There are many times of the year where everyone wants to be outside. Playing in the yard, at the park or at a beach provide opportunities to be creative and make some nature art. Here are 3 ideas for natural art that can be done on location wherever the family is having fun.
Beach Art
Beaches are a great place for creativity. Many kids love to make sandcastles by turning over a bucket full of wet sand. Challenge them to create something more elaborate. Use a stick or bring a ruler to draw an outline of a star in the dry sand above the water line. Use buckets to bring wet sand to the outline and dump the sand in the center of the star. Bring additional sand as needed and spread it outward to the outline. Keep adding sand to create a 3-d sculpture. This process can be used to create any sculpture the kids can imagine. Try an octopus or perhaps a mermaid for a bigger challenge. Take a picture of the masterpiece when it has been completed.
Yard Art
Kids love playing outside and they can create their own games to play. Encourage this use of creativity by having them make a miniature city from natural objects. Gather leaves, sticks, rocks, grass, flowers and other items from the yard and create a small city with them.
If the kids don't want to make a miniature city have them gather flat items such as leaves. Choose several different shapes and textures for the items collected. These can be used to make rubbings. Lay the leaves on a flat surface and lay a piece of paper over the top. Use a crayon to rub over the top of the paper to produce a rubbing of the leaf below.
Playground Art
The range of items available for natural art projects can be more limited in a park. Bring sidewalk chalk if the park has any hard surfaces such as cement or blacktop. This will give the kids an extra activity to do alone or with other kids at the park. Encourage the kids to use the natural items to play games such as Tic-tac-toe. They can use items they find to create a free-form sculpture too. Bring paint brushes and water so the kids can use the water as the paint to create wet pictures. The pictures will disappear when the water dries.
These ideas are great ways to help kids use their creativity and imagination to make some fun art with natural objects they find wherever they go.
Beach Art
Beaches are a great place for creativity. Many kids love to make sandcastles by turning over a bucket full of wet sand. Challenge them to create something more elaborate. Use a stick or bring a ruler to draw an outline of a star in the dry sand above the water line. Use buckets to bring wet sand to the outline and dump the sand in the center of the star. Bring additional sand as needed and spread it outward to the outline. Keep adding sand to create a 3-d sculpture. This process can be used to create any sculpture the kids can imagine. Try an octopus or perhaps a mermaid for a bigger challenge. Take a picture of the masterpiece when it has been completed.
Yard Art
Kids love playing outside and they can create their own games to play. Encourage this use of creativity by having them make a miniature city from natural objects. Gather leaves, sticks, rocks, grass, flowers and other items from the yard and create a small city with them.
If the kids don't want to make a miniature city have them gather flat items such as leaves. Choose several different shapes and textures for the items collected. These can be used to make rubbings. Lay the leaves on a flat surface and lay a piece of paper over the top. Use a crayon to rub over the top of the paper to produce a rubbing of the leaf below.
Playground Art
The range of items available for natural art projects can be more limited in a park. Bring sidewalk chalk if the park has any hard surfaces such as cement or blacktop. This will give the kids an extra activity to do alone or with other kids at the park. Encourage the kids to use the natural items to play games such as Tic-tac-toe. They can use items they find to create a free-form sculpture too. Bring paint brushes and water so the kids can use the water as the paint to create wet pictures. The pictures will disappear when the water dries.
These ideas are great ways to help kids use their creativity and imagination to make some fun art with natural objects they find wherever they go.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about keeping kids creative, then visit Dawn Marcotte's site for more fun craft ideas for your family.