Art activities for kids during COVID

The kids are back at school (again) and need to balance the structured indoor time with some fresh air (even as they distance). You encourage them to go out and play. The next thing they tell you is, "I'm bored."


Here are some great activities that will spark their imaginations whether they are indoors or out:


1. Rock Painting


Yes, they've probably done this before, but let's put a little twist on this.



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Materials:

For a quick, easy kit, click this Glow in the Dark kit from Michael's. For ideas ask your kids what their favorite animal is. Have them name it, then describe it. It's interesting that this makes them "picture" the animal in their head, and you will find that those elements (eyes, ears, tails, color) will start them on their way. Another good topic is insects. Again, point out that ladybugs 🐞have wonderful black dots on red, and butterflies 🦋 have beautiful shapes on their wings that match across each side, and bumblebees 🐝 have stripes in black and yellow and wiggly antennae. This kit below from Michael's will give them lots of ideas too.






 



 


2. Pine Cone Creature Bugs


Materials:


A sample picture with googly eyes from Michael's craft store (click image)




 


 


3. An easy lesson with your 3 to 5 yr olds


"Muffin Liner Flowers"


Materials:




4. An art lesson with 6 to 8 yr olds


"A House from a Paper Bag"


Materials:

Enjoy this video by The OT Guide. Thanks, Dana for letting me share your video and your super lesson on paper bag houses. How cute are these?


Subscribe to her YouTube to see more videos from this Occupational Therapist guide. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOTGuide/about Used

*Used with permission from The OT GUIDE










Are you still stuck on what to do? Here's an easy lesson that I will share for the days when you want to do something with your kids. Keep some of these products on hand.


Materials:

  • Watercolor paper cut small, ~ 5 x 7 inches.

  • watercolor brush (some will come with the paint set)

  • watercolor paint set You can choose to let the kids share one or two sets, or have each child have their own set.

  • a small bowl of water.

  • small pieces of paper towels to wipe brushes between colors or pick up spills.

  • A hairdryer to dry paint before adding decorative stems with a black pen (unless you wait).

  • Black pens (regular black gel or writing) will work. I used micron pens.


 


Hand-Held Vacuum Cleaner



 

A list of simple materials and you're ready to go!

Watch this simple 28-sec video. One of my favorite lessons no matter your age.





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Origami and happy art lessons

Wait. Before you run away this is going to be basic, easy, fun, and you will be amazed at what you can do with a square piece of paper.


My heritage is Eastern European as in my genealogy story Roots, trees, and family. Art from other cultures has certainly been a part of my background. My mother's brother had married a young woman when he was in the military stationed in Japan. When he was transferred to a different area, she lived with us to keep expenses low. What fun it was to learn about Asian customs and styles. I remember how she modeled her wedding attire when we had an American-style bridal shower for her. (I recall that it took hours for her to appear; mostly because of the traditional hair and makeup process).


Shigeko taught my sister, brother, and me a lot about how things were different in her country. There were times that she didn't understand our table manners. Her's were impeccable, and she was apt to spend the entire morning cooking for our evening meal, and then she would quietly stand back and enjoy watching us eat what she had prepared.


This origami lesson is one of the things that I remember so well. What she could do with small pieces of paper was mesmerizing to our young eyes.


Let's have at it. Origami from ori, meaning "folding" and kami, meaning "paper." Basically, that's it. Paper and folding. Generally, the goal is to transform a square piece of paper into a finished sculpture.


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ORIGAMI BUTTERFLY (age 10 through 12)


What you will need for this easy tutorial:

How easy is that?











Follow this Youtube tutorial on this first lesson: ORIGAMI BUTTERFLY








Materials for your origami lesson




 





Easy doesn't mean the end result is not pleasing. As a former art teacher to young kindergartners through fifth-graders, I recognized that child art has a distinct charm of its own. The images are honest, forthright expressions of the child's world as he or she feels it and understands it to be.





WARM & COOL COLORS (age 5 through 8)


Have a conversation with your child or children.

  • Ask your child "what makes you feel warm? " (Sun, fireplace, sandy beach).

What warm colors can you name?

  • "What makes you feel cold?" (snow, ice, pool water, wind)


What cool color can you name?

Then, have these colors available in crayons, markers, colored pencils, chalk, etc. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.


