Art Lessons: Inset Designs

Our Didax plastic insets from amazon are a favorite activity.  All you need is the insets, colored pencils, paper cut to size, and a hard surface.  

There are ten shapes in the series (see below.)

We use the series of lessons found at Montessori world. You can see our progression above.  

1.  One pink inset traced, colored with straight lines, picking up the pencil each time. 

2.  One shape rotated.  

3.  Trace the window, then trace the actual shape and see how close you can get.

4.  Use more than one shape.

5.  Make a symmetrical design and play with color.

6.  Move the stencil over the page evenly to fill the whole sheet.

But, of course, I just show them these lessons each time I set it out.  BUT,  I don't interrupt whatever they decide to do with it.

Auntie's Coloring Book

My sister-in-law is SO TALENTED!  Look what she made for my kids for Christmas.  She's an artist in Asheville, NC at Woolworth Walk.

By far the best coloring book we've ever had.  The kids are so careful to color it well.

It just goes to show if you give children something special, they treat it with care.  

I hope we get one every year!

Motor Development: Melty Beads

I think they're commercially called "Perler Beads". But, these little guys are ridiculously entertaining.

Most importantly, they're MAGIC for that "pinch" in the tripod grasp. Little Kid struggles with writing and fine motor. He doesn't like to color or do anything that resembles it. These itty bitty wonders, though, have him practicing his fine motor for hours.

Now, I'm not an art mom. I don't want my kids activities to produce beloved creations that we have to save forever. I. Hate. Clutter. But these little guys are so stackable and petite that I don't mind keeping them around.

We've tried a mix of brands and let me tell you one thing...they aren't all the same size. The ones from Walmart won't fit the peg boards from the Dollar Store. That, and they iron differently. Some melt faster than others so you really don't want to mix them. Pick a brand and stick with it.

Materials Needed: melty beads with peg boards and ironing sheets, two dollar store cookie sheets, one tupperware to hold some beads, foam or construction paper for a cookie sheet liner, and an iron.

How to set up the center:

1. Pour a reasonable amount of beads into a tupperware with a TOP. (Do not get out the whole 8500 beads!) Set out one peg board per child.

2. Put out a tray with a lip for the work area. I use dollar store cookie trays lined with walmart foam or construction paper.

3. The tray at the top of the picture is usually for finished creations, ready to iron. Beware, your child should not carry these around the house before they're ironed. They fall apart really easily. Having a deposit spot on the table for those awaiting ironing avoids a lot of tears.

4. Iron the creations at the end of your school day.