Fall 2011 Week Two- Aboriginal Folk Art

Week Two Aboriginal Folk Art

While researching projects to do we came across quite a few different aboriginal projects for some reason or another. We liked them so much that we combined a couple to create an aboriginal session. I like it because of it's playfulness, and it seems easy for the kids to relate to it. We had two different projects one based on the the old hand paintings that you might see on a cave or rock wall, and the the other was about their dot paintings. We showed the kids a brief slide show to go over both projects and so they could see some true aboriginal artwork.

We started with the hand print project. The children traced their hands onto to a piece of paper, and cut it out. They temporarily taped their hand cutout onto a piece of black paper and drew with oil pastels around it. We suggested that they use repeating patterns around their hand similar to how they used to do. After they were finished drawing we they sprayed white tempera paint around they hand cutout. Finally, we removed the cutout off to show their spray painted handprint on the paper.

The dot art project we began with talking about the use of symbols and how the aboriginals use animals as symbols as well as typical Australian animals. We had the children draw with colored pencils an animal in the center of the page. Using a cotton swab the children then place rings of dots around their animal picture.

Nature Lover Day Three

Last day of our summer camp crafty craziness. Starting the day with a colored pencil finale. We created many large bouquets of flowers the children could draw from. They practiced drawing with paper and then we gave them a special card that they could draw their own botanical drawing on, and then give to someone special.

Terrariums, terrariums, terrariums, everywhere. This was incredibly fun project. I enjoyed making my example one many weeks before. This is certainly a project for all ages. We tag teamed this project with our pet rocks to put into the terrarium. The kids were able to paint a rock and while that was drying they made up their terrarium. They first filled the bottom with rocks for drainage, and then dirt and 2 or 3 plants into their terrarium. We gave them each a little frog or lizard to place into the terrarium as well (plastic of course).

To end the day and the summer session we created wiggly worm ranches with the children. We love the idea of taking something and turning it into a dessert somehow. So we thought the wiggly worm ranch would make a perfect dessert. I guess this might seem a bit unusual, but to me it screams chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. We first had the kids make a sign for their worm ranch to make it appear official. We then had them do layers of chocolate pudding, and crumbled chocolate cookies. Then on top they put candy rocks and a gummie earthworm. They looked great, and I loved, let me rephrase that, LOVED it. Though to my dismay some of the kids, shockingly, didn't like them so much. I think because the pudding was a super dark chocolate that I made, as well as the cookies that were homemade. It was a chocolate lovers dream, if you ask me, but if I had to do it again for kids I would lighten up on the chocolate, and probably get an easy mix. Partner that with some chocolate wafer cookies. I think that would be more child friendly. Still yummy either way. Next summer we'll know better. That's it folks, next up fall after school craft kitchen!