Art group was a small affair this week -- just us and Molly and Stella. Everyone else was out of town or sick or had family visiting. We made string and balloon sculptures per Barbara Z's recommendation. She said it was a popular project in her preschool class and I've been wanting to try it with the kids.
Maia cut the string first thing in the morning. I think it was her favorite part of the whole project. Cutting string was easy and fun for her. She always wants to use her scissors, but is usually frustrated by not being able to cut paper well. Any tips on that, by the way?
When Molly and Stella showed up, we mixed paint and glue. Stella and Maia each squeezed a bottle of glue into a bowl. We added the paint colors that they chose, and they mixed the glue and paint together, adding water from a squeeze bottle to water it down a bit. I don't think we got the mixture quite right -- either we added too much paint, or maybe we shouldn't have watered it down. Not sure.
I hung the balloons from the swing set and the girls dipped pieces of string into the paint-glue mixture and draped them over the balloon. It was fun, if a bit tricky--the balloons kept moving, the string slid down the balloon until there were enough pieces to provide friction, the girls got paint in their hair and all over their bodies.
After a while the balloons were abandoned for the kiddie pool and water play.
I left them up until they dried, then popped the balloons. Kind of ghostly, don't you think? I think I'd try this again, but maybe inside over a bowl to hold it in place, and in a location that we could keep working on it over the course of a few days... Any tips, Anyone? Barbara?
