Sort it Out

Sorting can be such a good exercise for younger children. Everything from a stash of old buttons to a small pack of M&Ms can help a child learn organizing skills. Encourage your child to sort their toys when they put them away, or sort Legos as they build. Many items, like the Legos, can be sorted in many different ways. Suggest they try to sort them in different ways, such as by size and then by color later. If your child is not naturally an organizer, make it into a game or an art project by giving them a large handful of Fruit Loops and asking them to string them according to a pattern that they come up with. Another idea is something that my grandmother did for me. She collected old buttons and saved them in a box for me. Then when I came over, she let me string them or sew them onto an old washcloth. When I was done, we would usually cut the thread and dump the buttons back into the box, but it was a lot of fun trying to find matching buttons and make patterns on the string and washcloth.

Fun Sand Art

Kids of course, like sand art. Make your next vacation into a memory by incorporating it into the sand artwork. If you stop at a gas station for a drink, the bottle you get could become the container for the art project. If you stop at a beach, you could get the sand and some small shells from there. Incorporate many small items in your sand art instead of just layering sand.
Some examples could be:

• dried flowers
• special rocks
• small souvenirs
• shells
• any thing from your trip or day at the beach that would fit in the bottle will work.
  

Easy "Painted" Artwork

Kids love to paint, but what a mess! This is an easy and simple way to make "painted" artwork without the mess. You will need coffee filters and markers. I think you need washable markers, but the other ones may work. Let your kids color the coffee filters so that the entire filter is covered. Usually you are going more for colors then an actual picture. Then, run water over the filter. The colors will bleed just a little to give a painted look to the artwork.

Educational Leaf Art

One summer, while on a camping trip, I made some leaf art that was quite fun. We used muslin fabric (cheap off-white fabric) and put the leaves between two layers of muslin. The leaves need to be fresh green leaves. Then use a rubber mallet to hit the muslin (with the leaves in between.) The chlorophyll will come out leaving the imprint of the leaf on the muslin. It is a very pretty art project, and it also helps to show children what chlorophyll is.

I have not tried this with construction paper, but it MAY work as a substitute for the muslin.

Flower Art

What you need: Construction paper, crayons, muffin liners, pipe cleaners, cereal like fruit loops.

Glue a pipe cleaner to a sheet of construction paper (at the bottom.) Then glue the muffin liner at the top of the pipe cleaner to make a flower. Then let kids decorate with crayons and glue down fruit loops to the muffin liner to finish the flower.

Via I love that Teaching Idea.

Web Art

Spiders are not my favorite creatures, but spider webs can be a fun art project. Show your children some pictures of spider webs. Then give them some black construction paper and some Elmer's squeeze glue (not stick glue.) Let them create some spider webs of their own. You can even stick some plastic spiders in the glue webs as they dry to help with the effect. (Also good at keeping them out of your bed and shoes as practical jokes if they are stuck to art projects!) If you have learned about spiders in science class, let them write some facts about spiders on their art projects.

Declutter the Fridge

Kid's artwork and school work can cover a refrigerator in no time. Here is a neat idea for an art project that will also help you to keep your fridge organized.

You will need:

A poster board

Glue

Tape

A Gallon size Ziploc Bag

Magnets (If you do not have any, you can use the ones people give you as a magnetic business card, etc. You will just have to cut them and hot glue them on.)

Decorating materials (crayons, stickers, glitter, etc.)

Instructions:

Have adults help with cutting, and hot gluing (if required.) Cut the poster board into 4 strips. The strips need to be cut so that they will make a frame around the gallon Ziploc bag (that will become the "glass" in your frame.) Once the poster board is cut, glue the corners together, and then tape the bag to the back side so that you do NOT see the Ziploc part at the top. (This will not need to be zipped so it is fine to tape it down.) Now you should have a frame made of poster board around "glass" that is made of a Ziploc bag. Let your child decorate the "frame." Then, stick magnets on the back. Now the frame is ready to go on the refrigerator. Tell your child that they can pick one thing to display in the frame. A few other favorites can be stored behind the one on display so the child can switch them out. The Ziploc frame should hold a standard size sheet of paper. Kids like it because the frame is a piece of their artwork, but it also helps them to understand that only one piece at a time can be displayed. Giving them the choice over what goes on display makes them feel like they have some control over it. They are less likely to be upset about not having ALL of their work up at the same time if they know they can have a piece framed and switch it whenever they want.

Tour Your City

Many times people do not do the "touristy" things in their own city. Take a "vacation" in your own city this summer. Go to a welcome center to pick up brochures, and look on your city's website for more ideas. Visit museums, monuments, landmarks, festivals, zoos, science museums, etc. Most places have discounted prices for kids. Sometimes, you can even find places that are free or offer free times on off days (usually Monday - Thursday through the day.) You may be surprised by educational and cultural activities in your area!