Creative Exploration

An Afternoon in the Sun

2010-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

An afternoon in the Sun
Bringing Art Outside with stuff in and around the house and yard

1.) Decorate the garden with branch trimmings and wool, string, ribbon, cloth, keys, shiny paper, feathers; anything that you can find that will shine, shimmer, or tie.
Add on long strings or pieces of cloth to catch the wind.

2.) Help kids create their own garden – let them choose the flowers and colors, add other outside art projects to brighten up their garden. Paint a garden sign, paint flower pots, paint rocks – create rock animals, paint bark, wood, old chairs. This can be an ongoing summer project.

3.) Make wind chimes with sticks (chop sticks make a great frame), shells, old nuts and bolts, keys, whatever you can find in the garage / shed.

4.) Make your own personalized hula hoop with colored ribbon and colored tape
Add beans or rice to the inside to make a musical hula hoop
The poly tubing usually used for irrigation is ideal for making hula hoops. Most hoopers use either 160 psi 3/4" diameter pipe (my favorite) or 100 psi 1" diameter. If you want a lighter hoop, or are making them for kids, use 100 psi 3/4" tubing. (Note: 160 psi 1" will make a very heavy hoop.) Tubing usually comes in 100 foot coils, and can be found at irrigation supply stores, and at some Home Depot and Lowe's-type retailers. (Prices range from $15-25 per 100' -- enough for 8 hoops)
Choose your hoop size - and cut. (My hoops are usually between 11'6" and 13' in circumference, but instead of measuring you could just make a loop that stands somewhere between navel and shoulder height.) You could use a hacksaw or a sturdy blade, but to make a safe, clean & easy cut, I've invested in a $12 ratcheting PVC cutter. It works beautifully.

5.) Chalk on driveway. Get the 3D chalk or the paintable chalk for some added fun. Chalk washes away with rain so let the kids go crazy!
Try making a chalk city with roads for toy cars, practice shapes, numbers, and letters.

6.) Paintbrushes and water on driveway, side of the house, a board. Great for young kids that loved to stuff things in their mouth!!!!!!

7.) Make a set of binoculars out of toilet tubes or egg cartons. Bring the camera (digital or their own disposable) on a nature walk with your binoculars and take pictures of what you discover. Get them to collect things along the walk. They can create a photo album or collage for their wall.

8.) Create a treasure map of your backyard. Follow along with your binoculars and find the hidden treasure. You can even make the ‘treasure’ together and bury it to find later.

9.) Make a kite. It is as simple as a sheet of paper and string. If you already have a kite, design a tail for better flying.

1.) Lay your paper down horizontally. Place the long sides of the paper on
top and bottom. This will help you get ready to make your own paper kite.
2.) Fold the paper in half and leave it folded. Do not unfold or your kite
will not be a success.
3.) Mark a point on the top edge 1/2-inch (12mm) in from the center fold.
4.) Mark a point on the bottom edge 3 inches (7.5 cm) in from the other side.
5.) Draw a line between the two points. Fold along this angled line.
6.) Pinch the first fold (the one straight down the center) to hold it closed,
as you fold back the wings along the second, angled fold line. You now have
the basic shape of the kite.
7.) Secure it together with a line of tape down the seam between the wings.
8.) Tape your stick across the top of the wings, horizontally, in line with
the side points.
9.) Use a hole-puncher to make a hole in the bottom flap, about one third of
the length from the narrower end of the flap (top of kite).
10.) Tie your kite string through the hole. Secure with a firm but gentle knot.
11.) Make a tail. This can easily be achieved by taping a length of ribbon,
plastic tape, strips of newspaper, etc. to the bottom end of the kite.
12.) Decorate your kite. Add sparkles, glitter; etc. Use pencils, pens and
paints to decorate. Do not attach anything extra or you will have an
unbalanced kite.

10.) Something on the messier and high energy side is squirt guns filled with watered down paint, shot at paper or an old sheet.

11.) Buckets of watered down paint with tennis balls. Kids can throw these paint filled balls at paper or a sheet up against a fence, side of the shed. The impact creates a splatter effect.

Bring out the sprinkler on days like these.

12.) Recycled Box designs – from small orange boxes to large fridge boxes. Make bird houses, playhouses, and insect collection boxes, make car garages for you chalk city. Or just give them some paint and a box and come up with the use later.

13.) Collect plastic containers wash them out and decorate them for storage. Puzzle pieces, jewels, or create buckets out of them by adding a handle for bugs, worms, or shells at the beach.

14.) Take beads outside. For younger ages, use larger beads and pipe cleaner. You will be amazed watching your 2 year old thread beads onto a pipe cleaner. For older kids, use beads and fishing line.

You can really bring all sorts of fun art stuff outside. Just set them up in a nice shady spot and get the imaginations soaring. From laying on your backs and finding shapes in the clouds to detailed treasure maps your limits are endless.

If you have a fun, outside art idea to share, please make a comment or post it on our facebook page. Search ‘Creative Exploration’ to join our group.

Spring Program details 2010

2010-04-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Spring Calendar

May 13th Explore the world of stamping. Use and create your own stamps and take home ideas to make stamps with things around the house.
-stamps and ink, sticky back foam and TP rolls, matte board cut outs, potatoes, paint and egg beaters

May 27th Dive into your senses with textures. Children will explore different textures through finger paint to buckets of goop.
-play dough with different textures, salt and paint, foam paint and combs, bucket of cornmeal goop, mixing and making your own goop, finger painting on sand paper, flour tray with toys

June 10th The Crazy world of PAINT! This fun class will teach children that there is more to painting then a paint brush and paint! They will paint with marbles, cars and trucks, spaghetti, salad spinners…and more!

June 24th Get Sticky and Build!!! Glues, tapes, stickers, what kinds of creation can you make from your recycling? This class will have no boundaries on how much tape or glue you need. Have fun taping and piling boxes watch them get higher and fall over. How high can you build your tower? There will be tin foil and crayons available to decorate these amazing towers.

