Mommy, Monet and Me! Letter O

Oil, Orange, and Ovals

Baby Oil

Materials: crayons or oil pastels, half sheet of white paper, paintbrush, baby oil, paper towels or newspaper.

There are lots of fun ways to use baby oil with toddlers.  Today we used it to make our drawings transparent.  I use a half sheet of paper to help the kids consolidate their drawing to a smaller area.  You should encourage them to press hard with the crayon or oil pastel they are using to create a beautiful picture.  Lay the drawing on newspaper or a paper towel.   Next, flip the page over so you see the back of the paper.  Dip your brush in baby oil and brush lightly over the back of your picture.  The picture will appear like magic as the oil makes the paper transparent.  Blot with paper towel to remove excess oil.  Hold it up to the light and see it shine through!
 
Color Mixing: Orange

Materials: large sheet of white paper, yellow and red paint, paintbrushes, rollers, sponges, anything you can mix paint with. 


Kids are fascinated with color mixing!  Learning to mix colors is a great way to introduce primary and secondary colors and to help them learn the color wheel.  Making a new color is like magic and there are so many fun ways to mix colors.  We used rollers, paintbrushes and sponges to combine our colors on big white papers.  Here are some other mixing ideas.
 
Bag mixing-put one spoonful or red paint, and one spoonful of yellow paint in a ziploc bag, seal the bag and let your toddler move the paint around and watch the colors mix.  When the color is mixed you can lay the bag flat and draw with a finger on the bag.

Hand mixing- help your toddler paint one hand red and one hand yellow then have them rub their hands together to make a new color.  Have a sheet of paper ready to make hand prints in the new color!

Paper blots- fold a paper in half, and then open it again. Have your toddler paint one side red and the other side yellow, then press the two sides together and rub all over.  Open the paper again and see what color you made!

Ovals

Materials: Foam shapes, black or white paper, glue sticks

Sometimes the simplest activities are the most fun.  I love foam shapes because they are colorful, easy to manipulate, and allow for endless creativity.  The best art activities give kids the freedom to explore and create and use their imaginations without too many restrictions or rules. 

I encouraged the kids to find some ovals in the foam shapes and then asked them what some of the other shapes reminded them of.  Just ask your kids questions about what they see and what they want to create and they will amaze you with their answers!