Holidays at Home with OOLY
As we approach the holidays, I am sure many of us have been thinking about how to make this year extra special! As a Montessori teacher for over ten years, I am here to give you some fun ideas on how to make the most of your holidays at home. You can do these with your family through art! Art projects are a perfect way to connect with your children.
Pumpkin Painting
I am speaking from experience when I say this is a favorite for the kids and popular activity for everyone! Pumpkin painting is exactly what you think, painting pumpkins! As a family of four, we like to purchase our own pumpkins. Next we have a pumpkin painting contest using the Cosmic Shine acrylic craft paints. I love that these paints give the pumpkins extra shine and glitter that allows for free expression. This activity is great for any age and you can be as detailed as you’d like. It depends on your creativity. There is no wrong way to paint a pumpkin! Play some great tunes and enjoy painting some pumpkins with your family.
Creating a Fall Tree
Children love learning about seasons. This art project is a great way to begin a discussion about what happens to trees and plants in the fall. What a great way to learn while enjoying some coloring & art! This was a simple project to create. All you’ll need for this project is Big Bright Brush Markers and Sketchbook. For this project we like to take the art supplies outdoors, to the park or anywhere where there are many trees. While we are at the park, we like to observe the trees and the color of their leaves to match our pictures. I have my children trace their hands to make the trunk and branches for the tree for a personalized look. My three-year-old needed some help with this. This was a great way for him to practice his fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and hand control.
Holiday Card Making
I like choosing this simple gesture for our family and friends for many reasons. We love making personalized cards for all occasions, but Christmas and the holidays at home are my favorite time to make these. Personalized cards add more sentiment and bring more of a connection during these special times. I like to use the Black White Graph Kraft Paper, Rainbow Sparkle Watercolor Gel Crayons, and Chunkies Metallic Paint Sticks to give it more of the holiday look. I chose the Kraft paper because it has a thicker feeling and gives it a fancier appearance for holiday cards. This paper also absorbs paint and color very well. I love this activity as a way to spend quality family time together. To help my children draw these items out on paper, I always give them a helpful tip! Children like to compare objects to shapes, so if your child wants to draw a snowman, have them draw circles to make the shape of a snowman. I use this when my daughter wants to draw a tree; I tell her to think of what shape a Christmas tree makes, a triangle! While the holidays may be a little different this year, there are many ways to make them just as exciting and safe as years’ past! I hope you enjoy these ideas from us at OOLY and we hope you spend a wonderful time with your family this holiday season!Danitzia Singh is a preschool teacher and blogger with a passion for sharing her parenting tips. Find her on Instagram for more ideas: @themomtessorilife
