors.

Observe how the salt absorbs the colors and how the colors mix.

Write letters to friends & family

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home. Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Draw a Map

Include a drawing or painting.

Create & send your reader a maze to solve. If you draw the maze out on paper and slip it into a plastic sleeve, your reader will be able to do the maze again and again with a dry erase marker.

(of your bedroom, your yard, or your daily walk).

Hide a special treasure and mark the spot on the map with an X. Share your map with a treasure hunter!

Sun Prints

Tape down brightly colored construction paper in a sunny spot. Add any variety of objects to the paper in any design you wish (pennies, buttons, shells, toys, Legos, beads, sticks, leaves, flowers, etc.). Leave the paper & objects in the sun for many hours. Make observations along the way to what changes are occurring to the paper. Do not move the objects during this time. The longer you leave the paper out in the sun, the greater the contrast there will be when you remove the objects.

You can also do this activity by finger painting with sunscreen on the brightly colored construction paper.

Play the Game of Spoons

Gather a deck of cards (without jokers) & spoons (1 less spoon than the total number of players). Lay the spoons in the middle of the group within easy reach of all players.

Shuffle the deck and deal out 4 cards to each player. The object of the game is to find a set of four cards of the same number or all four cards of the same face card (for example, all four 5s or all four queens, etc.).. The first player draws an additional card from the top of the deck. This player may pass the card to the next player in the circle or may keep the card and pass another card that they wish to discard from their hand. This repeats around the circle with each new card until the deck is out or until someone finds a set. When someone finds a set, that player would then take one of the spoons inconspicuously. As soon as they notice that a spoon is missing, each player needs to pick up a spoon too, whether or not they have a set. The person without a spoon is out. The game continues until the final spoon is retrieved. This game can get hilarious as everyone tries to get a spoon!

Granola

3 c. old fashioned oats ¼ c pure maple syrup ¼ c brown sugar ¼ c vegetable oil ½ tsp salt Spray cookie sheet with no-stick cooking spray.

Spread mixture out on the cookie sheet. Bake at 250 for 1 hour 15 min, stirring every 15 min for traditional granola. Drop mix by spoonful on cookie sheet and cook for a full 1 ½ hour for small granola bites.

(Optional: add in any variety of dried fruits, nuts, &/or a bit of cinnamon.)

PUT ON A CONCERT STRNG PAINTING SHARE PORTRAITS OBSTACLE COURSE VEGGIE FACE Art Center Home based Project Ideas We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

MAKE FLOWERS May these art and play experience ideas provide aSCULPT bit of comfort, TUBES routine, joy, and connection.

Much love to you all from your art center family.

String Painting

Virtual Concert As a family, learn a new song and send a video concert to family & friends! + 100 bonus points if you add dance moves!

Dip a piece of string or an unwearable beaded necklace in paint & then drag it across a piece of paper. Repeat as desired.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Silly Sidewalk Obstacle Course

Veggie faces With sidewalk chalk, draw Spread hummus on a out a game board-like waking course filled with piece of flatbread. Slice pictures and directions a variety of veggies. Use about how to move along the veggie pieces to Draw or paint a portrait of your reader. Maybe your sidewalk. You can design faces. The create a picture of the two of you enjoying one of create a walk adventure creations are sometimes your favorite activities together! for your family & for your silly, but the end result is neighbors. Some ideas always delicious! include: a starting spot, whistle, twirl, hop 3X, roar, Paper Tube Sculptures April Showers bring May Flowers clap, touch your head & Gather paper towel Create a bouquet of artwork with coffee filters! your toes, say two words and/or toilet paper Make a coffee filter flower by drawing on a dry, that rhyme, jump & mark tubes & cut them into round, white coffee filter with a washable marker. where to land with both slices that are a variety Fold the filter and leave it in a glass with a little bit feet, do jumping jacks, & of different lengths. Cut of water overnight. remember to mark the four small slits (about ½ Observe how your drawing changes as the water is finish point. (I don’t think inch) into one end of absorbed by the coffee filter. you’ll need to mark each tube slice. The slits In the morning, take the coffee filter out and allow where to giggle!) are made to create a it to dry. After it is dry, pinch some of the middle of place to connect the the filter and bunch it together to create a place to tubes together. Slide attach the stem. Wrap a pipe cleaner around that the slit of a tube over gathered bit of filter to create the stem of your the uncut edge of flower. You can twist on another pipe cleaner another piece of tube. midway up the stem & form it into leaves if desired.

