stART | What Makes a Rainbow?

Although Ignacio is now reading, I make it a point to still read at least one book a day to him.  He usually jumps in and we end up reading the book together.  We moved while I was recovering from surgery and I have yet to finish unpacking.  I like to bring a few books out at a time as a surprise.  I took advantage of Francisco’s nap and brought out “What Makes a Rainbow” by Betty Ann Schwartz. 

We read this book when he was younger, but he didn’t remember it.  When he first saw it he complained that I had brought out a “baby book”.  That all changed once we opened it and began reading.  He loved the way the ribbons formed a rainbow.

I love the colors used in the illustrations.

As Ignacio would say, “The happy ending”.

Ignacio has been very interested in collages lately.  When I saw a blow post showing how to make a rainbow collage I knew we had to try it.  I have some rolls of kraft paper that measure 13.5x30”, I began by taping one to the floor.  I purchased back issues of National Geographic magazine at a thrift store and piled them next to the paper.  Once I was ready, I showed Ignacio the blog post over at Art Projects for Kids using my NOOKcolor.

This project was a joint effort.  I cut out some of the more elaborate shapes, but he had a great time finding pictures we could use.

We began by simply placing the pictures into groups.  I’m glad I decided to wait until the end to glue them down.  It was like building a jigsaw puzzle.  It was interesting to see how the perception of color changes with its surroundings.  We thought we had too much orange, but once we started putting it together we realized it was actually the opposite.  Some of the orange pictures were really more of a red, others yellow.  We ended up having to go back and find more true orange.  Ignacio’s favorite color is green, of course we had more than enough of that color.

By the time we finished cutting everything, he needed a break and asked me to glue it all myself.  Once I was done I covered the entire collage with contact paper.  It was surprisingly easy.  There were a few air bubbles, but I find that in this case it actually adds to the appeal.  Here is the finished collage.

A closer look:

We really had a great time.  Ignacio wants to make another collage.  It was a very affordable project.  The roll of paper cost me .50 and the magazines were .20 each.  I should point out that I did finish an entire glue stick, glad I always have a few on hand.  What a great afternoon!

On a side note, while at the library the following day I came across “Ruby, Violet, Lime: Looking for Color” by Jane Brocket.  While it is more of a concept book than a story book, I think it is also a great choice for this project.

Make sure to check out more stART projects at A Mommy’s Adventures.

stART | Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Ignacio loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.   It is one of his favorite books, he knows every page by heart.  Today was a cloudy, rainy day.  We spent some time on the front porch this afternoon, enjoying a good book and cooler weather.

After reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, we decided to work on his matching puzzle.  For the record, it was his idea to pose with his puzzle.  He's such a ham!

This Chicka Chicka Boom Boom puzzle is adorable!  It comes in a cute little brief case and it's double sided.  Ignacio decided he wanted to put together the puzzle where the whole alphabet falls off the coconut tree.  The pieces are thick and sturdy.  The finished puzzle is a very nice size too.

Afterwards, Ignacio made a coconut tree collage.  I cut out the tree trunk and four leaf shapes.  He glued them down and also decided to add three coconuts to the ground.  (Every time he reads the book, he is quick to point out that all of the coconuts fell off the tree.)

He added a few details using his markers.

I had some colorful alphabet stickers that I picked up from the dollar bin at Target. 

Not only did Ignacio add the entire alphabet, he tried his hardest to position every letter just as it was on his puzzle. 

He was very proud of his finished project.  We came back inside and he asked to watch his Chicka Chicka Boom Boom DVD.  In case you're not familiar with it, rather than reading the story- it is sung.  He didn't watch the whole DVD, he just wanted to see Chicka Chicka Boom Boom over and over again.  He watched it until I stopped it.  Even then he tried convincing me to put it on for him again.  Did I mention that he loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom?  Ha,ha!

stART | Rainbow Fish

Ignacio and I really enjoy two things: reading and crafting!  We have completed quite a few book inspired art projects this year.  When I read about A Mommy's Adventure stART project, I knew I wanted to participate.  I'll try to post more of our projects, I'd like to have the blog up to date.  I didn't reallly intend to blog about these, so I don't have too many pictures.  I'll make sure to take more pictures in the future.

I bought a new pack of glitter glue and thought a Rainbow Fish project would be perfect to break them in.  We've read a few books in the Rainbow Fish series, but on this day we read the original Rainbow Fish.

We read it and talked it over.  I hadn't realized how strongly people felt about this book (you can read the reviews on Amazon if this is also news to you).  I'm kind of neutral to it, I can see both points of view.  I just thought it was a good story for talking about arrogance and sharing.  Most importantly I wanted illustrations with glitter!  ;) 

We decided to each make our own Rainbow Fish.  On this post I will only be sharing Ignacio's fish, since that is the only one I have a picture of.  First Ignacio drew his Rainbow Fish using a pencil.  Then he colored it using his new box of 96 Crayons.  He had a lot of fun with the variety of colors available and especially loved using some of the metallic and glitter crayons.  He also added some under sea "foliage" around his fish.  He finished by adding a few shimmery scales using his new glitter glue. 

Here is his finished piece:

I'm not sure if you can make out the detail and glitter.  I took a picture of it because I didn't want gliter on my scanner.  It is currently on our dining room wall.  Ignacio loved how it turned out.  He also chose to write "Rainbow Fish" for his tracing/copy work that day.