At some point in elementary school, my son had a detective kit which allowed him to dust for fingerprints. He happily went around lifting prints off every possible surface, until he ran out of materials and potential criminals. He took his detective role very seriously, and loved learning about whorls, arches and loops. The fascinating world of fingerprints is definitely a fun subject to explore with children.
Filed under fingerprints
It seems we have Mr. Richard Cadbury to thank for introducing the first heart shaped chocolate box, unveiled back in February, 1861. These boxes became all the rage, and their much admired lid designs made them popular for storing household items once the chocolates ran out. In keeping with that tradition, here’s a little project to help children make their own mosaic heart box, for storing their chocolates and treasures.
Filed under mosaics, Valentine's Day
Snowflakes are such a beautiful symbol of winter. You can even admire their intricate patterns with the naked eye. Physicist Wilson Alwyn Bentley was fascinated by them, and became one of the first people to photograph them back in the late 1800’s, capturing more than 5000 amazing images in his lifetime. Continue reading
Filed under paper crafts, snowflakes
Legend says that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted one wish. It’s a beautiful idea which a young Japanese girl named Sasaki Sadako hoped to achieve. Sasaki was an infant at the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, and developed leukemia as a result of her exposure to radiation. At the age of eleven, she began making a senbazuru ( a thousand paper cranes), wishing for her recovery from leukemia. As time went on, however, she began to wish for world peace instead. While she died at the age of twelve, her message was not forgotten. The Children’s Peace Memorial in Hiroshima commemorates the child victims of this bombing, and every year, thousands of origami cranes are sent to Hiroshima by children from all over the world.
Filed under Japan, Multicultural Art, origami, paper crafts
The intention was to make snowman magnets. The results looked more like a cross between a snowman and a turkey, and that’s exactly how they remained because these little oddballs were too adorable to mess with.
If I don’t get a chance to post again before the end of the year, do have a wonderful holiday season with your friends and families, and I’ll see you in the New Year.
Filed under magnets
I love that moment when inspiration works its magic, and a cool idea enters your head. In this case, I saw a great exhibition of Frida Kahlo’s work at the AGO, and in the gift shop were some bottle cap magnets with her image inside (see photo at the end of this post). I started thinking about the zillions of bottle caps I’ve collected, and how cool it would be to fill them with images of art to create a matching game. Most kids do end up playing a variety of matching/memory games when they’re young, and making their own would be awesome.
Filed under bottle caps, games
Last year, my daughter came home from school with a bunch of little pom pom people she had made. They lived in our Christmas tree and looked adorable. This year’s bunch look a little ragged, like they stayed up too late, and that’s what I love about them. They’re incredibly easy to make, and a fun way for young children to contribute to your holiday decor. Perfect pom poms be gone!
Evan Penny‘s silicone sculptures are amazing explorations of the human form. This Canadian artist uses digital technology, along with traditional methods of sculpting, to create lifelike representations that leave you in awe of the level of craftsmanship. They have such a remarkable level of detail, you can’t help but get lost in the pimples, moles Continue reading
Filed under ArtsBeat
String art seems to have made a comeback. It began life as a teaching tool for math in the mid 1800’s, and became a popular craft in the 60’s and 70’s. Its long period of dormancy has finally come to an end, and it remains a wonderfully creative way to explore geometric patterns with older kids, and unique random designs with younger ones. We had great results experimenting with both.
Filed under string art
Hope your Halloween night was fantastic! I’m guessing by now your little ones have eagerly examined their candy stash, taken inventory, and are slowly eating their way through it. Here are a couple of ideas from the past to help you make use of your Halloween garbage:
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