- 5 days ago

let's create! 3, 2, 1... GRAND summer fun!

Thursday, June 27, 2024

My goodness… it’s been a busy few weeks here at

Our Grand Lives!

Laurie and Laura both had special getaways last weekend…

Laurie and her husband with their college friends

and

Laura and hubby at a family reunion!

We both found ourselves living our OGL motto!

Then reality hit on Monday,

when Laura began her stint of jury duty!

While happy to do her civic duty, she’s secretly hoping

that she’ll be excused in time to enjoy a long planned 4th of July holiday at the lake!

Time will tell!

🙏🙏🙏

Did you see our SUMMER FAVE post this past Monday?

Since there will be several Littles at the lake next week

to celebrate the 4th of July,

Laura’s got her GRAND bag packed with all the supplies needed.

She’s all set to recreate

our Fireworks in a Jar and our Exploding Fireworks experiments!

She’s also packing supplies for the 3 new activities we’re highlighting this week!

Each is simple, each is fun

AND

each is bound to keep your Littles busy creating their own masterpieces!

In today’s post we are featuring three ways

to share art experiences with our Littles,

our grandkids, our own children or others in our care!

What fun it is to make messy memories together!

Art can take a variety of forms.

Some are product based, resulting in a completed project.

(Think crafts!!)

Others are focused on the process or the experience

and that’s what we’re highlighting this week!

These open-ended activities place an emphasis on the creative process

rather than on a finished piece or craft.

There is no right or wrong in process art as Littles use their imaginations

and gain confidence in their abilities and ideas!

A Grand Tip!

Have your Littles wear old clothing or a paint shirt!

While all of these projects use washable supplies,

it’s best to be prepared!

It’s time to get started… Let’s create!

Laurie and her Little D show us a great way

to bring the creative side of your Littles outside

and into the fresh air!

It’s the perfect activity for a summer afternoon!

MATERIALS NEEDED

• a cheap white or clear shower liner. (I got mine for $3 at Target)

• washable paint

• paint brushes

• pins or tape (to attach the liner - see below)

• a bucket of water to clean your paint brushes

• a hose to clean up!

• a paint shirt (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. If you have a fence in your yard, that would be a great place to hang your “canvas” with pins or tape. If you do not have a fence, you could tape the shower curtain to your sliding glass door, or hang it from a rope strung between two trees. Be sure to hang it at a good height for your Little(s).

2. Let your Little choose a couple of paint colors to use.

3. Paint away! Older infants, toddlers and young preschoolers will probably enjoy the whole arm experience of creating with larger paint brushes while older Littles may prefer smaller brushes to make more intricate pictures.

4. The best part?? The clean up! Use your hose to clean your canvas. You’re quickly ready for your Little to create a new masterpiece!

Or maybe the best part is playing in “the waterfall”

on a hot day and getting soaking wet!

Littles of all ages love to create with colored chalk!

Today’s idea takes that activity to the next level!

We’ve got one of our favorite recipes to share… DIY chalk paint!

You only need two common kitchen ingredients plus water,

it’s non-toxic and it washes away quickly

with the help of a hose or a summer rainstorm!

A perfect combination for Little inspired masterpieces!

MATERIALS NEEDED

• cornstarch

• water

• liquid food coloring (not gel - it might stain surfaces)

• a muffin tin, paper cups or small bowls.

• measuring spoons and/or a spoon to mix

DIRECTIONS

1. Decide ahead of time how many colors you’d like to create. We planned for six! Then, mix equal parts of cornstarch and water in each section of the muffin tin (or in small cups/bowls). We started with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons water for each color of paint Stir until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch has dissolved. Add more cornstarch (if mixture is runny) or more water (if mixture is too thick) as needed until you have a smooth consistency. NOTE: Add the water to one container of cornstarch at a time and stir before adding water to another container. This will prevent the mixture from hardening.

2. Add a few drops of liquid food coloring to each container. Add more drops, as needed, until you get the desired color. You could add drops of two kinds of food coloring to make one of your colors, too… your Littles will have fun discovering what happens when colors are mixed together!

3. Now your Little is ready to paint with your DIY chalk paint! Let your Littles create using brushes and the sidewalk or driveway as their canvases! Your Littles can even paint garden rocks! We recommend having some paper towels nearby... just in case!

NOTE: Stir your paint occasionally as the corn starch has a tendency to settle on the bottom. This will also keep the colors more brilliant.

A Grand Tip!

Younger Littles may find more success

when using a sponge brush rather than a traditional paint brush.

Meanwhile, your older Littles will love the way

smaller paint brushes let them add greater details!

4. The paint colors will look more vibrant as the paint dries and clean up is super easy! Rain will wash away your Littles’ artwork or together you can use the garden hose to spray the creations away! NOTE: If you’d like to keep the chalk paint to use on another day, you can cover and store the paint up to a few days. Stir well before using once again.

SURPRISE! This DIY chalk paint is very versatile!

Too hot to paint outside on the driveway?

Provide pieces of black construction paper

and let your Little paint away!

Kids of all ages will love this messy, easy-to-clean-up project!

There's not much that would be simpler... or more fun!

MATERIALS NEEDED

• shaving cream (even the cheap stuff works well!)

• a hose for clean up

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray the outside of a sliding glass door with shaving cream (a little goes a long way!)

2. Let your Little(s) go wild!

Practice making shapes, numbers and letters. Draw pictures. Play Hangman. Practice math problems. Play Pictionary. Just enjoy the soothing feel of the shaving cream as your hands move it all around!