clowning around

We made paper plate clowns by painting faces, adding yarn hair, and cutting paper hats.  The balloon noses were a big hit with the littles - not so much with me.  I've developed an allergy to latex and my mouth didn't feel great after blowing up the balloons.  I guess when I was planning this I forgot that 3 and 4 year olds aren't really able to blow up their own balloons.  I got so caught up in thinking how much they'd enjoy the balloons that I forgot :)

circus tents

materials:  construction paper for the tent and roof, paint, bingo or dot paint markers, scissors for cutting the triangle roof and decorative scissors for the bottom of the roof

I've never explored a circus theme before this year but I'm glad I did!  The littles love learning about the circus and we are having a great time with dramatic play.  At the art table we tried balloon painting, painted clown faces on paper plates, and made these simple circus tents.  Thank you, Jen, for passing along the circus books!

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Recycled Gingerbread People

I usually remember to take my reusable bags to the market, but now and then I forget and had somehow accumulated a big enough stack of brown paper grocery bags to make gingerbread people. The children used white paint to make gingerbread people on the bags. Once the paint dried, the people were cut out and they used Silky Crayons to add faces, buttons, hair, etc. This was easy and inexpensive and, best of all, they loved it!

how leslie and eden create in the kitchen

No, it's not a cake! It's paper mache. Not sure what it will turn out to be. Even teens need a little process over product from time to time . . .

gingerbread houses

We've been learning about our 5 senses - and gingerbread seemed to tie in. We created these gingerbread houses at one of the art tables this week. Children were invited to paint a house. Some used brown paint and some mixed in a little white. When the houses were dry, the children used white paint (frosting) to outline the houses. Finally, they used sticky foam candy shapes to finish off the houses.

Parent Gift

Close-up photo of child printed in sepia ink on white cardstock and mounted on red construction paper. Topped with a sheet of velum printed with the child's dictated poem. Tied together with a green ribbon.