# data[].attributes.headline
Goal APL-2: Children actively seek to understand the world around them. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Goal APL-2: Children actively seek to understand the world around them. 

# data[].attributes.body
Use what they know from past experience to understand what is happening now (get an umbrella to go outside because it is raining). APL-2n

Choose among different ways to explore the environment based on past experience (use a magnifying glass that the class used before to explore something new). APL-2m

# data[].attributes.headline
Goal CD-2: Children recall information and use it for new situations and problems.

# data[].attributes.subject
Goal CD-2: Children recall information and use it for new situations and problems.

# data[].attributes.body
Introduce more elaborate or detailed ideas or actions into play based on previous knowledge or experience. CD-2x

Demonstrate their ability to apply what they know about everyday experiences to new situations. CD-2u

# data[].attributes.headline
Goal CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Goal CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance. 

# data[].attributes.body
Choose to participate and express themselves through a variety of creative experiences, such as art, music, movement, dance, and dramatic play. CD-5r

Plan and complete artistic creations such as drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures. CD-5t

# data[].attributes.body
- Color
- Lines
- Shapes
- Creativity
- Imagination
- Annalizing
- Connecting
- Textures
- Theatre Arts
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Fine Motor Skills
-  3D Art

# data[].attributes.body
- What are ways to encourage children to relate art to their own lives and experiences?

- How can we encourage students to think outside of the box when creating art?

- How can we incorporate up-cycling or preserving into children's lessons with art?

- What ways can I incorporate multiple lessons into one creative educational experience?

- How can I use classroom objects and materials to tie into other lessons?

# data[].attributes.body
There are so many different ways that children can use paint creatively. Other than just being a way a child can learn about imagination and creativity, children can also learn about texture, shades, shapes, and color by painting.

# data[].attributes.body
Pipe cleaners can be such a fun way to teach kids about 3D art and texture. Also kids can incorporate pipe cleaners into other projects to be creative and imaginative.

# data[].attributes.body
Play Dough is an amazing way to teach kids about sculpting, 3D art, color, texture, creativity and so so so much more. It can also be used to play "pretend" and introduce younger students into Acting as an art.

# data[].attributes.body
Beads are a wonderful way to teach younger students about colors by sorting, they are also very helpful when it comes to fine motor skills by making bracelets. These can also introduce students to being imaginative by using things, like beads, to represent something other than its purpose, like eyes!

# data[].attributes.body
Markers are a staple when it comes to playful learning. Not only can it teach students about shapes, color, drawing, writing... there are an endless amount of creative things when it comes to a pen and paper.

# data[].attributes.body
Props are very important when it comes to playful learning and learning about drama/acting. Having a small amount of dress up toys can help students to learn about the Theatre Arts, even from a young age!

# data[].attributes.body
Pom pom balls are another classroom creativity staple. These can teach students about 3D art, texture, being creative substituting a pom pom to represent something, as well as color.

# data[].attributes.body
Felt can be a really great medium of art to add to a classroom or in any creative learning environment. Using felt can help teach kids about layering in art, textures, colors, shades and so much more.

# data[].attributes.body
In this experience named "Exploring Textures", Cathy James walks the reader through where to find materials, and how to encourage your child to find materials with textures that can be up-cycled in order to create a piece of art. This art piece helps kids to explore textures, layering, and learn about up-cycling old materials.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here's a kids art idea that you can try at home using recycled items that you'd otherwise throw away - we're up-cycling and exploring texture to make touchy feeling patchwork pictures.

Kids art : exploring texture

We started off with some big pieces of strong card, packaging from a book delivery. It's really nice sometimes to have a big space to use and as we're going to be painting over the texture pictures I wanted the children to have enough room to make big, wide strokes over the textured surface.

Then we hunted out some materials that had all sorts of different textures. Most of this came from our junk model box and collage papers, all recycled materials that we collect - a free supply of art materials!

We found corrugated card, tracing paper, wire mesh, bubble wrap, polystyrene pizza bases, sand paper, doilies, and plain paper.

It's great to find materials that have a strong contrast in texture, like the corrugated card and bubble wrap, but also interesting to include things with a close difference in texture, such as fine and course sandpaper. The children can handle all the materials and explore them with their fingers.

