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Very much motivated by an interview Jean did with Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord over at The Artful Parent, we made books today with recycled materials. The part of the interview that really inspired me was this:
The process of making books with recycled materials is liberating. When we start by cutting a panel out of a grocery bag with a pair of scissors, the edges are crooked. We are freed from the burden of precision.
Let me repeat that last part: freed from the burden of precision. Perfect. So, we cut up a couple of boxes, punched some not-at-all-precise holes and away they went. I’ll stop with my own words here and let the kids pictures and my transcriptions of their words speak for themselves.
The Alien by Eleanor
Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue by Henry
The kids love to get paint everywhere, and by everywhere I mean hands, arms, faces, etc. I worry a little bit about what is in the paint though, even the non-toxic stuff. So, I ordered some paint specifically for face and body painting, it is called Snazaroo. Great name, eh? I have no idea if it is better than the regular non-toxic stuff (more research needed) but at least it is designed to go on skin.
The little palette we ordered has been a huge hit. The kids love for me to paint up their faces (mostly with butterflies) and even more, they love to paint themselves. Legs, bellies, feet, arms — anything not covered by clothing becomes fair game. Added bonus: it is easy to wash off.
This started off (in my mind) as a collage project using tissue paper and glue colored with liquid water colors. We used some of the large sheets of packing paper that Amazon always includes in their boxes — the kind that is perforated and usually hardly wrinkled at all. The paper is a bit thin but worked fine, especially since the kids were more interested in putting the gluey paint all over themselves.
(I had to restrain myself from getting too cross when Eleanor didn’t want to change out of her fancy dress. I guess that is what it is for, to be worn.) In the end, they had a great time (and a LONG time) peeling the colored glue from their skin. There is something satisfying about that, eh?
Cygnet Small 