summer

Starry Sky Sensory Bin

September 22, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Just as vegetables that come in a variety of colors are always a happy find, so are interestingly colored flowers. These award-winning, starry sky petunias are a new discovery for me, and they caught my attention at a hardware store! Their varying color patterns and space-themed name make them perfect for a starry sky sensory bin.

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Starry Sky Petunias were introduced about eight years ago, and their spectacular speckled white and purple flowers are a reminder of the cosmos. Each individual flower varies in shade of color and placement of white dots and splotches. The super pretty petunia plant is also named Night Sky Petunia and Galaxy Petunia.

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Supplies To Collect

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This flower-inspired starry sky sensory bin contains the following loose part supplies:

starry sky petunia flowers
astronaut figurines
toy planets
glow in the dark moon and stars
toy spaceships in varying designs
pink and purple buttons
large and small marbles
purple and pink tumbled stones
turquoise, pink, and purple acrylic gems
silver spray painted rocks
agate slices

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The Starry Sky Sensory Bin

The supplies in the starry sky sensory bin are offered in two different containers.

This first bin for the sensory play loose parts is a food bus tub. It is super user-friendly and can be set up anywhere. Two or three little learners can play in the tub at the same time.

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Water with a little fluorescent purple food coloring added is the base for the bin. Breathtaking, other-worldly Starry Sky Petunias are the “stars” of the sensory play invitation.

Space-themed toys such as astronaut figurines, spaceships in varying sizes, glow-in-the-dark moon and stars, and toy planets complement the petunias.

Marbles in varying sizes are space rocks or pretend planets.

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Loose parts such as silver spray-painted rocks, agate slices, pink and purple tumbled stones, and acrylic gems add beauty to the bin.

Complementary-colored buttons are a welcome addition to any sensory bin.

This next water-based bin is a round, edged serving tray. It can also be offered anywhere and is suitable for one or two little ones to use at a time. The water level is a little lower, allowing for a large toy spaceship to stand upright in the bin.

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Petunia flowers in any color provide beautiful, cascading blooms all growing season long. Solid pink, purple, or white petunia flowers would also work wonderfully in this starry sky sensory bin.

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[Read more…]

Cauliflower Theme Activities

September 17, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Beans in a variety of colors weren’t the only thing I discovered on a recent street market stroll. I also stumbled upon a delightful vegetable stall with three different colors of cauliflower. The uniquely hued vegetables are the inspiration for cauliflower theme activities to try, including super easy raw and cooked cauliflower snacks, cauliflower science, and arts and crafts activities.

The easiest cauliflower to find is white, but did you know that this popular vegetable also comes in green, orange, and purple colors? These additional hues have recently popped up at vegetable stands. They add variety to food offerings and would certainly be a conversation piece at any gathering.

Three cauliflower colors spotted at a farmer's market to use in a vegetable tray or a roasted dish.

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The cauliflower colors I feature in the snacks below are cream, light green, and medium green.

Note: On another street market stroll I came across an orange variety, shown in a photo below. I am still on the hunt for purple and look forward to being able to find it.

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Cauliflower Snacks

Cauliflower is a versatile vegetable and can be used in many different dishes. Two easy ways to introduce cauliflower are in a vegetable tray or as a roasted dish.

Cauliflower Vegetable Tray

An eye-appealing vegetable tray with cream and green cauliflower and orange cherry tomatoes.

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To give them a moment to shine, include different-hued cauliflower florets in a vegetable tray. Add a favorite dip in the middle of the eye-appealing snack. A little shredded cheese sprinkled on top of the dip and a few cherry tomatoes placed around the cauliflower add pops of color to the tray.

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Roasted Cauliflower

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Offer different colored cauliflower varieties in an easy-to-make roasted dish. First, pour a little olive oil in a bowl. Then cut the heads of cauliflower into florets and toss them in the oil. Spread the cut pieces in a baking pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Finally, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the florets and bake them in an oven heated to 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

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Cauliflower Science

Before cutting a few different colors of cauliflower into florets, set them on a table for participants to view. Discuss cauliflower parts such as the head and stem leaves.

Green and cream cauliflower cut lengthwise into slabs to compare inside and outside colors.

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Next, slice a cauliflower into wedges to see cross sections of the cruciferous vegetable. View the stem and florets. If the cauliflower is green, orange, or purple, note if the insides of the cauliflower slabs are the same color as the outsides.

Discuss that this nutrient-rich vegetable has lots of vitamins and minerals, and is very healthy to eat.

