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Sandpaper Rubbings- Cookie Cutter Style

February 12, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

dscn1137I told you I’d be giving you more reasons to justify buying that big set of cookie cutters! 

Use the cookie cutters as a template to trace a shape onto the back side of sand paper.  Experiment with a variety of grits as the different grits give different textures in the rubbings.  Cut out the desired shape.  (While I wouldn’t necessarily use your favorite pair, I have heard that cutting sandpaper may actually sharpen your scissors!)  Securely glue the shape onto an index card.  Place the index cards out with your art trays, paper, and crayons.  The children can choose the shapes they want, place the paper on top, and rub with the crayons to transfer the picture onto their papers.  The children can place several templates under one paper to create their desired scene. 

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Cookie Cutter Prints

February 11, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

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Goopy Goop

January 18, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

dscn1033It’s colorful, cheap, and a little bit slimy.  What’s not to love?  Goopy goop, is pretty much colorful paste.  Get a few of the plastic bottles they sell for hair dye.  Fill them about 1/2 full of flour.  Add water and food coloring or water color powder.  Adjust the flour to water ratio if necessary so that the goop is thin enough to be easily squeezed out, but thick enough that you can basically write with the stream that comes out.  I used it in my sensory bin and included some paint brushes for mixing colors. 

This activity increases fine motor control and strength, both key for future writers.  It also is a great opportunity for creativity and sensory development.

Colored Salt

January 12, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience 1 Comment

dscn1124Here’s a quick way to create a new art medium.  In a jar or baggie, pour in enough regular, table-grade salt to equal the amount of total colored salt you want to end up with.  About a teaspoon at a time, add tempera paint powder.  (If you don’t have paint powder, and you’re in a crunch for time, just smash a small piece of colored chalk into powder.  My prefered method is to put the piece in a plastic baggie and stomp on it.)  Mix the salt and color together thoroughly.  Voila!  You have colored salt!  I use this several ways.  Pour some in a cookie sheet or art tray and let children write in the salt with their fingers (for this, you really want to be scant with the paint powder to reduce the mess factor).  As you can see in the picture, I put some in baby food jars, poked a few holes in the lids and glued them on.  (Those of you who get ideas more than 5 minutes before you need them, could actually go to the store and buy cheap salt shakers, or even collect old spice bottles as you use them up.)  I’ve seen these colored salt shakers used to shake onto glue pictures at the art table and into shaving cream at the sensory table.  I’ve even reconstituted the tempera paint with salt to create a new texture.  The kids really like the bumpy look and feel of their salty paintings!  End up with some colored salt that you don’t need anymore?  Use it to make playdough and you don’t have to add any color! No wonder salt was once used as money in ancient times.  It really is versatile and fun stuff!

Screening Leaves

September 13, 2008 by notjustcute Filed Under: Create, Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

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(I first have to apologize for the black spot in these photos.  My camera seems to have developed a cataract of some sort, but it’s actually already been resolved, thanks to a warranty and a husband who is a master at getting customer service.) 

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

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