DIY Marbleized Paper

Our art projects have to have a serious wow factor. My boys don't have the interest or the patience to work on a piece gradually over several days. Mixed media that seems as much like magic as it does art is right up their alley.

Marbleizing paper is so much fun and surprisingly easy, too!

Before I provide a supplies list and instructions, I need to issue a disclaimer. This project stinks (literally, not  figuratively). You HAVE to work in a well-ventilated area. What you can't see in my pictures are the two windows that I threw wide open to dissipate the fumes. Nail polish smells B-A-D.

Supply List

Watercolor paper (or another paper of heavy weight)

Nail polish in as many colors as you'd like

A disposable pan that your paper will fit into

Water

Plastic to cover your work surface

Gloves

Well-ventilated space

Tool to swirl the colors with (we used the wooden ends of paintbrushes)

Instructions

1. Fill your pan with an inch or two of water.

2. Gently drizzle nail polish in the pan. The goal is to pour it thin enough that it sits on the surface of the water.

3. Add another color (or two or three).

4. Drag your tool through the nail polish until you get the desired effect.

5. Softly lay your paper on top of the water and press the corners slightly to make sure they pick up the color.

5. Carefully peel the paper off the water and set face-up to dry. We let our marbleized masterpieces dry for a full 24 hours and since they were still pretty stinky, I put them on our screened in porch outside. The more time passes, the less fragrance they emit.

There are lots of opportunities for learning with this activity. Talk to your kids about the history of marbleized paper, ask questions like "why does some of the nail polish stay on top of the water?," "Why does it cling to the paper?," etc.

Aren't they stunning?

Stop back later this week to see how we are using our marbleized paper!

After School Linky (1-19)

Welcome to the party!

More great ideas were shared at last week's linky. Did you see these?

 1 Corinthians 13 "Love Is" Banner & Valentines Craft at Christianity Cove

 Art of the Civil Rights Movement at The Art Curator for Kids

 +10 Baseball Math Game at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

 Build-A-Word Game at Dabblingmomma

 5 Civil Rights Books for Elementary Students at The Jenny Evolution

 New CVC Word Family Coloring Pages: Short E Vowel at 3 Dinosaurs

 Free Extend a Timeline Book Marco Polo Unit Study at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

 Fractions BINGO Game at School Time Snippets

 Perler Bead Furniture at Mama Smiles

QR Codes for Kids at The Science Kiddo

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Art Museum Seek & Find

Our town has a small art museum. The word museum may be stretching it a bit. It's more of a large collection in a public building. Regardless, it's some great art.

Our past trips have been a whirlwind. $10 for entry for our family and only 10 minutes were spent. My boys don't REALLY looked at the art. That's the problem. They act like it's a race to get from one one room to the next. 

I cooked up this fun activity to slow the pace a bit. My sons both like look-and-find books, so I had a hunch this would be a hit. 

I was right.

Download the 2-page PDF I made from Google Drive here.
Page 2 contains a template to trace and cut out the squares.

I made some printable cards. Then I went to the museum's website and printed photos of the collection. If they were small, I right-clicked, saved the photo to my desktop and then printed the photo larger. Then I cut small squares from each photo and glued them to the card. 

It was up to my sons to find the details from their cards in the paintings and sculpture in the museum exhibitions.

I put each of their cards (they were the same so they could work together) on a mini clipboard and gave them each a pencil to cross through the images they found. (Note: make sure writing utensils are okay in your museum. Most allow pencils, not pens or markers.)

They spent more time looking at the art, but still missed a few. I gave them hints. "I think you missed something in this room," I said. 

The thrill of the hunt was exhilarating. This was our best museum visit yet!

Microbes Memory Game {free printable}

Microbes are fascinating. They are constantly changing the world around us and yet they are teeny tiny - technically, they're smaller than teeny tiny. My sons played a rousing game of memory with some fun microbe graphic cards I created. This drove the point home that microbes vary greatly in shape and appearance.

Before we started to play, we read the perfect book to explain what microbes are, look like, live, and do. Even if you never do this activity with your kids, check your library for Tiny Creature: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies.

It explains what seems impossible for kids to understand so extremely well, with engaging illustrations and explanations that my 9- and 5-year-olds both could follow.

After reading, I set up the game cards in a six by four grid.

Download the cards I made here. Print two sets on heavy weight cardstock. If you can see through the cards, glue a thin piece of scrapbook paper to the back. Laminate for added durability if you anticipate lots of use.

Shuffle and arrange face down. Let your child turn over two of the cards. If they're a match, they'll keep the cards, setting them aside in a pile and go again. 

If they are not a match, they must turn the cards back over and play moves to their opponent. The game continues like this until all the cards have been matched. The player with the most sets of matched cards wins!

After School Linky (1-12)

Welcome to the party!

There were so many great ideas last week ... posts on everything from computer coding to art, arithmetic, learning styles, life lessons, and phonics. Here are just a few of the amazing ideas and activities shared.

 10+ Ways to Use Alphabet Flashcards from This Reading Mama

 Borax Crystal Snowy Snowman - Winter Science Craft at The Science Kiddo

 Fibonacci Art Project at What Do We Do All Day

4 Free Books: Learn to Read VCCV Words at The Measured Mom

 The Three Billy Goats Gruff Activity: LEGO Retelling from Growing Book by Book

Active Kids' Art with Giacometti's Walking Man Sculpture at Mini Monets and Mommies

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!