diy kids - drive time

From Habitat magazine - issue 02

Children will make something out of anything. Here’s a way to help them make a car out of a supermarket box.

You’re going to need: Cardboard box, scissors, Resene Art Action – student acrylic paint, glue, paper plates, foil pie plates, heavy string.

Help your child cut all the flaps off a cardboard box, except the lower flap at the front. Now, it’s time to paint the box up like a car. Let them choose a snappy colour, and don’t forget to draw on the doors and handles. They might even like to paint a dashboard and window winders on the inside. Once the box is dry, they can glue paper plate wheels to the sides and pie dishes on the front for headlights. Make straps from front to back on each side from the string, step in and drive away!

Paper bag puppets

This is a great way to get children extending their imagination and involved in a little amateur dramatics!

You’re going to need: paper bags, Resene Art Action – student acrylic paint, glue, scissors, scrap materials such as paper, ribbons, foil etc...

Set the bag flat on a table, open end downwards – that’s where the hand is going to go in. Make a crease in the bag where the mouth will be, and then help your child to paint a face on the front. They might like to stick paper streamers, string, or ribbons on the top and back to make hair. The funnier the face and the wilder the hair, the more successful the puppet generally is. Then, it’s time to put on a show. Make up your own stories or act out a current favourite.

Blobbing

For really young children – and older ones with good imaginations – blob painting can be great fun. You’re going to need: paper, a brush, Resene Art Action – Resene student acrylic paint.

Show your child how to fold a sheet of paper in two. Open the sheet and help your child put big blobs of paint on one side of the fold. Re-crease the paper and press it under something hard and flat – a chopping board is ideal. Open the paper, and is it a bird, is it a plane? Once it’s dry, older children might like to cut out the blob and add it to their art collection.