Craft and Connect: Tie-Dye Craft Stick Buildings
Make a colorful stick structure with a unique, tie-dye look. This super-simple activity really occupies kids for quite a long time.
This is what you’ll need:
- Colored craft sticks
- White glue
- Liquid watercolors
- Paint Brushes
- No-spill paint containers, plastic cups, or muffin tin to mix and hold your paint
- Cardboard rectangle or square for the base.
- Tray or paper to protect your work surface
Step 1 – Prepare the Tie-Dye Paint
Pour white glue into your paint containers and add a few drops of liquid watercolor to each. Mix until you achieve your desired color.
Connect: Have your child help mix the color into the glue. For an educational experience, use only primary colors and mix them to make orange, green, and purple.
Step 2 – Construct
Give your child a bunch of craft sticks, glue, and paint brushes. Use the cardboard as the base, show your child how to spread glue on one stick and stack another one on top.
Connect: Encourage your child to make different shapes with the craft sticks. Talk about how the paint colors mix together as you add different hues. These structures might remain low and wide, or your child might stack sticks up very high. Don’t interfere with the creativity… As you can see from the picture, one of the most fun parts of this activity is seeing how the color flows together and stays super bright.
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Colorations® Washable School Glue
Colorations® Craft Cups – Set of 100
Colorations® Double-Dip Divided Paint Cups – Set of 5
Colorations® Easy-Grip Paint Brushes – Set of 10
Natural Craft Stick Classroom Pack – 1200 Pieces
Colored Craft Sticks Classroom Pack – 1200 Pieces
Colorations® Classic Colors Liquid Watercolor Paints, 8 oz. – Set of 13
Activity Hour: Rainbow Foam Dough
This activity is definitely messy, but kids love the soft feel of the foam. It’s great for color identification and sensory play.
What You’ll Need:
- Shower curtain or vinyl tablecloth to protect your surface (or do the activity in the bathtub!)
- Shaving cream
- Cornstarch
- Liquid watercolors
- Empty cups or containers
- Funnels, spoons, cups, molds, and other tools (you can use tools that you typically use with Play-doh)
Step 1 – Prepare the dough
Fill the cups/bowls about half full with shaving cream. Add a few drops of Liquid watercolors and mix until desired color/brightness is achieved. Sprinkle in some cornstarch (We used about 2:1 shaving cream to cornstarch). Mix it until it comes together and forms a somewhat crumbly dough.
*Tips for Parents: If your child isn’t in the “spoon it out and launch it across the room phase,” the mixing process might be fun for him or her to take part in. Have him or her feel the dough as you mix. It’s so soft and foamy!
Step 2 – Pour, dump, and explore!
Now the sensory fun begins. Put the different colored tubs of rainbow foam dough out for the kids to explore with their tools.
*Tips for Parents: Some kids are hesitant when it comes to exploring new sensations. Encourage your child to use the tools before asking him or her to touch the dough directly. Add rice for sprinkles, or use ice scream scoopers to take your imagination one step further and play ice cream parlor.
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Colorations® Craft Cups – Set of 100
Colorations® Classic Colors Liquid Watercolor Paints, 8 oz. – Set of 13
Craft and Connect: Shaving Cream Paint
Get super creative with this three-dimensional paint that stays exactly where you put it.
This is what you’ll need:
- Colored construction paper
- Shaving cream
- White glue
- Small cups for mixing the paint mixture
- Painting tools – paint brushes, craft sticks, combs, spoons, etc.
- Glitter
Step 1 – Prepare the Shaving Cream Paint
Mix shaving cream and white glue. Most recipes say to mix equal parts of each, but we squirted shaving cream into cups and added just a dollop of glue, and the painting worked just fine.
Connect: Have your child help squirt the shaving cream into the cup. He or she will enjoy having control of this part of the project.
Step 2 – Paint
Using your painting tools, make a design on the paper.
Connect: Talk about how the paint looks and feels. If it’s thick and it doesn’t pour easily have your child use different motions to get the paint out of the cup. Try turning the cup upside down. Try scooping out the paint and tapping it on the paper.
Step 3 – Get Creative!
Four year olds are much more creative than we adults are. It was my son’s idea to draw cupcakes and add the paint as icing, decorating it with sprinkles (glitter).
Connect: Be receptive to your child’s ideas. This paint holds glitter well. You could also make a snowman and add small objects, like toothpicks, jewels, and buttons. Ask your child “What can we make with this paint?” Make it your goal to say yes to whatever your child suggests.
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Colorations® Construction Paper Smart Pack – 600 Sheets
Colorations® Washable School Glue
Colorations® Craft Cups – Set of 100
Colorations® Easy-Grip Paint Brushes – Set of 10
Natural Craft Stick Classroom Pack – 1200 Pieces
Colorations® Easy Shake Glitter – Set of 12
Sparkling Flower Jewels – 300 Pieces
Activity Hour: Salt Painting
This activity combines art with experimentation and gross motor skills to satisfy even the kid who won’t sit still for anything.
What You’ll Need:
- Tray
- Cardboard (paper is too flimsy for this project)
- 1.25 oz glue container
- Salt in a shaker
- Liquid watercolors
- Eye droppers
- Spill-proof containers
- Aluminum foil (optional—use this to cover the cardboard for a unique project surface)
Step 1 – Draw with glue
Put the cardboard on a tray to contain any stray glue, salt, or liquid watercolor. Give your child the glue and ask him or her to “draw” with it. Allow the child to squeeze as much glue out as he wants—we’ll need a lot of glue for this project.
*Tips for Parents: Show your child how to squeeze the glue in different ways. Hold the glue bottle up high while squeezing. Now hold it down low. Move it around quickly, then slowly. Your child can use big or small movements to get the glue on the surface.
Step 2 – Shake, shake, shake!
Have your child shake salt all over the glue. The glue will need to be completely covered with salt.
*Tips for Parents: If salt comes out of the shaker too quickly, tape up some of the holes. If it comes out too slowly, cut some more holes. If your child shakes a little salt out and then is finished, encourage him or her to continue by singing and shaking to the rhythm. Explain that all the shiny glue needs to be covered by salt.
Step 3 – Add color
Add some water to the liquid watercolors in several spill-proof containers (one for each color). Have your child use an eye dropper to transfer liquid watercolor to the salt on his or her artwork.
*Tips for parents: Point out how the salt sucks up the color and makes it appear to move magically through the salty surface. Let your child use as much color as he or she wants—you can always gently pat a paper towel on top of the entire project to soak up the extras.
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Brawny Tough Plastic Art Trays – Set of 5
Colorations® Washable School Glue – 1.25 oz
Colorations® Classic Colors Liquid Watercolor Paints, 8 oz. – Set of 13
Little Hands, Big Imaginations 