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Cauliflower Arts And Crafts

You may not be able to find purple and orange cauliflower at your local grocery store, but their hues can certainly be included in cauliflower art and craft projects. In addition to green and cream, they are eye-catching colors to introduce in arty activities.

Vegetable Printing With Cauliflower

Create interesting, unexpected designs by using cauliflower florets as printmaking tools.

First, cut cauliflower into different-sized florets.

An invitation to make vegetable prints with cauliflower florets and orange, purple, green, and cream tempera paints.

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Next, paint the flatter sides of the florets with tempera paint. Cauliflower hues are a standout in this painting activity.

Then press down the florets onto a piece of sturdy art paper to make vegetable prints. Black and green fade-resistant construction paper work nicely for this cauliflower printmaking project.

How to make vegetable prints with cauliflower florets and orange, purple, green, and cream tempera paints.

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Paint Mixing Tips:

Add a drop of yellow tempera paint in the white to make a lovely cream color.
Mix a little yellow paint into green to make a lighter and brighter hue.
Drop in a teaspoon or two of white paint into purple and orange to make softer hues.

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Cauliflower Paper Craft

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This cute cauliflower paper craft also includes printmaking.

To do the craft, first cut cauliflower heads from manilla tag or cream construction paper, and humps and stem leaves from one or two shades of green cardstock or construction paper. Choosing fadeless paper for the project is recommended.

Feel free to download this template for the vegetable craft project.

Download this free cauliflower vegetable template to use for arts and crafts activities. Make purple, orange, green, and cream cauliflower paper crafts.

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Cauliflower PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Next, print color onto the paper cauliflower heads in hues of cream, green, orange, and purple using painted florets. Or simply use cotton balls dipped in tempera paint for the printmaking process.

How to make an orange cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporate a cotton ball painting technique.

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After the painted cauliflower heads are dry, use a glue stick to affix a hump to the back of each one.

Finally, glue two or three paper stem leaves onto each side of the cauliflower heads.

How to make an orange cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

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How to make a purple cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

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How to make a green cauliflower paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

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How to make a cauliflower vegetable paper craft. This craft incorporates a cotton ball painting technique.

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These cauliflower theme activities celebrate the vegetable’s vibrant colors and are perfect for a fall or garden theme.

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Corn Theme Activities

Beet Science And Sensory Activities

Carrot Theme Activities

Pumpkin Color Activities

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[Read more…]

Gorgeous Eye Dropper Art

August 27, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Baeutiful paper towel eye dropper art . Do the process art activity on its own or turn the art into dragonfly, butterfly, and flower designs.

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What do dragonflies, butterflies, and flowers have in common? Aside from appearing during the summer season, they all look spectacular in eye dropper art. This easy-to-do, oh-so-satisfying process art technique is one of children’s favorite ways to paint.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

For this stunning art activity, gather the following:

liquid watercolors or food coloring
roll of absorbent paper towels
pipette eye droppers
paint containers
waterproof tablecloth

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The Eye Dropper Art Process

Create gorgeous eye dropper art with liquid watercolors on paper towle sheets. An all-ages process art activity.

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Things might get very wet with this art technique, so the first thing to do is cover the working surface with a waterproof tablecloth.

Next, tear off sheets from a paper towel roll. If you have a choice, pick a thicker brand, as it will be more absorbent. But any kind of paper towel will work fine.

Then pour water into paint pots, and mix a few drops of liquid watercolors or food coloring in each one.

Set up an art station with a paper towel sheet and paint pots with eyedropper pipettes for each participant.

Invite children to squeeze paint on their paper towel canvas with the droppers.

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When the arty paper towel sheets are thoroughly covered in paint, set them aside to dry.

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Eye Dropper Paint Crafts

Eye dropper painting is a well-loved process art activity, and participating artists will likely want to decorate a few paper towels. In this case, send some of the paper towel art home, and save a few sheets for crafts or other activities. The paper towel art looks beautiful in the following three crafts.

Paper Towel Dragonflies

Create a gorgeous dragonfly with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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The large wings of mosquito-munching dragonflies have a moment with the eye dropper art technique. To craft the dragonflies, cut two pairs of long wings out of painted paper towel sheets, and a one-piece head, thorax, and abdomen from complementary-toned regular or glitter cardstock. Use a glue stick to affix the dragonfly wings to the back of the cardstock shapes. Finally, use a glue gun to add folded pipe cleaner antennae and wiggly eyes to the heads.

Tip: Paper towel rolls are often two-ply. If the layers in your cutouts separate while you are working, dab a little glue in a few spots between them so they stay in place.

Create gorgeous dragonflies with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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Download this free dragonfly template to make the craft.