Nature creations

2009-05-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Last week we made beautiful branches by weaving ribbons and yarn through branches. We created nature light switch covers for our bedrooms. We made nature gardens in clay. And of course nature printing of leaves, grass...whatever the kids could find in nature! It was a beautiful sunny day! We've put Iyla's branch in our garden for some color, I love it. That was my favorite of the day. Her light switch cover is in our bedroom. All of these activities are a fun way to get outside and look for different shapes and colors in nature.

This week, we are going to concentrate on making paper bag kites. The weather is calling for a chance of showers so we will set up under the covered area incase. But this could mean we might have some wind to fly our kites...that is if they dry in time. We were outside yesterday and saw some kids with some kites and thought it would be a great time making our own. So, I've got streamers, sparkles, paints, stickers everything to make the brightest, shiniest masterpiece in the sky!

Week 5 - Balloons!!!

2009-05-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

Hooray for the sun! We had a great day last Thursday. I acutally got a tan that day it was so nice out! I am happy too since it was Balloon theme. We had bubble wrap printing, which made a nice honey comb pattern. We had balloon heads and of course water paint balloons!!! I had a bunch of white sheets that I cut up and made into 'flags, capes, curtains...' whichever, and the kids had a great time jumping on the balloons; tie dying the material with wonderful paint explosions!!!! Super fun day, we had naked kids running around covered in paint - to me that is a very successful class of exploration.

This weeks theme is creating with nature. We will be branch weaving, grass printing, nature arranging with foam and clay, painting and printing nature and creating our very own nature light covers for our bedrooms!!! The weather forecast says sunny so hope to see you out! Don't worry I won't forget the cream this week.

Contact Info...

2009-05-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Parents,

Some how in the daze of it I have lost my cell phone so if you are wondering if class if running you can call my home phone 250.338.6310 as for the afternoon class...I will leave a message on my answering machine for you. I just hope that I find my phone. Another problem I am having is with my shaw account. Is anyone else only able to pull up their address book? This is really causing some problems with my online courses...
So if you have emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you this is why.
Becky

Tomorrows Theme...come on sun!

2009-05-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme is going to be the exploration of balloons! We are going to milk rubber gloves filled with paint and squeeze punctured balloons also filled with paint. I have looked up and mastered the water balloon fill up so we are going to do a water balloon splat as well as decorating balloon faces with all different kinds of materials. Children can use the materials supplied to create their balloon friends or take things from nature. Children will also explore bubble wrap printing. Now all of this is counting on the 'NO RAIN' factor once again. Thanks to some of you S.M.A.R.T parents I will bring a big tarp to set everything up on this time. There will, of course, be hot coffee and water and this week I will be bringing the ghetto!

Just letting parents and children know that this weekend, Sat 16th, is Market Days in Cumberland. There will be a kids zone activity tent set up. Creative Exploration will be providing art activities until 2 after which there will be scarecrow creating. The theme for Market day is the Olympics so art acitivities will include a tennis toss, mosaics, facepainting and other fun acitivies.

What luck...

2009-05-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

What luck, as soon as we change our classes to outside we have rain! I want parents and children that registered to note that the end of the spring program will be pushed back to the 25th of June because of our sick week and last week being rain.
We were able to have the morning class before it rained, I am calling that a test run. I forgot about the elements such as wind and paper flying around! So I really hope that it stops raining this week :(
Our theme for our first week outside was 'Art sports.' We played golf on paper, we used squirt guns and a combo of bowling and soccer with cups with paint sitting waiting to be kicked over from the soccer ball. Cups flew, paint didn't, it was an interesting try but not what I expected. The wind was blowing and it was cold, thanks to all the paretns and kids that bundled up and braved the weather last week for our first week outside. Lets hope for better weather this week...

Drawing with...

2009-05-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our first week outside!!!

2009-05-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Parents
sorry that things are going so slowly with photo posting, we were sick and we moved, now I am waiting for Telus to get our internet connection going. Luckily,Matts laptop can pick up some wireless signal around here. This weeks theme is going to take full advantage of being outside 'ART SPORTS!' We are going to turn sports into our painting tools. It should be fun, messy and silly. Lets hope for good weather, i am hoping that the rain will be over at the beginning of the week, saving the sun for the end of the week. There will still be hot coffee and tea available for parents. Please add one week to the Spring program to make up for our sick week. Again, I apologise for the short notice. Matt posted a note on the door, apparently, it was no longer there for the afternoon class. That being that he put it on the right door... I hope everyone took advantage of the free coffee and tea at Tarell's. Cross your fingers for sun on Thursday, remember no class if it rains!
Thanks again for your patience with all the changes in my life right now.
Becky & Iyla

Food creations

2009-04-20T22:05:00.001-07:00

Food creations...I wanted so badly to paint with spaghetti that I decided on Food as a theme. At the time, I had a bit of a mental block past different fruit and veggie stamps and spaghetti noodles. I am so happy that I thought of the potato heads, they were great!!! Parents, if you are looking for something to pass the time potato heads are fun and great. I will be adding those to the list of awesome crafts to do with kids! I have since thought of some other fun things to do with food so next time I guess. We did try a combination of yahtzee and marble painting with dried beans, paint, yogurt containers, and paper. I thought that if we put the paint in the container with some beans and put the lid on SHAKE IT, and then dump the beans onto the paper below it would be exciting. It was interesting but found out less if more with the paint in this situation. Marble painting seems to work out much easier as far as mixing colors and such. Our food stamps we great, I am a huge fan of potato stamping - easy and you can cut whatever shapes you want or need. Red peppers were great and apples are another favorite!
I would like to say a big hello to the new brother in Lily and Nadia's house. Hooray girls, and welcome baby boy.