The tube pieces can be You can also wrap the pipe cleaner stem around built together to create your finger or around a pencil & create a curvy a unique sculpture. The stem. Fluff the coffee filter flower open. sculpture can then be Create a bouquet of coffee filter flowers & share painted if desired. your joyful springtime art with others!

PUZZLES HIKING VOLCANOES WATER MAZE Art Center Home based Project Ideas

PARTY GARDENS STORYTIME WeTEA want you all to know that DANCE we are thinking of FAIRY you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

Much love to you all from your art center family.

Room to Room Puzzle Building Challenge

Hit the

Have a child build a Trails puzzle in one room, but Walk & explore the Baker have them retrieve Wetland Trails, the Prairie pieces one at a time Park Nature Center Trails, from a different room. the walking trails off Folks Road, as well as the many trails at Clinton Lake.

Explore the signs of spring!

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Write letters to friends & family

Bubble Solution

Include a drawing or painting.

Cut your letter into a puzzle that your reader will have to solve before reading.

Baking Soda Volcanoes

Across the Yards

(Same as Amanda P’s Across the Dance Floor Make up dance moves for: Movements. Your little dancers will know these!)

​ Starfish Gallop Frog Jump Bear Crawl Log Roll Butterfly

Monkey Jump Backward tip toe Crab Walk Snake Zig Zag Run

Water Play

Add water to a large container. Add funnels, measuring cups, scoops, & small toys.

Observe which items sink and which items float.

Optional add-ins: color, dish soap, ice cubes

Stir to combine: 2 c. Dish soap, 5 c. Water, & ¾ c. corn syrup in a large container. Add to smaller containers for individual use. Make wands w pipe cleaners.

Have a tea party

Plan a special day for your party.

Draw & paint invitations for your family, your stuffed animals, dolls, & action figures.

Prepare room & table decorations.

Pull out the fancy dishes.

Prepare a special snack & warm herbal tea or cocoa. Dress up & enjoy an enchanting event with your child!

Create a Fairy Garden

Gather & paint rocks, sticks, leaves, flowers,

shells, & other small Challenge: Make a boat out of foil, sticks, & /or legos. objects.

Arrange these Does it float? See how much weight it can hold before it sinks. Measure the weight it can hold by adding pennies, items as a little home for a fairy, maybe under a marbles, or rocks. Make changes to your boat’s design

Design & build a maze with playdough, blocks, sticks, &/or rocks, blow a ping pong ball, a marble, or a wadded paper ball through it.

SINGALONG WEATHER INVISIBLE MESSAGE Art OOBLECK Center Home MAP basedADVENTURE Project Ideas HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

HIDE THE PENNY GROUP DOODLE GARDENING Much love to you all from your art center family.

What’s the Weather? Make a chart with different

types of weather. Have your child check and record the weather each day.

Record the temperature.

Record the rainfall.

Draw & write about your favorite type of weather.

Tell why it is your favorite.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Read favorite books together.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Dress up as the characters, make props, and act out the story.

Write an invisible message with a white crayon & instruct your reader to watercolor over the page in order to see your message.

Make Oobleck

In a large container, mix 1 c. cornstarch & 1 ½-2 c. water Optional: coloring

Explore and play with spoons, scrapers, cups, & a variety of small toys

Play “Hide the Penny” by taking turns hiding a penny in subtle, but visible places in a room. Other players must find the penny. Take turns hiding and finding.

