Shake that shakere [how to make a musical instrument]

Last week, we received a super cool box full of goodies from musician Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou. Included in the package were four homemade musical instruments and a cd titled Grandchildren's Delight - Best Loved Songs from the Good Old Days. The music is a hit here at Kinderart® headquarters, with Jannique's first favorite song being "Akin Drum" [His head was made of pizza, pizza, pizza...]. As of yesterday,  her new favorite is "Over in the Meadow." It's a terrific album with songs from days gone by. 

The musical instruments in the box included a Recycled Box Ocean Drum [you can find the blog post about that lesson plan here], A Q-Tip® Rattle, an Everything but the Kitchen Sink Rattle and a Milk Jug Sticker Shakere. These too are a hit.

Jannique immediately started shaking each of the instruments (sometimes two at a time) to see what sorts of sounds they made. Such fun!

The Milk Jug Shakere was of particular interest - I think because it was the only instrument where she was not able to immediately see what was inside. (So, of course we did some investigating).

Meanwhile, Daria was kind enough to send us a lesson plan - telling us exactly how to make our own Milk Jug Sticker Shakere. The materials are easy to find and the instrument is easy to make. She also provided us with some information on traditional shakeres. You can find all the details on our website at: http://kinderart.com/across/stickershakere.shtml

Keep creating!
~Andrea

Picking up Pine Cones

Our family was at a soon-to-be-closed Borders store this weekend, selecting a number of art and craft magazines for ourselves. While mom (Jantje) and I paid for our purchases, Jannique and her dad headed out to the parking lot - fed up with the busy atmosphere inside the building.

After paying for our finds, mom and I wandered over to the vehicle, only to find it empty. My daughter and husband hadn't make it as far as the truck and had instead found a unique way to occupy themselves.

After laying on her back, next to her dad, watching the clouds float by, Jannique got right to work. She collected every pine cone she could find at the bottom of a small hill, and carried them (one-by-one) to the top of the hill where she laid them all in a small pile. It was such a sweet sight...

It got me thinking about a terrific pine cone craft that Amanda Formaro recently shared with us. This summer camp idea requires a bit of glue, some acorn tops and some feathers. Paint is optional and, if you can't find acorn tops, googly eyes would work just as well :)

Cute, aren't they?

You can find all the instructions on our website at: http://kinderart.com/camp/pineconeowls.shtml

Have fun and keep creating!
~Andrea

Rock On

When I was a kid, I had a pet rock. Come to think of it, I had several. Now that I'm an adult, I still collect rocks - though I no longer refer to them as "pets".

And it would appear that I have passed my obsession on to my daughter Jannique. The poor kid can't go for a walk without bending down to pick up pebbles, stones and rocks along the way. From "sleeping dogs" to "baby dolphins", she finds them, puts them in her pocket and brings them home to add to the ever growing collection at KinderArt headquarters.

I suppose we both come by it honestly. Jantje has always had a "thing" for rocks. But she takes her addiction one step further - making small paintings and large sculptures using rocks of all kinds.

So, it was with great delight that we added Amanda Formaro's Pet Rock Necklace to the KinderArt Summer Camp section. Her lesson plan shows you step by step how to take an ordinary rock, and turn it into something quite extraordinary. A little paint, a piece of wire, some glue, yarn and of course, a rock, are all you need to make this friendly little guy.

Find all the step-by-step instructions here: www.kinderart.com/camp/petrocknecklace.shtml

Have fun and be sure to show us your pet rocks!

~Andrea

What Do You See? What Do You Hear?

I recently picked up the Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle book, "Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?" at our local bookstore. My daughter Jannique really enjoys "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See" and so I thought she would get a kick out of the new addition.

I was right.

These books are terrific for little ones because they are so predictable and feature lovely, gentle rhymes. Jannique is 2 1/2 and has an amazing memory. It doesn't take long for her to start reciting books back to me (once I have read them to her a dozen or so times). With the Bill Martin Jr. books, she is able to "peek" to the next page to remind herself what comes next. It's a delight to watch.

Then there's the artwork...