Download this free dragonfly template for art or craft activities.

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Dragonfly PrintableDownload

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This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Paper Towel Butterflies

Create a gorgeous, dainty butterfly with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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Butterflies look fantastical in any kind of art technique, and the wings look especially dainty when crafted from painted paper towels. To create the butterflies, snip two pairs of butterfly wings from a colored paper towel. Then cut a one-piece head, thorax, and abdomen from cardstock. As with the dragonflies, affix the wings to the back of the cardstock bodies. With a glue gun, attach a folded pipe cleaner antennae and two small wiggly eyes to the heads.

Create gorgeous, dainty butterflies with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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Download this free butterfly template to make the craft.

Download this free butterfly template for art or craft activities.

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Butterfly TemplateDownload

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This printable is for individual or one-classroom use only.

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Paper Towel Flowers

Create a beautiful flower with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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A third art project is to create paper towel flowers. Cut the flowers and circular centers from painted paper towel sheets, and add cardstock or construction paper stems and leaves.

Create beautiful flowers with a super fun eye dropper painting technique. A paper craft that looks stunning displayed.

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Download this free flower template to make the craft.

Download this free flower template for art or craft activities.

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Flower PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one-classroom use only.

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Light Table Play

The eye dropper paper towel dragonflies, butterflies, and flowers look especially beautiful displayed on a light table.

Eyedropper art dragonfly, butterfly, and flowers display beautifully on a light table.

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As an alternative, eye dropper-painted geometric shapes cut from paper towel sheets also illuminate wonderfully and offer opportunities to create original designs.

Eye dropper art on geomtric shapes look beautiful on a light table and provide an invitation to create interesting new designs.

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Earth Day Heart Art

Eye Dropper Leaf Art

Spider Theme Activities

Ladybug Wand Craft

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[Read more…]

Paint Chip Watermelon Art

August 17, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Create beautiful watermelon art with paint chip samples. The colorful watermelon slices can be used in many different activities.

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Paint chip color samples with their gorgeous lined-up hues are truly something special. They come in every glorious color scheme you can imagine and make any kind of art activity extra beautiful. In this post, they shine in paint chip watermelon art that lends itself to a variety of fun activities for children.

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Not Just Red

The only color of watermelon I experienced as a child is red, but did you know that there are also yellow, orange, pink, and white watermelon varieties? All these hues are featured in this fruity art activity.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following supplies to make paint chip watermelon art:

paint chip samples in hues of red, pink, orange, yellow, and green
black cardstock
hole punch
glue stick
scissors and pencil

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Paint Chip Watermelon Art Process

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To create this juicy art activity, trace and cut out half-circle shapes from paint chip swatches donated from hardware stores.

Note: Watermelon comes in at least five different hues, so multi-shade paint chip strips in yellow, orange, pink, red, and white all apply.

Next, trace and cut out thin half-circle watermelon rinds from green paint color samples.

Afterward, use a glue stick to affix the green rinds to the curved edge of the half circles to create watermelon slices.

Just add seeds to these fruity slices to create watermelon art. The juicy slices can be used in many differnt activities for litlle learners.

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Then punch dots from black construction paper for watermelon seeds, and glue a few onto each watermelon slice.

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Paint Chip Watermelon Activities

The created paint chip watermelon slices can be used in several ways with little learners:

Watermelon Slice Collage

Invite little learners to glue watermelon slices to a large sheet of paper for a pretty watermelon collage.

Craft watermelon slices with paint chip samples and use them in a pretty watermelon collage. A beautiful. all-ages art activity.

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Counting and Color Recognition Activities

Use the juicy slices as props for counting and color-recognition rhymes, songs, and charting activities.

Paint chip watermelon slices shine in this fruity math chart where little learners can count the seeds and add the corresponding number.

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Paint chip watermelon art used in a fruity color chart where little learners can practice matching color words to watermelon slices.

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Pretend Play Food

The crafted fruit slices make attractive pretend food for a play kitchen.

Paint chip watermelon slices make attractive play food for a pretend play kitchen.

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Watermelon Necklace

With a hot glue gun, affix small paper clips to the back top of three watermelon slices. String pony beads and paper watermelon slices onto a 24-inch piece of thin lacing cord and tie it off.

Supplies to make a beaded necklace with paint chip watermelon slices and green, red, pink, and clear pony beads.

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How to make a beaded necklace with paint chip watermelon slices and green, red, pink, and clear pony beads.

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Color Discussions

After little learners can recognize the basic colors, use the paint chip watermelon slices to discuss lighter and darker shades of color.