Then we started to cut out patchwork shapes to cover our boards...

and stick them on. We use glue sticks, which were strong enough to hold the materials in place without being so liquid that they distorted any of the finer papers. It also dried quickly, so we could add paint.

It's interested to see the children decide which shapes to cut out and where to place them on their card. There's lots of mathematical language that can be encouraged if you chat about shapes, sizes, in the middle, at the top, behind, at the front...

We overlapped some of the materials to build up layers.

and the finished art was a glorious mix of textures that was as interesting for the fingers to explore as for the eyes.

Come back later this week and I'll show you want happened when we added paint.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kids art :: exploring texture - NurtureStore

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's a kids art idea that you can try at home using recycled items that you'd otherwise throw away - we're up-cycling and exploring texture to make touchy feeling patchwork pictures. We started off with some big pieces of strong card, packaging from a book delivery.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article by Janice Davis, she walks you through the steps to creating fireworks paintings with children. She mentions that not only does this activity help with colors, and fine motor skills, that it also works on hand eye coordination, and also cause and effect.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Painting Fireworks is a super easy and fun New Year's Day Celebration activity - Creating Fireworks with Paint!

Using some of the left over cardboard rolls from the Christmas gift wrap, we created different length 'firework' fans for printing with paint. The print pattern created by the cardboard roll fans mimics that of fireworks brilliantly and children can create as many different size and coloured fireworks as they like.

What you will need?

You will need coloured paint (we have only chosen 4 colours), large sheets of paper and cardboard tubes.

Cut the cardboard tubes into different lengths as shown in the photo, to create different size firework prints.

Please note:

Do not place the cardboard tubs into the paint until you are ready to use them because after a while the cardboard strips become soft and will break off after they have been in the wet paint for some time.

The Fireworks Painting was inspired by reading the story The Night Before New Year's written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Amy Wummer. This is a fun story that you can read to children as an introduction to the theme activity.

Some Ideas:

When printing the fireworks onto the paper, we used a 'bounce and twist' motion as we transferred the paint and fireworks pattern onto the paper.

Start printing with the largest fireworks cardboard fan first and print over the top with the next size down to the smallest.

Create a fireworks using the smallest cardboard fan first overlapping the paint with the next biggest until the largest.

Create single coloured fireworks with no overlapping with several colours.

Talk about the different sizes, which one is the largest fireworks and which one is the smallest?

Watch videos or read stories that show fireworks.

Add a small amount of glitter to the wet paint to finish off the 'fireworks' effect!

Let's Learn

Learning Opportunities

Imagination and Creativity

Fine Motor Development

Hand-Eye Coordination and Control

Cause and Effect

Colour recognition and creating new colours.

Language development - New vocabulary such as fireworks, New Year's Day, etc.

Click here for more PAINTING activities & play ideas

Click here for more CELEBRATION & FIREWORKS activities & play ideas

Available in our online shop:

Please click on the product names to view full product details.
Printable Dot-to-Dot Alphabet Letter Charts Printable Dot-to-Dot Number Rhyme Charts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Painting Fireworks is a super easy and fun New Year's Day Celebration activity - Creating Fireworks with Paint! Using some of the left over cardboard rolls from the Christmas gift wrap, we created different length 'firework' fans for printing with paint.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article, also by Janice Davis, she walks through the steps to helping students make these spiders out of a paper towel roll, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. The article mentions reading "One Hungry Spider" along with the craft in order to enhance the lesson for the students. Including reading the book, this can help with rhyme, language, fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, and creative thinking/imagination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Making these cute craft Cardboard Roll Spiders are super easy to make and a great activity for this Halloween. They are also a great prop for imaginative play and role play for Incy Wincy Spider.

What you will need?

You will need a toilet rolls or cardboard rolls painted black, wiggly eyes, glue and pipe cleaners.

Our spiders were inspired by One Hungry Spider by Jeannie Baker. This book is a great introduction or motivator for this activity.

Let's Create

Before painting the toilet rolls I punched four holes on both sides ready for the pipe cleaners to thread later.

When the cardboard rolls are dry, push and pull the pipe cleaner legs through the holes and bend at the ends to create the shape of spider's legs.