Spring 2009 - Easter

2009-04-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

So sorry that it took me so long to get this post up! Easter is already been and gone, 2 weeks late I am! We have been in the middle of moving and I am really enjoying this weather! Love being outside right now! So the Spring program has started, we are 2 weeks in. Our first week being Easter theme, we wore bunny noses and hopped from table to table creating all different kinds of art. The kids made shakers out of those plastic eggs. They put dried lentils and beans into their plastic containers, mom taped it shut...viola music! I put out glitter glue and sticky foam shapes for decorating the eggs, they looked great! And alot of fun. Kids made easter baskets out of yogurt containers, tissue paper and paint. I saw a few of them out at the local egg hunt with their baskets, it was great! I made up some festive stamps which I quite liked. I think that its time that Becky puts the stamps away for abit I think... Oh and lets not forget play dough bunnys with pipecleaner!!! Actually we even had some playdough Easter sluggs! Easter is always fun, exciting and full of sugar, I tried to get the first 2, leaving out the third for Sunday, I think it worked. I love seeing kids in their easter outfits, noses, ears and smiles. Iyla...chocolate mustache

Last week of the Winter program

2009-04-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

With all the snow and frost finally starting to melt, we celebrated Spring in our last class of the Winter program! We decorated flower pots and planted some sunflower seeds, Iyla's is already stating to pop out of the soil!!! We created colorful pom pom caterpillar creatures on leaves, everyone loved the feeling of running their hands through the box of pom poms. We created mosaic butterflies with different kinds of dried veggies and noodles. And we decorated flowers with tissue paper. A complete celebration to spring!
Thanks to all the parents and children, we managed to donate $100 to the No. 6 Mine park this time around.

Easter Theme

2009-04-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

This week...Easter!!!! Don't worry parents I won't have candy, I am sure that they will get enough this weekend without me contributing! Hope to see all your little bunnies this Thursday for the first week of the Spring Program!
Don't forget all of you afternoon people time change from 2-3 to 1-2.

Egypt inspired Art

2009-03-31T07:10:00.001-07:00

With my usual camera in for cleaning, I tried to catch all the action going on with my point and shoot. I brought back some papyrus paper for the kids to feel and create Egyptian art in the traditional way. There was the full heiroglyphic alphabet in stamps with a key so that everyone could spell their names. Most were having trouble fitting their whole names on one sheet of paper! We also made 3D pyramids which proved to be a bit of a challenage getting them to fit together. But once together the kids went to work gluing different colored sand on each side of the pyramid. (Hint: for different colors of sand put salt in a container with food coloring and shake) We also made colored sand layers in small containers. Some kids made them into beautiful necklaces. I added this acitivity last mintue and the kids loved it, great one for an at home project. I had also printed out some Egyptain coloring pages from the internet - great place to find lots of interesting pages for kids to color. I cut them out and everyone was able to choose the image that they liked, glue it on their papyrus paper, and color. The finished projects were remenisent of the paintings you could purchase everywhere in Egypt.

This week is our last week of the Winter program and we are going to celebrate Spring by planting a seed and decorating the pot. Focus will be on mosaics. Hope to see you there! The Spring program will follow directly after the Winter program starting on April 9th. Note afternoon class time change to 1-2pm.

Egypt Inspired art

2009-03-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to explore Egypt through colored 'sand', pyramids, papyrus paper, and hieroglyphics. We will learn Arabic numbers 0-9 and the hieroglyphic alphabet through stamps and stencils. The kids will decorate 3D pryamid cut outs with colored sand and explore papyrus paper with paint.
We look forward to seeing everyone again soon.
Becky & Iyla

Stamps & Stencils

2009-02-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

The wonderful and endless world of stamps!!! Today each table had a kind of grouping of different kinds of stamps. We had the traditional rubber and foam stamps with ink pads. The kids got very creative and started coloring their stamps with felts and stamping them down! It worked great! Something I would never have thought of, I love kids! We had the magic marker table that was a huge hit with the older girls. But I have to credit that to crayola. I just thought that tracing stencils would be way more fun if you used magic markers! We had your regular kitchen utensils, the gravy beaters were very popular. I loved the pattern the masher left behind. Actually the egg cartons were very cool as well, they looked like bolts. We had a sponge table where I took regular sponges and cut out shapes. I also loved the texture of these. Reminded me of a dried bubble pattern? Oh and a great one for home is sticky back foam shapes stuck to matte board or card board rolls. The kids can stick the foam onto the board and then use that as a home made stamp. The card board roll was awesome because it made an endless line of stamping fun! All you need for ink pads are facecloths folded into 4s and then watered down tempura paint soaked into the cloth.
I am off to Egypt next week so I will see all of you on the 26th!!

Painting with Chance

2009-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

Painting with chance was such a fun day! Everyone loved the salad spinners and paint, they turned out beautiful. Malaika had a great idea of turning them into a mobile once they were dry. For those of you that missed last class, watch for my art tutorial on what to do with salad spinners and paint on 'Our Big Earth'.
We brought out the marbles and paint as well. They were creating some great paint tracks. I was finding marbles all over the floor during clean up. I am sure that I didn't find them all. So that everyone knows, I kept all the left behind art and it is dry and ready to take home next week.
Some great print making took place in the afternoon class where the kids explored mixing the paint together with their fingers, sometimes drawing in the paint and then putting paper on top and making a print on paper. These turned out amazing! Almost like paper blots.
We also tried paper towel dying. We folded the paper towel up and then dipped the towel into the food coloring and then unfolding the towels and seeing the wonderful designs left behind. They were hard to unfold so there was some discusion around using cotton material which would probably look great.
I had a great time, took me alittle while to wake up from my morning haze, but all the smiles were so worth it!

Last week before break!!!!

2009-02-20T22:22:00.000-08:00

This is our last week before a 2 week break.

This class we are going to explore stamps and stencils. More painting, some tracing and ink.
Hope to see you there!
Becky & Iyla

Painting Surprises

2009-02-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

This week will be filled with tons of surprises when we put the paint in, shake it up, and then take a look! The wonderful and interesting world of chance.

Salt Dough Recipe

2009-02-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Salt Dough Recipe

2 cups of plain flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of warm water

Knead the dough for about 5-10 mins. Make shapes and let air dry for 30-48 hrs or cook for about an hr (depending on size of shapes) in oven at about 175 F. Let cool and paint.

