Art in Your Classroom
Posted by Kim Murphy on 26 Jan 2009 | Posted in: Preschool, Student Activities, The Mailbox
There’s nothing quite like the texture of cotton balls mixed with glue and food coloring! I found 
myself experiencing this slimy, gooey texture when preparing to write the process art unit in the February/March issue of The Mailbox®, preschool edition. (Look below for the actual idea!) Testing the projects helps me write up the final idea—plus, as you can see, it’s a lot of messy fun! My office is currently messy, so I’m sure the paint splatters and piles of sensory goop just blend in.
Talk to me about art in your classroom. What is your favorite art project to do with your youngsters? How messy do you get with your art projects? Do you use strictly process art in your classroom or do you have students make craft-oriented projects as well? (Often teachers, centers, and schools have strong feelings toward one or the other.) I look forward to hearing your comments, ideas, and thoughts!
Your messy but enthusiastic blog cohost,
Kim Murphy
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Cotton Ball ColorsHere’s a unique three-dimensional art exploration! Have each child tear cotton balls into small pieces and place them in a disposable bowl. Next, help her mix white glue and food coloring with the cotton. Prompt her to place the mixture on a sheet of construction paper and then mold and spread it as desired. Then allow the project to dry. (From the February/March 2009 Mailbox magazine, preschool edition) |
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25 Responses to “Art in Your Classroom”
More Comments Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All Comments
I think this GOOP art would be a great science project. First I would ask questions such as “What do glue and cotton balls and food dye feel like? Describe the texture of each. Can you think of anthing they have in common? How are they alike different? (They can all be touched/seen, but two are liquid and one is solid.) What do you think would happen if we combined them? Chart all answers. Graph all predictions. Draw/write in your science journal your observations. Draw/write in your science journal results How did the cotton balls, glue, and dye change? Why?” Wouldn’t these explorations be enough of an incentive to “get messy”? Yes, I am the “MESSY Teacher”.
I too love a creative mess. I have found that if you keep your ‘project’ fun and don’t worry over the mess(kids can since if your uptight), even the ’shyiest don’t get messy child’ will try it a little.
(my favorite is the one finger paint job) I’m fearless with messy art, I have 2-3 year olds, mess is our middle name.It’s the process that counts.We glue, paint, gloop etc every chance we get.If it’s to messy, I lay newspapers on the table and a plastic table cloth underneath it.
I’m going to do this with my 6th graders. I’ve been trying to figure out an art project they could do that would resemble a supernova or nebula. This looks like it would work. I’ll just have them get in groups with different colors so their pictures will look more like a supernova or nebula. I do think I’ll try something other than food coloring because it does stain…or just have them wear kitchen server gloves.
Thanks for the great idea!
I`m mostly process but a lot of the others I work with are product-oriented. I`m not afraid of a mess especially if you clean as you go. I`m excited to try this. I don`t think I`ve used a paintbrush to paint yet this year. There is sooo much else that can be used.
I love all the ideas!! I will be trying some of these ideas and especially the Cotton ball goo with our Preschool and with my before and after school program with K-5.
This sounds like a really fun project and I can’t wait to try it with my pre-k students! My question is will the food coloring stain their fingers? When working with my students I was really shocked at how many of them disliked getting messy, I can remember one time when I had them fingerpaint with jelly…alot of them chose not to do the project and it wasn’t until I started doing it myself that some of the children tried it. Thanks for this great idea!!
I love anything messy and I’m sure the janitor hates my classroom. The floor is always covered in paint, glitter, sand, scraps, etc. and that’s after we have picked up! I use the liquid watercolors and they do not stain. they are expensive but last forever. We are doing marble painting this week and I let the children drop the paint on the paper with eyedroppers. Their creations are very cool and since we are talking about balls, they had a ball! Another fun way to paint is with tootbrushes and also cut thick rubber bands and bind them to use as a sweep type of paintbrush. Very cool effects.
I only have one child in my preschool class that doesn’t like to get his hands dirty! My biggest sadness is when parents tell me they would never let their child do these kinds of art projects at home. I am even shocked by the amount of teachers who tell me, “boy you’re brave!” just because I’m not afraid to make a huge mess. I believe we have a responsibility to these children to give them an adventurous spirit instead of always being afraid to get dirty. This is what it’s all about people! Get out there and make a mess, just let go and enjoy it! Your attitude will be seared in their minds for the rest of their lives shaping what kind of person they will grow up to be. Don’t rob your children of these experiences, it’s just too important. A mess can always be cleaned if prepared for properly. My tip, get some plastic drop cloths for the floor, or cover the table with old newspaper so you don’t have to wash anything down. Like Rick Warren says, “it’s not about you” so just let go and try it.
This sounds like fun!!!!! I believe the children will love this. The children enjoy messy art work. I also will use this for the letter Gg and color day.
I agree that many of the preschoolers do NOT like to get their hands messy, and I can relate to the issue with glue. But I can tell the difference right away which kids do art projects at home because they really like to get into it and are not afraid to get messy! The others need to have that exposure, too, so the more we do in the classroom, the better. I believe it’ll help bring out their hidden creativity! This project looks like LOTS of fun, and I can’t wait to try it!
I love a good creative mess. I think I will do the cottonball Goo for the letter “G”. I think instead of food coloring I will use biopaint. This should eliminate the staining.
One of my favorite messy activities is Mud Paint. We paint mud (with white glue and water mixed in) over a template. The kids are amazed when we peel back the template. I also like salt art. Watercolor painting with salt sprinkled on top. This makes a shinny/spotted affect. Planting seeds can also be very messy.
I work in an Infant room in my daycare center…we love getting messy! As soon as my babies can sit up in the chair at the table,they start doing sensory art! I have 6 mo. old babies that get so excited when they see me put pudding, corn syrup, jello, etc. on the table! We have made so many cute projects out of sensory! Their parents are really pleased with what they do already. By the time they leave my room(16 mo.) they are experts in the art department!