Have white paper available and let your child draw. It's that simple. Sometimes we adults make things complicated by suggesting what WE think they should draw and create.

Let their little minds draw the image that is in their heads.



Become a Member: ANNIE MASON ART (click SUBSCRIBE on home page)


As a member you can share some photos of what your child (or you) has done with some of the lessons posted. Email to: anniemasonart@gmail.com





Another great family service to help your children with crafting projects.

* clicking links in this post might mean a commission for me, yet no extra cost to you.




Yarn Painting (ages 10 to adult)

Yarn paintings are literally what they sound like, paintings made of yarn. Originally yarn paintings were from the Huichol Native Americans. This lesson is a bit more patience intensive but the results will be rewarded when finished: oohs and ahs.


Materials:

  • Thick paper

  • Yarns - scraps of yarn will do.

  • Glue

  • scissors



  1. Quick sketch with a pencil that shows your design

  2. Fill in the areas with short pieces of yarn. A pencil or kabob stick holds down the yarn.

  3. Attach your art to a firm base, like a styrofoam plate.






4. Finish. Admire your work





Recommended materials for this yarn art lesson. Clicking links in this post may result in a commission but will be no cost to the buyer.




 



Parents. Check out this ⬆️ site!

A "how-to" solves the problem of organizing and sorting your children's art and school work that they bring home.

  • As an affiliate link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.




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Artsy Craftsy party for kids!

What to do. what to do. It's so much fun to plan for a party of any kind. No. no, it's not.

The same games they played at the last party might not be fun anymore. I'm going to give you three easy art lessons that any age kid would love to do. None of them are really messy, and none of them will have expensive materials. Most can be purchased at a local craft shop or retail store. (I am going to post all the materials here and would appreciate it if you might consider a purchase from this blog as I earn a small commission).


As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Clicking the links

below and making the purchase of this product will be an Amazon commission

for me but will have no cost to you.



Simple Flowers

Materials:

  • Watercolor paper (cut into a small size: about 5“x 7"

  • watercolor brush (some will come with the paint set)

  • watercolor paint set (the Amazon sets will have a nice variety of colors) You can choose to let the kids share one or two sets, or have each child have their own set.

  • a small bowl of water.

  • small pieces of paper towels to wipe brushes between colors or pick up spills.

  • A hairdryer to dry paint before adding decorative stems with a black pen (unless you wait).

  • Black pens (regular black gel or writing) will work. I used micron pens


Watch this (33 sec.) video to see how easy it is:






YOU can become an Alien Creature


This lesson is easy, fun, and might get the kids laughing at the result. The lesson teaches symmetry, cutting on the fold, choosing colors.


Materials:

  • White cardstock. This could be from the backside of old cards or purchased from a local craft store.

  • Scissors.

  • Markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils in lots of colors.


Watch this (09:37) video to see how the kids can change their name into an "alien"!







Perfect Paper Petals


Materials:

  • Drinking straws for stems (color doesn't matter)

  • Craft paper in any color (pinks, purples, and blues, or printed paper).

  • Scissors

  • Glue or tape


Instructions:

  1. Make three templates from stiff paper, each a different size (small, medium, large)

  2. Pick out a paper in any color.

  3. Trace around the templates on your choice of colors. They can be the same colors, or varied.

  4. Cut out each of the petal shapes.

  5. Stack them large to small (large on the bottom). Make a hole in each shape big enough for the straw to go through.

  6. Now cut one end of the straw making slits around the edge. These should be no more than an inch long. (these will be the center of the flower).

  7. Push the other end through the paper petal stack and push these up to the slit center.

  8. You can either put a small piece of tape around the shapes at the straw or a bit of glue. (this will keep your petals in place.




The materials for this craft can usually be found around the house. If you are having a large group I am suggesting some of the items which can be purchased online:




That's it! Easy, peasy. And no mess. Remember, if you order from the links above I earn a small commission on anything you purchase in that single transaction, so you can add items to your cart. I thank you for all your purchases.


 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Clicking the links

in this post and making the purchase of this product will be an Amazon commission

for me but will have no cost to you.


 



I hope that some of these art/craft lessons are something that you can do at your kid's parties. If you try this I would love to hear about your party success in the comments. (Scroll to the comment section below Recent Posts).






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