Valentine's Day Crafts

2009-02-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

Valentine's crafts were fun! Iyla and I made some salt dough heart shapes the night before for painting. Iyla loved that table, I think she painted 10. Oh and lets not forget the sparkles! Anyone elses magnets not stick because of sparkles?
I loved the heart flowers personally. I have them in my window sill, they are so retro looking. I should post a photo of the few that we made. I got the idea from maya made, I have a link under my links list, check it out. I brought back the beads and pipe cleaner because who doesn't love a heart shaped beaded pipe cleaner? And thanks to Henry and Faye's dad we learnt that you can make a skateboard out of beads and pipe cleaner too.
I got crafty and made some potato heart stamps which worked great! I loved the look of the texture they left behind. I also set up a table full of heart collage. That was a pretty fun table full of sparkle glue, heart cut outs, ink stamps, and markers. I personally really liked the look of the newspaper hearts, something about the unplanned look of the cut out. Iyla and I had a great time preparing and creating the Valentine's day crafts!
Hope everyone has a great, happy Valentine's day and will see you all next week.
Becky & Iyla
PS A big congrats to Max who is now a BIG brother to his new little sister Linden. So exciting!

EGYPT!!!!

2009-02-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

I am going to Egypt in March for 2 weeks!!!! My best friend is teaching grade 7 there at an International school. I will be visiting her during her spring break which happens to fall on the last 2 weeks of the program, March 5th and 12th. I want to move the last 2 weeks of class ahead to March 26th and April 2nd. If these new dates do not work with your schedule please let me know and we can workout something that works for your family.

I will be moving the start dates of the spring schedule. Does anyone have a different day that they would like to have the class on? I am at the stage where I feel like I need to set ages to each class and time, as well as, a more defined program guide.
I am still hoping for a space to help with all this growing.

Please feel free to email me with any questions and/or suggestions.
Thank you
Becky

Valentine's Day

2009-02-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last week was my first week without Margret and can you believe it, I didn't get any photos?! I thought that I would try beading, lacing, weaving, sewing. It was just not messy enough for me!! This week is a couple of days before Valentine's day so we are going to create some Valentine inspired arts. Lots of sparkles, hearts, glue, and paint.

Thinking about changing the set up of the class. I have been tossing around the idea of, instead of having the whole class as a theme, having each table dedicated to one kind of material and each week using that material differently. That way if a child likes paint, there will always be paint. Or if a kid likes glueing there will always be a differrent glueing project. After next weeks class I am going to give this new set up a try and see how it goes. I would also like to end the class with an interactive story or song which will maybe help with the last 15 mins.

See you next week
Becky & Iyla

The Creative World of String

2009-02-02T21:33:00.001-08:00

Did you know that such a world existed? Well it does and we are going to explore it this week! Weaving, lacing, stringing, hanging, painting, sparkleing, glueing. String madness!

Sculpture day fun

2009-01-31T18:48:00.000-08:00

An interesting mix of play dough, tin foil cruppling, plaster - MESS!!!, and ice sculptures. I spent all week trying to freeze ice outside but had no luck at all, did anyone know that it isn't freezing outside? So I managed to get some smaller sizes of colored ice frozen and put the ice and salt theory to the test. It worked kind of. I think maybe those experiments work better when it is outside with still freezing conditions? In the end we had a lot of colored fingers!
I also thought that by putting plaster in zip lock bags and molding inside the bag would be awesome for mess and for those kids that do not like the feeling of mucky stuff between their fingers. BUT my plaster mixing techniques are not the best and well majority agreed that paper plates, plaster, and sticking things inside worked better.
Play dough was a hit as always. Who doesn't love playdough?
I also had a table filled with different things that the kids could stick into a flower arranging foam. That was a pretty big hit with the kids. The am group stuffed their foam blocks with as much as they could. The pm kids cut their blocks up with scissors and made animals out of them. Very cool.
I tried a few other ideas that were just interesting to see what would happen. Thanks again to everyone for coming out and sculpting! Hope to see you next week for some more silly fun!

Big thanks to all parents!

2009-01-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Becky: Thank you very much for your generous donation to the No. 6 Mine Heritage Park. The money has
been placed in the park account and earmarked for playground equipment as requested. As we are a volunteer group working under the supervision of the Village of Cumberland any capital projects or expenditures must be pre-approved by the Village before they are purchased and placed in the park. I had just submitted a list of projects for the new budget year before receiving your donation. However at our committee meeting tomorrow we will bring up the topic of new playground equipment and then hopefully submit a proposal to the Village for their approval.
As we discussed before the park is increasingly being used by more parents and their younger children and some new playground equipment would certainly prove exciting for the children.
I will keep you posted as to our progress......and once again many thanks for your assistance.

I will also put your idea of a Sunday afternoon children's concert on the agenda. Personally this shouldn't be a problem as you would just go through the regular booking procedure with the Village office as the other user groups currently do.

Sincerely: Ron Bannerman
Chair: No. 6 Mine Heritage Committee

All kinds of brushes

2009-01-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

This week we explored different types of paint brushes. We tried, feathers, string, cars, actual paint brushes, rollers, sticky hands, and straws. The tip of the ice berg as far as what you can use to paint with. We also explored black and white paint with black and white paper. It was a busy class and the smocks sure came in handy with all the paint flying around!!!

This week coming is the wonderful world of SCULPTURE!!! I am very excited for this class, we are going to build things, paste things, mold things and arrange things. It will be a busy morning, I am, as always, looking forward to it!

An update on money raised for the Miners Park thus far is $43 dollars!! That makes $203 to date.
Thanks everyone and hope to see you this week.
Becky & Iyla

Finger painting & Textures

2009-01-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

Finger painting was, as always, fun and messy!! This time around we had combs to run through the paint which made some interesting designs. It worked especially well with the soapy paint, a favorite with the kids. (Check out the recipes section to make it yourself at home.) This time for the gritty paint I used sugar instead of salt...this made the paint drying process sticky and it never dried. So sorry to the parents that left those particular paintings behind, I just couldn't store them. We had some great finger painting murals that the whole class worked on. I loved the way the colors mixed and created new colors, they were so vibrant! We also added some textured paper in the mix, this was an interesting experiment which lasted only seconds for most children.
Sorry to everyone that it has taken me so long getting these photos posted this week, we had abit of computer trouble.