Have a birthday party for a stuffed animal

Have an adventure together learning about a different culture. Look at world maps and locate a country that you are interested in learning more about. Learn how to say a few words in a new language. Listen to new music & try a new recipe.

Plant a Garden

Start a doodle, pass it to someone else in your family, and have them add to it. Keep going until your family drawing is “finished.”

Start seeds indoors in degradable egg crates or newspaper cups.

Plan & draw out a garden with your kids. What would they like to grow?

Have children help to dig out and prepare a space in your yard or in a large container together.

ALPHABET COLOR MIXING PAPER AIRPLANES QUESTIONAIRE DINNER PREP STORYTELLING Art CenterSLIME Home based ProjectPARTY Ideas DANCE SINGALONG

We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

Much love to you all from your art center family.

List out the alphabet & find things all around your house or all along a walk outside that start with each letter’s sound.

Mix Paint Colors

& create a name for each new color

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home. Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Create a questionnaire for someone & ask them to respond back with all the answers!

What is your birthday? Where were you born?

Do you have a nickname? How did you get it?

What is your favorite game? Color? Food? Book? Music?

Tell me about your favorite place that you have visited.

If you were granted 3 wishes, what would they be?

& so many more questions...

Storytelling basket

Add objects from around the house to a basket. Help your child create a story with those items.

(This can be a really random collection of items, which can stretch your imagination to make story connections. & It can get really silly!)

Write out the story that your child dreams up and they can illustrate it. An older child can write & draw the story themselves.

Bouncy Slime Mix 1 tsp borax in 1 c. warm water & stir until dissolved.

In another bowl, mix even parts of glue & water. Stir in any additional add ins. (glitter, sequins, color) To activate the slime, stir 2 TBS of the borax mixture into the glue mix & stir until stiff.

Paper Airplane Contest

Fold different types of airplanes and compare how far they fly.

Build obstacles for the planes to fly over and around.

Kids Choice Dinner

Let kids choose what’s for dinner.

Children can draw and write out the menu.

Children can help with the food prep & cooking.

Children can set the table and can also help wash dishes after dinner.

Silverware-less Spaghetti night anyone?

Dance Party!

Call everyone together for a dance party! Consider switching up the music you normally listen to and turn it up for all to hear.

Explore different genres to expose little ears.

Particularly popular beats and channels to find them: Traditional African songs https://youtu.be/zSdwo_qsXS4 , Irish reels https://youtu.be/Vf8U9Z3XUIw , Drumming https://youtu.be/-2No01fY4k

JEWELRY SIDEWALK PAINT SINGALONG MADLIBS Art Center Home based Project Ideas HUMMUS BUBBLES WeBOOKS want you all ONLINE to know that we are thinking of you and INSTRUMENT sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

CAR RACING BOXES ROCK ART SEWING BIKES Much love to you all from your art center family.

Create Jewelry

String dry pasta, cereal pieces, beads, & buttons on yarn & create bracelets and necklaces.

If you make a necklace just using dry cereal, it can be a bonus snack for later (or during).

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Mix 1 c. water & 1 c. cornstarch together until well combined. Pour mixture into muffin tins or paper cups. Stir in color to each individual cup as desired.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Create a “MadLib” for your reader.

Have your child dream up a story & write it down.

Choose a handful of words to remove and leave a blank space (with directions on what type of word it should be) for the reader to fill in. Be sure some of the words are people, some are action words, some are places, or you can get specific and say “a kitchen item” or a “jungle animal.” Maybe even request the reader call you & read your story back with their ad-libs!

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Audible is offering free online access to children’s books.

Hummus Recipe

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas 1 clove garlic, minced 2 TBS Lemon juice ⅛ tsp cumin 1 TBS olive oil Tahini (can be omitted or subbed w almond butter) Salt & pepper to taste Blend together in a food processor. Add more olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency.

Enjoy w fresh veges or pita

Spread Kindness

Calling all race car drivers

It’s Not a Box

Lay a “track” of masking tape through your house & have car races!

Jump inside & let your imagination help you find out what it is!

