Just as this blog was started as a result of a New Year's resolution, so too I am here once again as a result of such a resolution. While Elliot has the opportunity to do lots and lots of crafts as a part of her preschool curriculum, I have been feeling a bit sorry for Rebecca, who, currently in first grade at a public school, seldom does any. So I made the goal to keep the workspace in my bedroom clear for ongoing art projects for the girls to do at their leisure, each month changing up the theme. We might do an organized project together each month, or we might not (life is busy with three kids), but I really want the girls to be able to be creative in their own way when inspiration hits them.
We started the month with a special activity to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. I printed out black and white pictures of the three wise men with Mary and Baby Jesus, we colored the pictures with crayon, then we brushed them with canola oil to make the drawings more transparent. The effect is supposed to be similar to a stained glass window. I have seldom seen Elliot spend such a long time at and do such a detailed job coloring as she did with this project. They turned out very nicely, though it took so long for the oil to dry we didn't actually hang them in the window until after Epiphany. Oh well!
For the rest of the month the theme was snow. Okay, so we don't happen to live in a part of the world where it snows, but in lots of other places people get to play in, admire, shovel and curse (that's for you Alaskans) snow. I pulled out a bunch of leftover origami paper and let the girls try their hands at making paper snowflakes. I was impressed by how many they wanted to make. This lasted for weeks and weeks, and I am still finding pieces of cut paper that has been tracked around the house. Eventually we strung them in the window near our dining table for all to enjoy, next to a few of Elliot's snowman projects from school. I suppose the color in the designs make them less chilly, but it was good scissors and folding practice.
Last weekend we added to January's theme by making our own snowglobes. The girls were sad when we had to put the Christmas snowglobes away with the other Christmas decorations, so I thought it would be fun to make snowglobes we could enjoy all winter. I found a few babyfood jars that had been cleaned out for re-use, then I had the girls pick a couple of small toys that they hadn't played with in a while. Rebecca chose a Princess Jasmine figurine along with some greenery from the dinosaur tub, and Elliot chose a little plastic sheep, to which I added a lego tree. We glued the toys to the lids of the jars, added water and glitter, and presto! Our very own snowglobes. Aren't they cute?