As for this week's theme / topic... DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINT BRUSHES!!!
This class is usually quite messy and very fun! Since I have art smocks now I thought a messy class would be perfect to put them to the test! Look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow.
Becky & Iyla

Textures & Fingers

2009-01-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

This week we are going to explore painting and drawing with our fingers...FINGERPAINTING!!! We are also going to explore different textures as we paint with our fingers. There will be several paint stations set up, so wear your painting clothes!! We will also explore 'drawing in the sand' with our fingers. This class the children will experience textures though touch and basic color theory - yellow and blue make green. We look forward to seeing all of you.
Becky and Iyla

ICE and SNOW!

2009-01-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

Creative Thursday mornings are back AND Creative Exploration is also offering Creative afternoons for morning preschoolers and kindergardeners. We had a great turn out in the am, thanks to everyone that came out to explore! It was great to see some familiar faces and to meet some new ones.
Our winter theme went well, the kids loved the snow painting!! Alittle slippery but looked delicious! I painted some blue and wanted to eat it, it reminded me of snow cones...yum!
The ice cube paintings were so interesting...the kool aid one was a learning curve for all. I kept the paintings left behind and they look so great!
See you all next week
Becky and Iyla

Round 2!

2009-01-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

In celebration of our winter weather we have been having this year...I thought we would explore a winter theme! I will bring hot chocolate for the kids, as well as, the regular coffee and tea for the parents.

We are going to paint snow sculptures, indoors - don't worry, and explore 3 interesting ice cube painting techniques! Don't worry the heat will be on!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and to meet some new friends this year.

Happy New Year everyone
Becky

Art Smocks

2008-12-29T18:41:00.001-08:00

This year Creative Exploration is going to provide children with smocks to use while they explore and create. These smocks are made on Vancouver Island, Motessori based. The kids will learn to put them on, clean them, and put them away. They are handmade out of vynal, so very durable and colorful.

If anyone is interested in ordering their own art smock, you can do so through me or contact Breana directly. She also makes portable highchairs and bibs.

island monkeez
Breana
250.591.5240
islandmonkeez@yahoo.ca

Christmas Craft hour

2008-12-12T15:20:00.001-08:00

I had a great time during the Christmas craft hour! There were a bunch of new friends that came out and a bunch of you usuals. Thank you so much to everyone that came out, we raised $22 for the No. 6 Mine Park. So far we have raised $160, I think that that is awesome! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year and I hope to see you all again next year.

Christmas Craft hour

2008-12-12T15:18:00.001-08:00

Register for Jan 2009 NOW!

2008-11-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas Poster

2008-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

Canvas

2008-11-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

Our first program is finished and I just want to thank all the children and parents that came out and explored with me. I learnt alot about the kids and the materials! I hope that everyone enjoyed the canvasas and has a masterpiece for their walls. I had a great time learning with all of you and your children, I feel extremely lucky to have found my 'niche.'
I have started registration for Jan 09 already but hope to see familiar faces at the christmas craft hr in Dec.

Canvas

2008-11-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Canvas

2008-11-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Craft

2008-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Creative Exploration is hosting a Christmas craft hour in Dec. I will have 2 - 3 different crafts for the kids to explore, leaving as much interpretation and exploration as I can for them. We are going to make Christmas cards and wrapping paper with snowflake prints, snow globes, sculpt soapy snowmen, and decorate pine cones with as many sparkles as any child can get their hands on! It will be the regular drop in fee of $10 with $1 going to the No.6 Mine Park, on Dec. 11th at 10 - 11am at the regular place - Cumberland Community Church on 3rd and Penrith.
Hope to see you there!
Becky

Punch Cards

2008-11-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

New Punch Cards

Ideal for parents and families that are not able to make it every week. Just purchase a $45 punch pass good for 5 classes. This will save you $5 off of 5 drop ins. Same rules apply, pay per parent.

DVD's on Sale

2008-11-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot, I will take DVD orders from interested parents on the last day of classes and then will mail them out to you. All the DVDs will be the same group of photos seen on the blog taken from the last 10 weeks. DVD's are $10 each and $5 will be donated to the No.6 Mine Park.

Last Week

2008-11-17T09:40:00.001-08:00

Hello Parents
Just reminding you that this is the last week of our first 10 week program. Creative Exploration will start up again in Jan, please let me know if you want to sign up again and if you have a preferred day in mind, I am flexible. What do you think of a punch card rather then a registration fee? I have been thinking of just running the program weekly from Jan until May and just offering punch cards for Parents to purchase much like the Rec. center. I may have a few questions for people to fill out on Thursday to help me make some decisions for Jan.
I am planning a Christmas craft for the beginning of Dec. I will send out an email with the date once all is in order.
This week we are bringing back a few favorites and introducing a few new ones because this week everyone gets their own canvases!!!! I am so excited for all the parents to have a masterpiece hanging in their homes! Remember all the left over art work from the last 10 weeks will be hung up at the Cumberland Rec center during playgroup on Friday. So you can take home any of your childs work left behind or just admire all the beautiful work.
See you on Thursday
Becky

More Painting Fun!

2008-11-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

Tracing

2008-11-08T16:32:00.001-08:00

Not too many photos this week because it was busy!!! Hello and thank you to all of our new friends that dropped in last Thursday. Week 8, Tracing, dot to dot, building puzzel pictures, spray painting stencils. I was quite partical to the puzzel pieces table, if I could have I would have built puzzel pics all class. Instead, I cut them out!!! It was interesting watching the kids trace all the objects and shapes on the table. I liked seeing the pictures that they were building and creating like putting stars on top of trees and finger nails on fingers. The spray paint was a hit as always but I think that I should invest in some better sprayers for the kids. My last minute stencils didn't hold up either...should use a better material for those. Next time.
Next week, week 9...I have so many great ideas that I want to save for the canvases on week 10 but maybe I could bring out all the favs from all the previous weeks for week 10?