An airplane? A boat? A car?

Build Musical Instruments from recycled materials

Hand Drum: Decorate an oatmeal container & tap out a rhythm.

Tambourine: Color or paint a paper plate. Fold the plate, fill w popcorn kernels or seeds, staple it closed, & shake it. Can also add streamers.

Guitar: Add rubber bands around a small box & strum

Paint rocks or color rocks with crayons and bake them just until the wax melts.

(Careful rocks will be hot.)

Share your kindness rocks along a walking path & share your joy with others!!

Bubbly Paint Adventure

Mix coloring, baking soda, & a bit of water into a thick paste, brush the paint onto your paper. Drop vinegar onto the paint & observe how the soda & vinegar reaction changes your painting.

Help your child hand sew a small pillow for one of their stuffed animals.

Take a family bike ride!

Or even have a family bike parade. Decorate your bikes with streamers. Call neighbors & tell them what time you’ll be riding by so they can wave & cheer you on!

RIBBON DANCE SHADOW PUPPETS PAINT SCULPTURE Art Center Home based Project Ideas FLAT PEOPLE ADVENTURES PASTA DINNER THEATRE We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love. these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

HOPMaySCOTCH STORYTIME PICTURE MAKER CAR WASH Much love to you all from your art center family.

Rainbow Ribbon Dance

Attach colorful ribbons to a ring or to a lid. Run & dance with it outside!

Shadow Puppet Theater

Hang up a sheet in a doorway or across two chairs. Set a lamp up behind it.

Draw & cut puppets out of cardstock or chipboard & attach a handle, or make character puppets with your hands.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Make Paint

Mix 1 c. flour and ¾ c. water. Add ¼ c. liquid dish soap. Divide into small containers and add coloring as desired.

Combine 4 eggs, 3 c. flour, 1 TBS water, & 2 tsp salt Pour flour in a bowl. Make a well. Break eggs into the well. Add water & mix until dough forms a ball. Rest for at least 15 min. before rolling out & cutting into noodles. Boil fresh pasta for 2-4 min. You can also wrap up the dough & keep it in the fridge overnight.

(Make it GF w 6 eggs and 3 c. Cup to Cup GF flour. Boil for 1 ½-2 min.)

Let your child cut out a magazine or calendar picture and glue it on a page. Encourage them to design & complete a scene around it. Let them tell you about the story they have created & write it down. (Encourage children to hold scissors with their thumbs up.)

Way Off Broadway

Send your reader a flat body shape to draw Spread paint out on a and paint on to create a character. Ask your paper plate or cookie sheet & print with balloons, reader to have an adventure with their flat person & to write & draw about it. Ask them to flyswatter, potato masher, fork, bubble wrap, corks, send their adventure writing back to you. You cups of all sizes, wheels of can send the character back and forth & have toy cars, feet of toy endless adventures together. animals.

Hop Scotch

Draw a hopscotch field (110) on your sidewalk & hop it together. Single foot hops on single numbers (1, 4, 7, & 10) and hops with both feet where two numbers are together (2 & 3, 5 & 6, 8 & 9). (You can also count by 10s to 100.)

CAR WASH

Fill up a large waterproof tub with water & soap. Bring out the cars & wash them.

(Also can wash the family car outside!)

Homemade Pasta

Create an aluminum foil sculpture .

Dinner Theatre Read a book together as a family. Plan to cook something related to the book for dinner. Make props & wear costumes.

Act out the story & then eat together in character!

Dotilism Painting

Paint with dots using Qtips & cotton balls pinched with a clothespin.

MAKE CRAYONS WEAVING SINGALONG PAINT Art Center Home based Project Ideas MAIL A HUG TREASURE BOX COOKIES EXCAVATE We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

SEWING I SPY TOOLS RAIN ANIMAL HOMES Much love to you all from your art center family.

Make Scribble Cookies

Gather broken crayons.

Add to muffin tins lined with aluminum liners.

(Or you break small crayon pieces down further with a hammer.)

