Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

With the extreme weather this week, we have not been able to spend time outside. (When I say extreme, I mean that the windchill has been so cold that the local public schools have closed). With the extra indoor time, our easels have been busier than normal! Today, one of the "paintbrushes" of choice was a hand drill.  The set up for this is quite simple, instead of using a drill bit-- screw a paintbrush into the drill, set out for exploration and... sit back and watch! It usually takes a bit of concentration and tinkering to figure out how to make the drill work. Sometimes the paint never makes it onto the paper as it is quite engaging to spin the brush in the paint. The drills are always available for us, and having them at the easel is a very different experience from painting with them on the table or floor. A different muscle set is required to hold the drill up to paint on the easel. I cannot remember for sure where I first saw this idea, but I'm pretty sure it was i...

Process based art is a favorite around here- and the bookmarks we made by painting with beans is a prime example of a process based art experience with a stunning product! Basically, we took a couple of scoops of mixed beans and put them into a small container. Then we cover the beans in paint. I like to use squeeze bottles for the children to add the paint. It helps them to build up the muscles in their hands which is important for their fine motor skills.  If you are looking for some refillable squeeze bottles, click here for the (affiliate) link to order some of your own:  PLASTIC EMPTY TWIST TOP Bottles . After you have covered the beans in paint, take a moment and mix them up. Then we place our paper, in this case a piece of hard cardboard into a box. This time around we used a shoe box sized plastic tote. I like to use plastic boxes for these types of projects because they are easy to clean. Here is an (affiliate) link to the type of box we used for this project:  Sterilite Stora...

This post is inspired by Everyartist Live!, a national, collaborative art event with the goal of engaging a million elementary school children on November 21, 2013 – the largest art event in history. Want to get involved? Join us in our efforts to show that #creativitymatters. Sign up at  http://everyartist.me . These "pinky" puppets are made by upcycling caps from old, dried up markers! We recycle, reuse, repurpose... UPCYCLE around here all of the time! One of the best things about finding a new use or looking at an item with a new perspective is how creative you can be. You don't have to see things for what they are, you can see them for what they could be.... "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Wayne Dyer I know a lot of programs struggle with budgets. There never seems to be enough money or resources to go around. Please, don't ever let that be an excuse to stop doing art! There are so many way...

This post is inspired by Everyartist Live!, a national, collaborative art event with the goal of engaging a million elementary school children on November 21, 2013 – the largest art event in history. Want to get involved? Join us in our efforts to show that #creativitymatters. Sign up at http://everyartist.me . Around here, we seriously LOVE paint. We go through gallons and gallons of it. Sometimes we buy it, and sometimes we make it. I know I have writte n a little about paint before , and I have a fabulous Pinterest Board . However, today I thought I would give you an AMAZING list of 101 Tools that you can use with paint so that painting never gets boring! Thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers in the Preschool Plus Blogger Network and the Kid's Blogger Network for their willingness to share and contribute to this round-up! Please note that all 101 ideas are linked to a blog post. Simply click on the item (even if there is not a photo featured) and you will be d...

If you have been following the blog for any period of time, you know that we like to give the children a wide range of process art experiences. We use a lot of different types of tools and give the children freedom to choose materials. This becomes a bit trickier when the children are younger. They are not always able to articulate exactly what they would like to use or what they need.  So, with infants and toddlers, I tend to offer a set of supplies for them to explore. The art station is always available to them to make other choices, but typically I have a few selections available to them on the table.  During this particular exploration- I gave them each a container of white tempera paint. (I always add a little bit of dish soap to my paint. I know it says that it is washable, but the soap helps it wash out even better!) The children are welcome to explore the materials in any matter they deem fit. I don't demonstrate, and I rarely create beside them...