Tracing

2008-11-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

Book Your Party today!!

2008-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Book Creative Exploration for your child's birthday party. I will customize the art projects to suit your child and party. I will provide all supplies, table cloths, newpapers, and wash cloths for clean up. Allow 1 hr from start to finish. Costs will vary depending on number of children attending the party and art activity chosen.
Call Becky at 250.336.2132 to book your party today.

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!! Today was a great time! I loved watching everyone painting each others faces and seeing the kids paint their own faces. Painting with noodles was awesome! The paintings were amazing! They reminded me of the toy car paintings that we made a few weeks ago. I hope that everyone has a great halloween and we will see you next week!

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween fun

2008-10-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Halloween Fun

2008-10-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Goopy Recipes

2008-10-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Goop
you will need:
Cornflour and water

Slowly mix the water into the cornflour. The goop should have a thick consistency; add extra water if wanted. Add food coloring for different colors!

Rubbery Goop
you will need:
2 cups of baking soda
1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of cornstarch

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth. This mixture needs to boil and be stirred constantly until it is thick. Remove from the heat and cool.

Slimy Goop
you will need:
1/2 cup white glue
food coloring
1/4 cup liquid starch
wooden spoon

Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Have fun!

Money Raised to date

2008-10-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

Only a few weeks left of the first 10 week program. I can't believe it, it has gone so fast! So far, we have raised $83 towards the No.6 Mine Park in Cumberland!! That is awesome, hopefully we will have new stuff for the kids to play on next summer.

Collage!!

2008-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Collage!!...and playdough

2008-10-25T21:37:00.001-07:00

Collage!!

2008-10-25T14:39:00.001-07:00

Sculpture Recipes

2008-10-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Best Basic Play dough
you will need:
small batch large batch
1 cup flour 3 cups flour
1/2 cup salt 1 1/2 cups of salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar 3 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup of water 3 cups of water
3/4 tablespoon of vegetable oil 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
food coloring food coloring

Mix everything together and cook over low heat. Stir constantly until dough is no longer sticky. Cool and place in sealable container. Store in fridge.

No cook Bakers Clay
you will need:
4 cups flour
1 cup of salt
1 teaspoon of powdered alum
2 cups of water
food coloring

Mix the dry ingredients together and slowly add water. knead for several minutes. divide dough into smaller balls and then add different food coloring. Seal in air tight containers.

you can cook this dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins in an oven set at 250. turn dough over and bake for another 30 mintues.

Great Play clay
you will need:
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups baking soda
1 1/4 cups water
liquid tempura paint or food coloring

Mix dry ingredients together and slowly add water mixed with coloring and stir. cook on low heat for approx. 15 to 20 mins. stirring constantly. This play dough will harden if air dried and may be painted.

Fluffy Snow Play dough
you will need:
1 cup Detergent Flakes
2 cups warm water
electric mixer

First add the food coloring to water. Then add soap flakes and beat with mixer until soap is fluffy and can be manipulated.

No cook Super Sand Play Dough
you will need:
4 cups of clean play sand
3 cups of flour
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

combine flour, water, salt, and oil in bowl. Knead until it forms ball. If too dry add water. This is for children that enjoy tactile experiences.

Sensational Sand Castle Clay
you will need:
2 cups sand
1 cup water
1 cup cornstarch
mixing bowl

Mix ingredients in a saucepan and cook over a low heat until thick and clay like.

Natural Play dough

You will need:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
mixing bowl
fruit and vegetable juices

Mix flour, salt, and oil together and slowly add water. cook over meduim heat while stirring constantly. dough is ready when it forms a ball and becomes stiff. Divide into 3 or 4 different balls. Add one of the following to each ball of dough for coloring: grape juice, carrot juice, beet juice, spinach juice, or orange juice.

Sculpture

2008-10-17T14:36:00.001-07:00

Sculpture

2008-10-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

Sculpture!!!

2008-10-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

This was fun!! The play dough was fun for everyone to explore. My favorite, along with alot of others, was the garlic press; worms galore!!! I also loved the plaster creations, the hand idea didn't quite work out but the sparkles were a definate hit. Oh and thanks to Henry who just wanted to poke and play until his hands were almost part of the plaster. It was a nice switch from paint and I am glad that the kids enjoyed pressing, poking, playing, and forming sculptures.

Next week we are going to Collage!!! Children are going to explore the world of glue, shapes, stickers, and pattern. I think we'll bring back the markers to add alittle more to the exploration.

Switching it UP!

2008-10-11T09:35:00.001-07:00

Hello Parents
I know that I said watercolor painting next week, but I thought I would switch it up for the kids and do some sculpture!!! We are going to exlpore Play dough, plaster, and paper mache!

I am also helping out with the Harvest Fair on Oct. 18th from 11-12 with some more nature printing!!! So if you missed last week or you just had a great time come out and enjoy some more nature printing and Fruit stamping. There will be fun, free activities for kids all day. The Harvest Fair is in the Cultural center in Cumberland (across the street from the Rec center)

Leaf Printing and Fruit Stamping

2008-10-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Leaf Printing and Fruit Stamping

2008-10-11T09:29:00.001-07:00

Leaf Printing and Veggie & Fruit Stamping

2008-10-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

I collected so many leaves and things, I was so looking forward to seeing the prints left behind! Some worked and some not so well, like the bark hey Kailey and Faye. But the poppy seed pods were interesting star shapes. I discovered mixing the paint on the oranges was also quite interesting. The kids looked like they were having fun anyways, which is the most important part!

