Recommended Resource: Incredible Art Department

First of all, this post should really be titled: Cookies+Frosting=Education! Anyone who knows me will tell you that cookies are my FAVORITE FOOD. Now when I found a website that showed me how to work them in as an educational tool- I knew I had hit Homeschool Heaven!

An edible color wheel is just one of the ideas I’ve snagged from the Incredible Art Department. This site is a wealth of information with lesson plans for every age from preschool all the way up. They even include some lessons which integrate drama. Many of the ideas are provided by actual art teachers, and several have information about artists with them.

Modern mobile in the style of Alexander Calder found on Wikipedia

I taught a lesson on Alexander Calder using their plans, and we had a great time bending up wire and trying to balance it out. Bubble wrap prints and paper marbling were some other favorites of ours.

You can take advantage of the search feature by typing in the name of an artist you are currently studying, the name of a people group (such as Native American), or a time period (ex Middle Ages).

We belong to a co-op that meets weekly for art lessons, and one of my favorite ways to utilize this resource is to type what supplies we already have into the search line.  People sometimes donate materials and we can reuse those instead of having to purchase new materials. This makes my frugal side happy…Which makes all of my other sides happy too 🙂

Provided by First Palette

Beat Summer Boredom: DIY Sidewalk Paint

This is something we’ve done every summer for the last several years. Kids of all ages love it, and children come from all over to join in–even those that one might think would be “too old”.

It’s a pretty simple recipe. You can just put a little bit of flour, or even cornstarch into a disposable cup or storage container and add a little bit of water at a time until you get a thick consistency, almost like gloopy pancake batter.

Next, you add, some food coloring until it looks nice and vivid. Red tends to require more, and I used a really concentrated dye this time.

I know the biggest question here is, “Will it wash off“? The answer is yes, it will wash off of your sidewalk, but it may not wash off of your kids’ clothing. Make sure they dress accordingly 🙂