Are you constantly on the lookout for interesting activities to do with your kids? Read on for a fun art project. I reached out to my friend Christina Soriano, a teaching artist, about combining forces to bring something new to parents. Enjoy!
Back to School Literacy and Art Project
by Christina Soriano, Teaching Artist
Help prepare your children to be classroom-ready with a fun, inspiring project that will keep them creatively focused and promote motor skills. This project is inspired by a book by Peter Reynolds titled “Sky Color”, whose heroine is a young artist named Marisol. The story encourages observing how the sky changes colors during different times of day and weather. I’ve read the book to children ages 3-10 and regardless of age, it always gets them excited to start making art!
Project: Sky Color Cityscape or Landscape Collage
Materials: Large format watercolor paper, a variety of wide and thin paintbrushes, watercolor set, water cup, paper towel, scissors, glue stick and a variety of collage papers (textured, solid, patterned, metallic)
1. Introduce the activity by having your child look at the sky and make 3 observations about the colors, clouds and weather.
2. Begin to paint! Encourage color blending and mixing with the watercolors to create their own “sky color”. *Artist tip: Brush a thin layer of water on the paper before adding paint. This will allow the paint to flow easier.
3. Allow a few minutes for the watercolor paper to dry. During this process, encourage your child to describe what types of things they notice outside such as houses, buildings, landmarks, even lampposts or fire hydrants!
4. Begin cutting the papers and create different shapes and sizes of shapes. Paper can be torn or ripped, too!
5. Once the paper is dry, overlap and glue smaller shapes over larger shapes to create depth, dimension and detail!
*Bonus step: If your child is old enough, have them write a story about their art piece. Otherwise, do an “art share” and they can talk about their work!
Enjoy and have a great fall season!
Christina Soriano is an artist and grade K – 5 art teacher in New York City.
To learn more, visit her website and Twitter page.