My very active almost 3-year old hopped off her bike just long enough to work on a collage. The weather has been so nice, and I can’t really blame her.
Materials
- Cardstock: 8.5 x 11, from a fat ream I picked up at the office supply store
- White glue in a jar
- Glitter
- Scissors
- Short-handled artist brushes
- Collage Materials: Cotton balls, tissue paper, pasta, paint chips
She mixed the glitter and glue with a brush. Now that N’s fine motor skills are more refined, I really like these short-handled artist brushes because they enable her to paint marks as she imagines them. I think I picked them up as part of a set in the art supply section of JoAnn Fabrics. We also have a stash of fat toddler-friendly brushes, which cover large surfaces quickly in case that’s what she’s after.
She painted the glitter-glue onto the card stock.
And then she added do-dads to the glue.
A few pieces of pasta and tissue paper later and we had ourselves a beautiful child-designed glittery cotton ball collage.
I love how N put the glitter in the glue! Fun! Making your own glitter glue would be a great project in itself! Why not make a whole set of colors!? I know what you mean—C would rather be outside playing than sit down and do an art project! That is why I’ve been trying to think of outdoor related activities and ones you can bring inside! Collages are always a winner with me—They can be done with just about anything! We did a lot of contact paper collages when C was 2!
When it’s beautiful outdoors, I’m not overly eager to make art indoors either! But it is a good way to unwind and take a few deep breaths, which seems to be emotionally restorative too.
My kind of art! Messy and sparkly!
What a fun activity! Can you share where you got your litter from? Those look great for pouring/squirting instead of the ubiquitous shaker jars.
The glitter is pretty great, and unfortunately I bought it at our teacher supply store and found out that the company no longer makes the glitter. Sorry about that, but I bet there’s something similar to it out there.