Add crayon bits to the foil cups & bake at a low temp in the oven or outside on a warm sunny day until the wax is melted.

When the wax is cooled completely , the crayons will re-harden. Remove the foil & color your heart out!

Paper weaving

Begin a weaving base by cutting 1” lengthwise strips into a piece of paper.

Leave about a 1” widthwise end row of the paper base intact. Let your child cut lots of lengths of widthwise strips of paper, yarn, ribbon, & streamer. Let them use the cut pieces to weave into the base (over, under, repeat.). Your child can glue finished ends if desired.

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Mail a Hug! Trace around your child’s head, arms, & upper torso. Let them draw in their details, color, & paint their paper selves! Once it dries you can write a message on the other side, fold it up, & send it to someone that you are thinking of and wanting to send some love to.

Make sewing cards

Punch out holes along the edge of old greeting cards, or cereal boxes & with one end of a piece of yarn wrapped tightly with masking tape (or large needle) let your child sew in & out around the card!

Play “I Spy”

I spy with my little eye...

Something that begins with “a” (Say “a” sound.)

Something red Something round

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Nature Treasure Box

Decorate an egg carton or small box. Collect special nature items while you walk together. (rocks, shells, flowers, sticks, pinecones, feathers, seed pods) Pull out the tools & work together to fix something around the house or to build something together.

(Keep giving clues until they figure out the object)

Land, Water, or Sky game

Name an animal & have your child tell you where the animal lives or travels.

Examples: Land: monkey, cow, hen, dog, cat, etc.

Water: Dolphin, Shark, Fish, Whale, etc.

Sky: Owl, Hawk, Robin, Eagle, etc.

This game can also be reversed. You call out a living environment & the children call out an animal

Paint around negative space Have children fold & cut away part of their paper and then paint around the spaces they created.

(Encourage children to hold scissors with their thumbs up.)

Apple Cookies

Slice apples, spread on peanut butter or almond butter, top with coconut, choc. chips, raisins, &/or any other desired toppings!

Sit with your family in the garage with the door raised up during a gentle spring rain and enjoy the beauty of it!

Excavate the Toys

Add little toys (dinos, bugs, legos) to a large bowl. Fill with water & freeze overnight.

When you're ready for an excavation, turn the bowl out on a large tray or outside on a sidewalk. Equip your excavator with water, salt, & tools.

HOW THINGS WORK COLLAGE SINGALONG Art Center Home based Project Ideas APPRECIATION DRAWING FRUITY POPS BUILDING We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

MaySUPER these art andHERO play experience ideas provide a bit of SCAVENGER comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

ALPHABET HUNT Much love to you all from your art center family.

Take apart an old appliance or piece of unusable electronic equipment together.

Wear goggles to protect your eyes.

Cut or tear & glue collage

Cut or tear magazine pictures, paper pieces, chipboard, streamers & glue on a base paper! To add a challenge, how can you make it 3D?

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Write & draw a thank you note to someone who has helped you with something or to someone that you consider a hero! Let them know how much you appreciate them!

3D Build

Build a sculpture with packing peanuts & toothpicks.

Build an edible sculpture with grapes, cherry tomatoes, pieces of cheese, blueberries, or peas, connecting the pieces with toothpicks.

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

What do artists draw?

They draw what they see!

They draw what they remember!

They draw what they can imagine!

They draw what they feel!

Fruity Pops

Cut up & add 1 cup of your favorite fresh fruit to a popsicle mold or to a paper cup.

Fill mold with coconut water.

Freeze overnight or until solid.

Build & Play with the Alphabet

Super Hero Day

Make masks and tie on small blankets as capes.

What is your super power today?

Have an adventure together!

Go on a backyard scavenger hunt

Find: ants, a brown leaf, a butterfly, a clover, a cloud, a purple flower, a pinecone, a lady bug, a bird, grass, a green leaf, a yellow flower, a feather, a rock, sticks, a beetle, a worm, & so much more.

