Pudding Paint Pumpkins

Today I wanted to paint with something my toddler friends could paint with without worry, as a few of them put all the paints in their mouths. Pudding paint is the answer.

Supplies: Vanilla pudding, food coloring, paper plates, and paint brushes.

I chose the pre-made pudding option since I keep it in my classroom. You may want to make your own pudding. You will also need food coloring. I used 2 drops of red and 3 drops of yellow.

Our theme today was Halloween/Pumpkins. We read a great lift the flap book called Eek-A-Boo. It is simple enough to keep their attention, yet interactive.

I had my friends paint a paper plate pumpkin. Next week we will add the face after the pudding has a chance to dry.

I also did the popular 5 Little Pumpkin Felt Board Story. I found my copy here, at Mommy School by Oopsey Daisy. She has a great H is for Halloween pack.

Have you painting with pudding before?

Textured Pumpkin Art

This weekend my son and I were watching Artzooka, a CBC show. It is a great art show for older kids which shows kids how to make art out of recycled materials. We have been watching it since he was four and he loves it. Much of the art projects are for older kids, but some we can do. This textured pumpkin is an example of one.

Supplies: old crayons, school glue, thick paper with pumpkin drawn on it, grater to grate crayons, and art sticks.

Grate the old crayons (get help from your parents on this one kids). My three year old did this under my supervision. He had no problem and there were no boo boos. You know your child and their ability. Closely supervise or do this for them.

I used orange and black crayons. Mix your crayon shavings into a bowl of glue.

Take your art stick and gently rub the glue/crayon shaving mixture onto your paper. It will be thick and a little hard to move for little ones. My six year old had no problem.

Let it dry. It may take a couple days depending on the thickness. *It took at least 24 hours to dry, but the texture is really cool for the kids to feel.

Have you used crayons in a fun way?

Pumpkins, Play Dough and Purple Play Sand

This week our theme is halloween based, but nothing scary; pumpkins. I have mini pumpkins to paint, pumpkin pie scented play dough, and new purple sand for the sensory table. 

I picked up 20 small pumpkins from the local farmers market for my friends to paint. I had it all planned out, we would sit in circle time, read 5 Little Pumpkins and then hop on over to the art table to paint the pumpkins. Well, today was another reminder that having a plan is a good idea, but really you just go with the flow with this age group. 

Why? I purchased some new play sand. Purple play sand. It was a huge hit. Once the sand was discovered, circle time was promptly left behind. My friends had such a blast playing in the purple sand. They kept going back to it after each activity. I love the color, it is so vibrant. I am sure this is why it was a huge hit. ***If you are going to play with sand at home indoors, make sure it is on a hard surface and not carpet. It takes a few vacuuming sessions to get the sand out of carpet.

Eventually we made it to the art table to paint our pumpkins and here are the results:

This last photo is of my boys "helping" me make the play dough for class. It is a simple flour, salt, oil, and food coloring recipe that I added pumpkin pie spice to. It is great for sensory play. 

It will be interesting to see how my 1-2 year olds handle the play sand. Will it be met with the same excitement? I am not sure, but I cannot wait to find out. 

REMINDER - FREE OPEN PLAY FRIDAY OCTOBER 28th 9:30am to 10:30am