This week

2008-10-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Week 4, I can't believe it!! This week we are going to explore nature printing and fruit and veggie stamping!!! Not as messy as last week but still exploring the many uses of paint! I have been speaking to parents and have had a suggestion about displaying the art work for everyone to enjoy after the 10 week program. I think that this is an awesome idea! I am saving work that is left over at the end of classes and if any one wants to bring work that they have brought home thats cool too. I was thinking that maybe we could use the gym during one of the drop in playgroup times. Anyone else have a suggestion for a place?
See you all on Thursday!!

Painting with THINGS!!!!

2008-10-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

Week 3, awesome!!! So much fun, everyone is getting to know each other and kids are starting to warm up to the idea of playing with art. Sorry it took a few days to get these up, pears pears too many pears!! Happy birthday Henry, thanks for sharing your birthday with us! I finally got a photo with a smurk on your face! Yey! The tennis balls were not as big of a hit as I thought they would be and the cars were bigger then I expected! Great, actually the art the kids were creating from the car tracks was beautiful, loved the mixed colors the red and blue created. And who could forget the amazing spray painting!!? Really cool, REALLY WET!!!!
Next week, we are using paint again but this time children are learning all about printing and stamps. Should be fun, I'm sure I can find something that we all don;t want to do at home...
See you all next week.
Becky

Painting with THINGS!!!!

2008-10-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Painting with THINGS!!!!

2008-10-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting - Textures

2008-09-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Painting with body parts turned into finger painting pretty quickly once the rain started coming down. I had set up the foot print/mural stuff outside but not the weather for it. I was looking forward to this one the most too. Oh well, maybe in the spring. However, Quinn did give it a try. Thanks Quinn.
There were 3 tables of different colors and textures inside for children to feel and paint. I was surprised at how many kids didn't like the feeling of the paint on their hands. Next time will have more alternate activities provided for those kids. Lots of kids loved the hands washing station more then the paint stations. But it was good, I learned alot and I think the kids did too. Things can only get better from here. I am enjoying watching parents and kids explore together, which was the basis of where my idea came from for this class. I love seeing the uninhibitated art created by children. It is a wonderful thing to not have any expectations. I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week for Painting with different 'brushes.'
We are going to explore tennis balls, string, feathers, paint brushes, spray bottles, straws, and marbles. It is going to be a busy, fun morning!!!!
Thanks to all the parents who left suggestions, the more the merrier. I want the class to be fun for everyone. See you next week!!!

Finger Painting - Textures

2008-09-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting - Textures

2008-09-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting - Textures

2008-09-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting Recipes

2008-09-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

Body Paint for Kids
you will need:
baby shampoo
powdered tempura paint
mixing bowls
spoon

Gradually add the powdered tempura paint directly to the shampoo until you achieve the desired color and consistency.

Clown Face Paint
you will need:
baby lotion
powdered tempura paint
liquid dish washing detergent
mixing bowls
spoon

Mix together 1/2 teaspoon of powdered tempura paint with 1/4 cup of baby lotion. Add a generous squirt of liquid dish washing detergent. Make a variety of clown colors. Let the children experiment with putting the clown paint on their faces. This face paint will clean up easily with soap and water.

Soapy Paints
You will need:
Detergent flakes
water
food coloring or tempura paint
mixing bowl
electric mixer
spoon

Using the electric mixer, beat the detergent flakes and water until a creamy mixture is formed. You can keep the soap flakes white and use them on a dark piece of paper and try adding color to the mixture. Use this paint while freshly whipped.

Window Finger Paint
you will need:
Liquid tempura paint
paintbrushes
tape
newspapers
containers for the paint
liquid dish washing detergent

Use the tape and newspaper to protect the walls and floor. Mix liquid dish washing soap into the paint to help make the paint-removal easier. Let the children create a window masterpiece.

'Edible' Finger Paints

Whipped cream creations
you will need:
whipped cream
food coloring
mixing bowl
spoon
thick paper or paper plate

Combine only a drop or two of food coloring with the whipped cream. Too much food coloring will cause the whipped cream to go runny.

Super Sticky Finger Paint
you will need:
corn syrup
food coloring
various containers for storing paint
mixing bowls
spoon
finger paint paper

Mix the corn syrup with only a drop or two of food coloring. Mix well. This finger paint is very sticky and wet, but when it dries, it will no longer feel sticky and will look incredibly shiny.

Yummy Yogurt Finger Paint
you will need:
1/2 carton plain yogurt
1/2 package flavored gelatin
mixing bowl
spoon
finger paint paper

Mix all of the ingredients together and finger paint!

Textured finger Paints

Mix sand, sugar or salt with finger paint.

And lets not forget about 'No Mess' Painting

Just water, paint brushes and a sidewalk or driveway.

Painting with Body Parts!!

2008-09-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

This week we are exploring paint with body parts. So parents make sure you wear your grubbies too because shirts are going to be rolled up and socks are coming off! How am I going to stop the room from being covered in paint? Still not too sure...lots and lots of newspaper and a hose off station? Don't worry I will have a few clean up stations around the room and lots of plastic bags for dirty clothes. If anything it should be a good laugh. See you on Thursday.
Becky

Land of all kinds of Markers

2008-09-18T21:34:00.004-07:00

Thanks to everyone who joined me in Cumberland for a fun hr of marker exploration. We raised $16 dollars for the No.6 Mine Park today! Thank you Shirley for unlocking the door for me and all your help this morning.
Click on any photo to enlarge.

Land of all kinds of Markers cont...

2008-09-18T21:34:00.003-07:00

Land of all kinds of Markers cont...

2008-09-18T21:34:00.002-07:00

Land of all kinds of Markers cont...

2008-09-18T21:34:00.001-07:00

Land of all kinds of Markers cont...

2008-09-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of 'Creative Exploration.' I had planned over and over in my head how I was going to introduce the class and each table. What I was going to say and how I was going to losely structure the class time. Well the kids started to arrive and just got to it! Never mind any introductions. The mural was a huge hit, which I am so happy about, it looked great! I love group projects! I was happy to finally meet everyone in person and to watch the children go crazy on the nearest piece of paper!

