Beach Art for Toddlers

BEACH ART FOR TODDLERS

This is a two weeks art project.

Inspired by the book Sea, Sand, Me! by Patricia Hubbell and Lisa Campbell Earnst.

Supplies :

- Light blue construction or copy paper

- Dark blue tissue paper

- White tissue or copy paper

- White glue diluted on about 1/1 ratio

- Sand

First step :

First step, which is a great fine motor activity, is tearing the dark blue tissue and white copy paper into strips. I demonstrated the technique as a group then provided large strips of paper. I didn't expect any strips coming out of this activity. I just wanted my students practiced their fine motor skills when I was making them. At my surprise, one of the oldest got the the pointer and thumb pinch on an opposite motion perfectly. All the "strips" went in a bag for the next step.

Step 2 :

This year my class is very young so that step was made one student at a time. I diluted white glue with the same amount of water in one piece of egg carton, dipped a paintbrush and spread a few lines in the middle of the light blue paper. I gave some strips of white and blue paper, demonstrated how to paste them then let them do the rest.

Strep 3 :

I spread the bottom part of the paper with glue, using a paint brush and asked, one child at a time, to sprinkle sand on the glue with me.

Note : I like to make one to show them the idea then I don't display it to avoid comparison, even though toddlers don't really have that tendency.

The following days we added a shovel, a pail, a sand castle, a sail boat and a seagull.

Some children were there on the pail day but not on the seagull day for example so the part timers' don't have every items but everyone has a beach art project that they are proud of. And this what is all about.

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