Use PVA craft glue to stick on the eye and set aside to dry.

We used our Cardboard Roll Spiders as a prop to sing the nursery rhyme - Incey Wincey Spider.

Other Cardboard Roll Activities
Pompom Hockey Toilet Roll Alphabet Sorting Colours with Cardboard Rolls
Learning Opportunities:

Language development through singing nursery rhymes

Creative thinking and imagination

Development of fine motor skills, eye - hand coordination

Available in Our Online Shop

Click on the images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Step by step instructions for making these cute craft Cardboard Roll Spiders. They are super easy to make and a great activity for this Halloween. They are also a great prop for imaginative play and role play for Incy Wincy Spider.

# data[].attributes.body
Paper towel rolls, or toilet paper rolls are such an important thing to incorporate in a child's creative art lessons. Not only does it teach students to be creative with something that appears boring, it also encourages them to look for everyday objects that can be up-cycled into creative art pieces!

# data[].attributes.body
Googly eyes can bring any object, painting, or thing to life. Googly eyes should be used for how they can help children be creative, use their imagination, and learn to think outside the box.

# data[].attributes.body
In "Painting With PomPoms" by Janice Davis, She summarizes the process and the benefits to having children use sticks and PomPoms to paint. In the article she mentions the benefits are self expression, hand eye coordination, fine motor development, experimenting with a new painting tool, and so many other things.

# data[].attributes.body
"Colored Felt" by Janice Davis talks about taking colorful felt, cutting it to resemble ice cream, and using this to teach kids about colors. The benefits mentioned are "language skills: naming, labelling and discussions about what objects are made of certain colours. Reinforce and extend learning about colours. A sensory toy that involves touching, feeling and manipulating" and so much more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Making your own Felt Ice Creams while learning your colours!!

This is such a fun hands on activity for kids to promote the learning of colours while playing creatively and making felt ice creams.

This activity involves kids to creatively stack coloured felt ice cream on top of felt cones and then label the colours with Velcro cards. Read on to find out more and print your own!

What you will need?

You will need an assortment of coloured felt sheets, sharp scissors, a felt board (or carpet) and the Printable Ice Cream Template and Colour Labels (available below). The ice cream and cone shape printable can be used as a guide for tracing and cutting the shapes out in the felt. I printed the colour labels, cut them out, laminated them and then placed Velcro dots onto the back (rough Velcro side only) which allows them to stick onto the felt board.

Tip: The colour labels are able to be printed in colour as the font is written in the colour of the word to match. If you can only print in black and white then you can write over the letters in the colour that matches the word. This will help with matching the word to the coloured ice cream.

Click here to download and print your own: Printable Felt Ice Creams and Colour Labels Template
Useful Links: Simple DIY Felt Boards at Home
The fun with this activity is that kids get to play and pretend to make their own ice creams, layering the ice cream cones with how ever many or little coloured felt ice creams as they like. Miss four made two felt ice creams but there were 4 cones available if she wanted to make more. She played with and changed the order of her coloured felt ice creams before matching the colour labels.

This activity promotes reading even though the labels are written in the colour that it is, kids are seeing the written word and connecting the word to the colour.

Let's Learn

Learning Opportunities

Literacy: Reading the written word with the colour.

Language skills: naming, labelling and discussions about what objects are made of certain colours.

Reinforce and extend learning about colours.

A sensory toy that involves touching, feeling and manipulating

Great for the imagination, make believe and role playing

Hands on learning

Fine motor development and hand - eye coordination

Spatial perception and exploration

Other Ice Cream Activities on Learning4kids : Imaginative Play Ice Cream Shop

Available in our Online Shop
Bulk 100 Pack of Coloured Felt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Making your own Felt Ice Creams while learning your colours!! This is such a fun hands on activity for kids to promote the learning of colours while playing creatively and making felt ice creams. This activity involves kids to creatively stack coloured felt ice cream on top of felt cones and then label the colours with Velcro cards.