Please feel free to leave a comment on how you thought the class went and if you have any ideas or suggestions for next time. Thank you
Becky Wortman
[f]oto
beckywortmanfoto.blogspot.com
beckywortman@shaw.ca
250.336.2132

Recipes:

Bathtub Crayon Soap

you will need:
Soap flakes
water
food coloring
electric mixer
ice cube tray
mixing bowl
plastic spoons

Combine 2 cups of water with a generous 1/4 cup of soap flakes and mix until stiff with an electric mixer. Spoon the soapy mixture into an ice cube tray. Add 2 to 3 drops of food coloring to each section and mix with a coffee stir stick or spoon. Let the soap harden. These crayons are great fun in the bathtub.

Homemade Rainbow Crayons

you will need:
broken crayons
small muffin tin

Fill each muffin tin with four or five different colored broken crayon pieces. Place in a 400 oven just long enought for the crayons to melt. Watch carefully, they melt fast! If you leave them too long they will melt together. They cool quickly and pop out of the tins easier when put in the freezer.

Solid Color Crayons

Fill sauce pan with 2 1/2 inches of water. Take an empty tin can and pinch the top to create a pouring spout. Set the can in the water. Using medium heat, bring water to boil. Fill the can with broken crayons of same color. When they have melted, pour melted wax into paper cupcake liners. Try layering different colors. Or try making new colors by mixing together colors, ex. mix blue and yellow to make green.

Remeber next week is PAINTING!!! So wear your grubbies because it is going to be messy! I can't wait to see the photos.

LAND OF MARKERS

2008-09-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Sept. 18th - LAND OF MARKERS!!

We will be exploring crayons, pencil crayons, pastels, and markers!!! Washable of course. Children will practice holding the crayons and maybe even discover which hand they prefer. Children will explore the difference between all the different kinds of 'crayons' available and maybe decide on a favorite. There will be an emphasis on color, line and texture with each exploration station.

Note to Parents: Please note that our first day may last a little longer, about 30 min, for registration and introductions. If you are unable to stay, no problem we will take care of your needs first.

Only 1 week left!
See you soon
Becky

Registration Policy

2008-09-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Don't worry parents...
Creative Exploration only charges PER PARENT!!!! (up to 3 kids per parent)
So families of 4 come out and explore with Creative Exploration because kids are 'free.'

The registration fee is $80 per parent for 10 weeks and $10 of your registration fee is donated for future upgrades of the No. 6 Mine park. The same goes for drop in fees, $10 per parent and $1 of that is donated to the park. Lets get some swings!!

Hope to see you out
First class starts Sept. 18th and seats are filling up fast!!
Becky Wortman
[f]oto
beckywortman@shaw.ca
childrenscreativeexploration.blogspot.com
250.336.2132

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

2008-08-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

The art class has a location!!!

2732 Penrith and 3rd street (the brown church behind 'The Gatehouse Bistro & Gallery)
Cumberland

When you get there follow the 'Creative Exploration' signs

Looking forward to seeing all of you there

Becky Wortman [f]oto
250.336.2132

Survey

2008-08-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Help me to create an art class taliored to you and your family. Please fill out your answers and send them to
Beckywortman@shaw.ca or leave them in the comment box.
Thank you for your participation

Do you have children between the ages of 1 1/5 to 5 years old?

__yes ___no

1. Approx. how much time do you spent on creating with your children weekly?

a) under 30 mins b) 30mins - 1 hr c) 1hr-2hrs d) 2hrs - up

2. If there was an art class offered to young children and parents would you be interested in participating in it?

__yes ___no

3. Which day of the week would be better for you and your child?
Mark an X to all that apply.

__Monday
__Tuesday
__Wednesday
__Thursday
__Friday
__Saturday
__Sunday

4. What are some of the activities you would like to see included in an introductory art class for you and your child?
Mark an X to all that apply

__learning to holding pencils, markers, paintbrushes
__learning color, shape, texture, emotion, mark making
__sharing
__exploration
__collage/glue
__group projects
__face painting
__tracing and stencils
__painting
__stamps
__self expression
__developing creativity
__other_________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

5. What would be your weekly price budget for an art class?

a) $5 for 1/2 hr b) $8 for 1 hr c) $10 for 1 hr

6. Which would you prefer?

a) registration fee for 10 classes b) drop in fees c) both

7. Would you like to be able to go to an online site and show friends and family photos of you and your child's art class each week. Posted photos will include finished art work, group photos, everyone working on their projects, and the ability to check ahead for next weeks class, with info about what to bring, wear, expect?

__yes __no if no, why?_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

8. Would you be willing to travel to Cumberland to introduce your child to an art environment each week?

__yes __no if no, why?____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

9. Do you have any additional comments?

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN MY SURVEY

Welcome Parents and Children

2008-08-15T13:50:00.001-07:00

Hello Parents and Children
Welcome to 'Creative Exploration,' an art class for parents and children to learn to explore with different art mediums in fun interactive ways. Each class will focus on one type of medium, ex. paint, with 5-7 different stations of exploration. Parents will be encouraged to join in and add to the art being created. Kids will learn how to hold pens and pencils, paint brushes, they will learn color, shape, and emotion involved. Classes will have a loose structure for those children that learn at different paces. There will be a huge emphasis on process and exploration not the product. Each class will be photographed with photos posted on the blog for friends and family to see you and your child's art being created. The blog will also let parents and children know what to bring, what to wear and what to expect for the next class.
Classes will run on Thursdays from 10:00 - 10:45 with hopes to expand in Jan. for the second group of 10 weeks. Each program will run for 10 weeks with a registration fee of $80 or you can pay a drop in fee of $10/class. If you wish to drop in for the first class and then decide you are still eligible for the registration fee. 'Creative Exploration' will also be donating $1 per child, each week to the No. 6 mine park community for park upgrades, like swings!!!! Yeah!
Classes will run in Cumberland, the location is still to be announced.
Hope to see you there!!!!

Welcome

2008-08-15T13:34:00.000-07:00