Eric Carle's colorful collages are so appealing for young and old alike. At KinderArt.com, we have a variety of lessons based on his style of decorating papers with color and texture and then tearing/cutting them up to create new and wonderful works of art. Here are two examples from the Animals, Animals lesson plan by Alice Cunningham found here: http://www.kinderart.com/across/carleanimals.shtml

And another from the Paper Collage lesson by Pamela Metzger found here: http://www.kinderart.com/across/carlecollage.shtml

You can find even more Eric Carle inspired lessons here: http://www.kinderart.com/across/index_lang.shtml

Share the joy of collage with your kids today!

Keep creating,

~Andrea

Sounds Like the Ocean...

I am always inspired by the ocean. I love to look at it, paint it, walk near it and listen to the sounds of ocean waves. So, when I saw Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou's Ocean Drum lesson plan, I was super excited.

Daria writes: "An ocean drum is a beautiful thing to see and hear! It looks like a frame drum you might see from the Middle East, but is filled with small round objects that, when tilted back and forth, sound remarkably like the waves at the seashore. It's sound is hypnotic and calming and ocean drums that are filled with colorful or interesting objects are visually stimulating as well."

Using really easy to find materials (a box, some tape, some plastic and some beads or seeds), you can make your own ocean drum. And, you can be as creative as you wish when it comes time to decorate...

Find the step-by-step lesson here: http://kinderart.com/across/oceandrum.shtml

Keep creating!
~Andrea

Muddy Masterpieces

Prehistoric paint was created by mixing dirt, ground up rocks and animal fat. Sometimes, bits of burned wood were ground up, mixed with animal fat and used for painting as well.

You can make your own prehistoric paint and really, can you think of a better warm weather activity? Kids of all ages will enjoy this activity. All you need is dirt, lard (or vegetable shortening) and - if you are squeamish about the things that live in the muck - some rubber gloves.

Give it a go here: http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/cavepainting.shtml and let us know how it turns out by uploading your photos to our facebook page.

Have fun and keep creating!
~Andrea

From Water Bottle to Work of Art

I love art activities that make use of easily accessible materials. I'm also a big fan of lessons that teach children how to take one thing and make it something else. This is why I LOVE Amanda Formaro's Water Bottle Flowers lesson plan.

To make these colorful flowers, all you need is a plastic single serve water bottle with lid, some white craft glue, scissors, sand or soil, pebbles or rocks and a drinking straw or twig.

Find out how to create a floral masterpiece here: http://kinderart.com/camp/waterbottleflowers.shtml

Keep creating!

~Andrea



Scratch Art - Fireworks

In honor of the 4th of July, I thought I would draw your attention to a terrific art lesson based on an idea submitted to KinderArt® by B. Church, a  teacher at Teetersville School.

All you need is for this activity is some thick paper (poster board) - about 8 1/2" x 11",  crayons, black tempera paint (& paint brushes) and some wooden skewers or Popsicle® sticks.

Find out how to make these beautiful fireworks designs by visiting the lesson plan at KinderArt®: http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/firework.shtml

Enjoy and keep creating!

~Andrea

Handprint Canadian Flags

To celebrate Canada Day, here is a lovely (easy-to-do) art activity. You can substitute construction paper (or fabric) for paint to keep things tidy - especially if doing this craft with a larger group. Enjoy!

What You Need:

• Poster paper (white)
• Water based paint (red)
• Paper towels
• Paint brushes, water and containers
• An old shirt or paint smock
• Safety scissors
• Optional - red and white fabric

What You Do:

1. Cut the poster paper into a rectangular flag shape.
   *Keep in mind the size of the hands used for this project when you cut the paper -- the larger the hands, the larger the paper will need to be to accommodate the size.
2. The next step is to (using a straight edge) create two blocks of equal size on either edge of the rectangle. These will be the red sections of the flag.
3. Paint these sections red and let dry.
4. Now comes the messy part ... your kinderartists can dip their hands into the red paint to create a maple leaf pattern. Three hand prints are needed - refer to the illustration for ideas. It is also recommended that you and your kinderartists try a few test maple leaves on scrap paper.
5. When the hand print leaf is complete, add a small stem to the bottom to complete the picture.
6. Finally, its time to wash up and admire the Canadian flag.
7. Happy Birthday Canada!

*Optional: You can use red and white fabric or paper for this craft instead of paint and paper. Simply trace the hand onto red fabric or paper, cut the fabric or paper hand out and paste it onto the white fabric or paper.

Find this craft online at: http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/canadadayflag.shtml