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Scribble City: Drawing on a Found Map
The boys and I are driving by an office and see they are throwing away giant, framed, foam maps of New York. The maps still have pins poked in important places. Awesome find. I wonder what the kids...
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Rainbow Warrior Dash, Gathering Ideas
To celebrate the end of a full and adventurous summer, we are planning a “mini rainbow warrior dash” for the kids and all their friends. The kids have seen me run in fun races all summer. They got to...
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Museum Visit, Part 2: Bring Your Journal
We bring our sketchpads with us to the museum. The boys think of these books as investigation journals, thanks Sid the Science Kid. Me: “When you find something that really interests you, we’ll sit...
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Old Markers, Liquid Water Color
We take all the markers in the house, fat ones, skinny ones, permanent and washable, smelly ones and very expensive art store markers. One by one, we test each marker on paper to see if the ink is...
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Art Inspired by Art: Museum Visit, Part 3
After our visit to the Worcester Art Museum we are inspired by Charline von Heyl’s The Wall at WAM and by Ellsworth Kelly’s Orange White. We are most influenced by the simple shapes and bright colors....
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Rainbow Warrior Dash, Setting Up Obstacles
I’m running away from the fact that my little man is entering full time Kindergarten by throwing an “end of summer” obstacle course party. I’ve been dreaming up this event since I participated in the...
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dead bug: provocation, observation, documentation
“Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.” Bradley Millar We go on hikes often, and collect natural objects that we find on the ground. We...
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Sharpies on Plates
We’ve drawn on plates before. I bought a special porcelain pen for the occasion. Later, I learn about Sharpies on plates, works just as well as the porcelain pen and we have more colors at our disposal...
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6 tips to carve with kids: Happy Halloween
1. Carve your pumpkin outdoors or cover work area with newspaper for easy clean up. 2. If kids don’t like to feel the insides with their bare hands, use a garden, rubber, or winter glove to remove...
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Paper Hearts, Chalk and Boys
I wrap up our table in butcher paper, trace hearts all over the paper using a cardboard heart template and black sharpie, take out artist chalks, and let the boys decide how to take it from there....
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Tempra Paint, Invented Colors
I always ask the kids of HappyLittleMesses, “What is your favorite art material,” and “what would you like to do next week?” While, I don’t find it hard to please these little artists, I want to make...
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Oil Pastels and Watercolor Resist and a Monster Truck
The boys sneak toys in their pockets. A little piece of home on the go. Three monster trucks get smuggled into Happy Little Messes. The trucks are added to the table full of large papers, oil pastels...
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Etching: Tin Hearts
Me: What is etching? Children: Sketching? Itching? Me: Yes We prepare many cardboard hearts ahead of time. In class, we all wrap the hearts in tin foil and secured the back with tape. We etch lines and...
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Etching: Making Our Own Scratch Art
The kids of Happy Little Messes are challenged to use their arm and hand muscles to fill a paper with wax crayon marks. This challenge requires some endurance. The kids need small breaks and a little...
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