One of my favorite invitations to play is big art. I simply take a large piece of butcher paper and lay it on the floor with some art supplies. From there the child gets to create and expand upon the project as they want to. Sometimes I’ll add a basic scenery that they can add to, sometimes I leave it blank.
Today I made a beach scene for J.
The art supplies: dot markers, paint, markers, glue, sand, and felt stickers.
I’ve done big art with many of the children I used to work with and it’s truly great for any age.
Since J is two, this project is much more about the process of creating art instead of the product at the end. It’s all about learning how the art materials work, using is muscles to create, and his senses to experience the process.
As a child grows older, big art is great for expanding their imaginations and creating whole new worlds.
Since J’s world pretty much revolves around cars, they had to make an appearance too!
It was messy, but very easy to clean. It was a perfect rainy day activity that kept J’s attention longer than any activity we’ve done in a while. It was a full body, sensory experience that he loved!
Fun stuff! I really need to buy me some butcher paper. There are some great art project to use with that.