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Paint Chip Fruit Drink Art

It is easy to transition this paint chip watermelon art activity into a fruit drink craft. To do this, cut paper glasses from construction paper colors of choice. Then cut half circles from paint chip swatches in fruity hues. Offer each participant a paper glass, glue stick, and six or seven half-circle fruit wedges to create a lemon, lime, or orange paper drink. Add an additional fruit slice to the top of each glass.

Create a cute paper drink craft with orange, yellow, and green paint chip fruit slices glued onto drinking glass shapes.

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Watermelon Facts

Interested in finding out more about different kinds and colors of watermelon? Check out the post “Here’s the Difference Between Pink, Orange, and Yellow Watermelon” by myrecipes.com.

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Ideas to include paint chip watermelon slices in math, color recognition, art, dramatic play, and manipulative activities for early learners.

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Paint Chip Apple Craft

Watermelon Dramatic Play Center

Fun Ways To Serve Watermelon

Watermelon-Inspired Banner Craft

Watermelon Playdough Tray

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[Read more…]

Contact Paper Flower Art

August 4, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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For at least two years I have been wanting to try a floral window art project with contact paper. And I was hoping to use flowers and foliage growing in the wild in my first attempt, just to give them a moment. Although this summer I purchased more flowering annuals than usual and the blooms are taking over my yard, this contact paper flower art project is made with wildflowers and greenery found in our city. It is surprisingly effortless to do, and little learners can easily join in.

Use flowers and foliage found in the wild to create beautiful transient window art on contact paper. An all-ages nature art activity.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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Creating Contact Paper Flower Art

To create this transient nature art project, start by gathering flowers and greenery to use. A natural wildflower patch at a local dog park provided all I needed for this design.

Create oh-so-pretty contact paper flower art using flowers and foliage found in the wild. A beautiful, transient nature art project.

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Note: It is a good idea to check if the plants you find are toxic to humans before you decide to include them. If so, do not offer them to little learners to use in the project.

Next, cut a shape from contact paper. You can simply snip off a rectangular strip, or create a special shape such as a heart or star.

Then slowly and carefully peel off the backing so it comes off smoothly without wrinkling the sticky contact paper.

Steps to create oh-so-pretty contact paper flower art using flowers and foliage found in the wild. A beautiful, transient nature art project.

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If you have a specific design in mind, use the peeled-off paper as a dummy to plan the arrangement of the flowers.

Afterward, transfer the flowers and foliage to the contact paper, and gently press them down. It works well to start with greenery and then add flowers.

In my design, the daisies are plump in the middle but tolerate a good finger press and adhere well. And the four-petalled purple flowers work perfectly as butterflies.

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This contact paper art project with wildflowers looks beautiful displayed in a window. Just use a glue stick to add adhesive to the window of choice, and gently press the flower art over it. The glue washes off easily without leaving any marks after the project is taken down.

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More Contact Paper Flower Art Ideas

Here are more ways to create or display contact paper flower art:

Instead of setting this art project on a table, tack the contact paper to a window first and offer the art activity there. Besides providing a novel way to create art, it improves little learners’ core body strength and eye-hand coordination.

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To provide a unique invitation to create, set the contact paper on a table and place a frame around it. Add a tray of flowers and foliage for little learners to use to decorate the sticky surface.

An Invitation to create oh-so-pretty contact paper flower art using flowers and foliage found in the wild. A beautiful, transient nature art project.

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To make this tacky art project more durable, add a cardboard frame.

Another way to display the art is to use a glue gun to adhere a strip of yarn to the top of the completed project and hang it on a tree.

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[Read more…]

summer

Starry Sky Sensory Bin

Supplies To Collect

The Starry Sky Sensory Bin

Cauliflower Theme Activities

Cauliflower Snacks

Cauliflower Vegetable Tray

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower Science

Cauliflower Arts And Crafts

Vegetable Printing With Cauliflower

Cauliflower Paper Craft

Related:

Gorgeous Eye Dropper Art

Supplies To Collect

The Eye Dropper Art Process

Eye Dropper Paint Crafts

Paper Towel Dragonflies

Paper Towel Butterflies

Paper Towel Flowers

Light Table Play

Related:

Paint Chip Watermelon Art

Not Just Red

Supplies To Collect

Paint Chip Watermelon Art Process

Paint Chip Watermelon Activities

Watermelon Slice Collage

Counting and Color Recognition Activities

Pretend Play Food

Watermelon Necklace

Color Discussions

Paint Chip Fruit Drink Art

Watermelon Facts

Related:

Contact Paper Flower Art

Creating Contact Paper Flower Art

More Contact Paper Flower Art Ideas