Newspaper art

We always like a bit of recycling and up-cycling and old newspapers are a good material for this. A broadsheet size gives a generous space to create some art but we decided to go even bigger and cover the whole kitchen table in a layer of newspaper. Our after school routine always begins around the kitchen table, with a drink and a snack and a chat. Today we didn’t need to move from there but instead started some art doodles right on the tablecloth.

You could use pretty much anything you like to make make your design on the newspaper but the girls’ favourite right now is oil pastels, so that’s what we used. They give a good bold design over the newsprint and let you try out contrasts as you draw and blend colours together.

And look at all the patterns you can create. Having a great big canvass made from an inexpensive material such as old newspaper invites expansive, bold drawing. No need to hold back and take care with resources – you can go for it and cover the whole surface any way you like.

We also like to play Follow the Leader, where one person starts a design and another has to try and copy over the top in a different colour. It’s a good exercise in hand-eye co-ordination and you can use it to model letter shapes with very young children and, even better, it’s lots of fun. My 5-year-old likes to make her pattern as intricate and super fast as she possible can!

I think this newspaper art would make a great party activity, with all the guests contributing some designs while they wait for their party tea. You could cover over the top with a clear plastic table cloth and have a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

Join the Art Explorers and go paper free

Want to join this month’s Art Explorers project with us? What could you use as your canvas that isn’t a small piece of white paper? Check out these ideas from the other families taking part and add your own to our project.

Want more fun kids art ideas?

Step one: 

pop your e-mail address in this box and I’ll send you your own free copy of our Play Planner, which has great ideas for kids play and art each week.

Step Two:

like Nurturestore’s Facebook page for lots of ideas throughout the week.

Modelling with air drying clay

Have you used air drying clay before? It’s not too messy and quite easy for young children to use – my 5-year-old had no problem manipulating the clay into the shapes she wanted. The girls had wooden skewers and scissors to use to cut and make marks with but mostly just used their hands. The clay warms to the touch and is a great work out for fine motor skills.

The clay does dry out and turn hard just by being left to sit, with no oven or kiln baking needed, but you do need to be patient and let the models dry out thoroughly so they are then robust enough to play with. How long it takes will depend on the size of your models and the weather – thinner models will dry out faster than big, thick ones. Ours all dried out over night.

(an expedition by sledge)

And what did they make? A camping expedition! If you follow NurtureStore on Facebook you might have seen the chat yesterday about camping with kids. We’ve just bought a tent and are planning our first camping trip – but you can see the kids couldn’t wait and made a camping play set of their own.

(warming up around the camp fire)

Once your models are dry you can leave them as they are or add colours. Acrylic paint with a coat of varnish over the top is perhaps the best option for a long-lasting design but the girls set their hearts on using oil pastels. While this isn’t likely to be very durable they were really pleased with the way their colours and the texture turned out.

(sheltering from the rain)

More modelling ideas

Tempted to try out some modelling? You might like these ideas too:

:: salt dough creatures – a homemade recipe for when the craft cupboard is bare

:: clay or salt dough candle holders

:: outdoor clay tree sculptures

:: or how about cement art tiles?

And if you stop by tomorrow I’ll show you the Kids Art Explorers Paper Free Art land the girls made for their clay models.

Yellow play dough recipe for spring chicks

We made a batch of yellow play dough using our favourite no cook play dough recipe. If you’ve never made home made play dough before our easy play dough recipe  master class takes you through the recipe step by step.

Then we raided the craft cupboard to find our chick essentials: foam triangles for beaks, straws for feet, and feathers, feathers, feathers.

The children wanted to add some nests to their play so found some yarn to make their chickens a home.

Some birds are tidier than others – B said this swan’s nest could do with a bit of spring cleaning.

Just like at school, the eggs hatched out and we had some baby play dough chicks.

The children never tire of play dough, and ringing the changes with different themes to match each season gives us  the opportunity to introduce different ideas and language every time we play. Play dough is great for sensory play and manipulating the dough is so good to build strength and dexterity in fingers, developing fine motor skills. If you’ve never made your own play dough, why not follow the master class and give it a try?

More spring activities

For lambs, bunnies, daffodils and more have a look at our kids spring activities.

And for different play dough ideas including a space theme, under the sea and ice cream varieties take a look at all our play dough recipe ideas.