Cut individual letters from food boxes & labels and create a moveable letter set. Sort the letters.

Put the alphabet in order.

Build your name.

Explore the letter sounds by matching small objects from around your house to the letter each object starts with.

Build simple words.

Build a Cardboard City

Form buildings & houses out of chipboard or cardboard boxes. Paint them, draw windows & doors.

Draw & paint a system of roads. Make stop signs.

Use smaller boxes & lids to create cars for your city.

Make people out of clothespins and cloth.

Make lakes & rivers with blue paper or cloth.

HATS STREET LIGHTS SHARE RAMPS KITES Art Center Home based Project Ideas DRAWING CHALLENGE TIE DYE ICE CREAM We want you all to know that we are thinking of you and sending you and your beautiful children our love.

May these art and play experience ideas provide a bit of comfort, routine, joy, and connection.

TANGRAMSMuch COLOR GAME LEGO CHARADES love to you all from your art center family.

Hat Day

Make newspaper hats by laying several pieces of newspaper together around your child’s head to form a hat. Tape.

Remove hat & staple pages together to add stability. Let your child paint it & embellish it with feathers, glitter, & buttons.

Red light Green light One person in your family calls out street light directions to the other members in your family directing them how & when to walk across the yard.

First person across becomes the new director.

Green light= walk Yellow light= slow motion Red light= stop

Write letters to friends & family Include a drawing or painting.

Send drawing challenges to your reader. Fold a piece of paper. Start ½ of drawing on one side of the fold. Ask your reader to finish it and send it back to you.

Tangrams

Originating in China, Tangrams is a logic puzzle made with 7 shapes (tans) that can be used to create endless shape designs. It is suitable for all ages. Find a free printable pattern, directions, & puzzle challenges at: https://www.tangram-channel.com/

Post your art in your windows & share joy with others passing by your home.

Also consider posting your art on social media to encourage others & to share your creative ideas!

Paper Towel Tie Dye Ice Cream in a baggie:

Draw with markers on a paper towel or coffee filter and then get the paper wet (spray, or dip in a cup of water). How did that change the colors? Did any colors appear that you didn’t draw with? Fold or rubber band your paper towel before drawing.

What happened?

Guess the Color

This is a listening game.

You list a group of things that all are a certain color & your child guesses what color they are?

Apple, strawberry, tomato, Clifford= red Grass, frog, peas, limes= green Sky, jeans, the ocean= blue

Create a Car or Ball Ramp

Lean a board or any large flat surface against a couch, chair, or low table & let your child explore running objects down the ramp.

Which cars go the fastest? Why? Tape pennies onto the cars to add weight. How does this change their speed?

Cover the board with a towel and observe changes with how items move down the ramp.

In a small ziploc bag, add 1 c. half and half or whole milk, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Seal the bag well.

In a large Ziploc bag, add ice & ¼ cup salt.

Add the little bag to the ice bag. Seal well & shake. (wear mittens)

Lego Charades

On strips of paper, draw & write down ideas of quick lego projects (apple, tree, box, car, bug, etc.). Gather your legos and take turns being the builder who uses the ideas that were drawn out. The other players have to guess what you built.

Fly Kites Together

About Early Childhood Arts-based Education The Linda Reimond Arts-based Preschool, named for preschool founder and longtime director Linda Reimond, is for children ages 3-5 and provides social, motor, and creative experiences that excite love for learning. Music, sculpture, painting, drawing, and creative movement are integral parts of this exciting program.

The curriculum developed for the groundbreaking arts-based Kelly Galloway Kindergarten completes the continuum of the award-winning academic programming pioneered at the Arts Center. With a special focus on preparing young students to develop innovation skills, the arts-based approach sets the stage for a lifetime love of learning.

The mission of the Lawrence Arts Center is to create meaningful arts experiences with and for the community through education, exhibitions, and performances.

CALL 785-843-2787 VISIT 940 New Hampshire Street Lawrence, Kansas 66044 BROWSE lawrenceartscenter.rog