# data[].attributes.body
This article by Janice Davis touches on how to use creative materials, like play dough, to create a "play pretend" scenario where a child has a chance to learn about acting. Many children play pretend but often it is not used as a chance to teach children about the Theatre Arts. This activity encourages imaginative play, repetition of patterns, textures, colors, creativity and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Neapolitan Ice Cream Play Dough is a wonderful and fun sensory activity to arouse the imagination and creativity. The Neapolitan Ice Cream Play Dough is scented with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and smell just like the real Neapolitan ice cream. Children can explore their sense and experiment, pretend and make the most amazing creations with this fun play dough.

What you will need?

To set up this invitation to play you will need the play make the Neapolitan Ice Cream Play Dough. It is super easy and you can find the <recipe here>.

You will also need ice cream scoops, beads to imitate sprinkles, miniature pompoms to imitate candy lollies, ice cream bowls and spoons and also cardboard ice cream cones.

To make the pretend ice cream cones we used paper towel rolls and cut them length ways down the middle. We then twisted the cardboard to form the cone shape and placed a piece of sticky tape on the join to hold it together.

To make the ice cream stand, we took two empty shoe boxes and turned them upside down and carefully pressed 6 holes into the box with scissors, twisting to make the holes wider. Next we covered the shoe boxes with coloured wrapping paper and again pressed through the holes with scissors. Finally, we then neatened up the holes by folding sticky tape over the rough edges.

Some ideas:

Pretend play an ice cream shop.

Create colour patterns with the different coloured play dough on the ice cream cones.

Sing songs about ice cream such as "I Dream of Ice Cream".

Play Guess the Scent: cover your child's eyes with a cloth and place each of the scented play dough underneath their nose. They are to try and guess which scented/flavour play dough they can smell.

Make marble patterns with the play dough by squeezing and pressing the different colours together. Use a cookie cutter to make pretend marble patterned cookies.

Learn about counting and sharing (division) by counting and sharing out a number of scoops between a number of bowls or people.

Let's Learn

Learning Opportunities

Creativity

Fine Motor Development

Hand-Eye Coordination and Control

Cause and Effect

Concentration

Spatial awareness - experimenting with shape and space

Language development

Imaginative play - Pretend Play Ice Cream Shop

Recognising patterns, colours and scents.

If you liked this activity then you will enjoy our Imaginative Ice Cream Shop <CLICK HERE>

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Neapolitan Ice Cream Play Dough is a wonderful and fun sensory activity to arouse the imagination and creativity. The Neapolitan Ice Cream Play Dough is scented with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and smell just like the real Neapolitan ice cream. Children can explore their sense and experiment, pretend and make the most amazing creations with this fun play dough.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article by Janice Davis, She mentions the benefits of using playdough to learn about space. Taking place playdough and combining it with different jewels can help kids to learn about colors, textures, space, language, spatial awareness, and more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This Space Theme Play Dough Activity opens the window of opportunity for learning and play in so many ways. It provides an invitation for children to explore their senses, creativity, imagination, mathematical concepts such as size and area and also develop their fine motor skills.

We recently shared a new play dough recipe here in Learning 4 Kids, Space Play Dough and we used this recipe for our Space Theme Play Dough Activity.

What you will need?

You will need our space play dough recipe <here>, star shape cookie cutters (different sizes), pebbles and sequins. I love the sequins, it makes this play opportunity so much more colourful and fun!

Some ideas:

Create a space play dough star stack. Begin with the larger stars at the bottom and build them up as tall as you can before they fall.

Order the space play dough stars from the smallest to the biggest, or shortest to the tallest.

Play imaginatively and create the night sky.

Create patterns of colour on the play dough stars using sequins. For example, place all the blue sequins on one stars and all the pink ones on another

Challenge your child or children to estimate (guess) how many sequins it would take to cover the largest star and then the smallest star. Count out loud!

Let's Learn

Learning Opportunities

Creativity

Fine Motor Development

Hand-Eye Coordination and Control

Cause and Effect

Concentration

Spatial awareness

Measurement and maths concepts: experimenting with size, space and area.

Language development

Imaginative play

Looking for more play dough activities and ideas <click here>

Space Play Dough Recipe <click here>

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This Space Theme Play Dough Activity opens the window of opportunity for learning and play in so many ways. It provides an invitation for children to explore their senses, creativity, imagination, mathematical concepts such as size and area and also develop their fine motor skills.