Art Curriculum- Week 22- Easter Crosses (Out of Egg Cartons!)

Week 22- Egg Carton Crosses

Category: Spring/Easter

What you will need:

-egg cartons
-blue, yellow, pink, purple, blue, white tempera paint (or acrylic)
-hot glue
-(as close to the same colors used in the paint) ribbons
-brushes
-paint palettes
-decoration (example: I used sparkly butterflies from Hobby Lobby to work as the center decoration)

Time: 45-60 minutes (we spread this project over 2 days so that the paint would have plenty of time to dry)

I found this project at Katie's Crochet Goodies. To view the original project click here.

Prep:

• I cut the egg cartons longways first, 6 in a row. Then for the "arms" I cut 3 in a row.

• Beware of tears or splits. These can easily be fixed with hot glue.

• Lay the row of 3 over the row of 6. Use hot glue to attach. Trim the egg carton so that the cross will lay flat.
• I taught the kids what each of these 6 colors mean (later this week I will share a blog post on my Easter Colors lesson). Before I allowed them to take their color I made encouraged them to repeat back to me what their color meant. Then they could paint. Remind them to be gentle, the egg cartons are very bendy.
• Allow the crosses to dry.
• The next day I reviewed the colors with them again and what they symbolized. Then while they worked on sign language (which involved signing the colors and their basic meanings) I called up one at a time.
• They could pick 3 colors. I tied the ribbons in the center to keep them from slipping all over the place. I used hot glue and let them press the knotted part of the ribbon into a glob of glue I laid down in the center of the cross. Then they each got to pick a butterfly and stick that on top of the ribbons.
• Voila! A beautiful Easter decoration!
  
  Look for my blog post later this week explaining the symbolism of the colors!

Related blog posts:

-Pointillism
-Steampunk Earrings

(logging 3 hours for prep and execution - includes lesson, not just the craft)

Art Curriculum- Week 12- Watercolor Winter Scene

Week 12- Watercolor Winter Scene (+salt)

Our last project focused on making adorable little snowmen out of socks! To view it click here.

Category: Winter

What you will need:

-multi purpose paper (you want something with a little texture to soak up the watercolors)
-blue watercolors
-masking/painters tape
-salt
-brushes (we used the cheap foam brushes, easy to buy in bulk and various sizes)
-black marker

Time: 30 minutes. This is a very simple project. It took me 15 minutes to create an example. Time will depend on your group's level. I also taught this same lesson to a a group of over 20 kids (all around 9-11), and it took an hour.

Preparation:

• I drew 5 lines to mark for the kids where they would place the tape (1).
  
  
• I taped the papers to the newspapers. If you have a smooth surface it's helpful to tape directly to the table. However I didn't want to take the chances of our nice tablecloth getting stained with blue paint (2). ;) The tape around the edge will keep the paper from slipping and give the finished produce a clean, professional border.

• They got to put their own tape. I gave each kid one piece at a time.
  
  
• Lay down a quick coat of water.
  
  
• Brush on the blue. I gave some of them dark blue, other light blue for variety. This part you need to do quickly, you don't want it to dry out (3).
  
  
• Sprinkle the salt on!
  
  
• Rub off the salt when it's dry, then you can peel the tape forming the trees (you can use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process)
  
  
• Use a black marker to draw in the lines on the trees. Point out and demonstrate how you can make your lines go from side to side, thick and thin.
  
  
• Peel off the tape and you're done (4)!

In the fourth picture there are branches. This is if you want to be more detailed with the project. I cut smaller pieces of tape at an angle and taped them in.

The Finished Pieces!

Related Posts:

-Week 8- Van Gogh's Fields
-Week 7- Monet's Bridge

(logging 1 1/2 hour for prep and execution)