Kids of all ages seem to really enjoy making prints by rubbing a crayon over paper with a shape underneath. Maybe it’s because the image seems to “magically” appear!
This activity has a little twist to it that your child will love – and it’s perfect for some open-ended St. Patrick’s Day artistic play!
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Onetime made these St. Patrick’s Day themed rubbings last year using shapes that I had cut out of sandpaper from the dollar store.
I made a lucky horseshoe and a shamrock for him to use, but you could get even more creative and cut out a pot of gold, a rainbow, a leprechaun hat, or even some letters (maybe that spell Lucky?).
Here are some picture ideas to get you thinking creatively!
If you have an older child – they can always draw a symbol and cut it out for tracing too.
You could even use some pretend coins to make prints with, like these below. I think we’ll try that this year. (We found some at the local dollar store.)
Magical Print Art Creation
To create the art, all your child needs to do is place a piece of paper overtop of the sandpaper shapes, peel the paper off a crayon and rub the side of the crayon over the shape.
It should appear like magic!
To make the task easier for Onetime, I taped the shapes to the table so that they wouldn’t move around when he was trying to make his prints, but an older child might appreciate being able to move the shapes where they like.
(P.S. I’ve done this with my grade 5 students and they loved it too!)
Try experimenting with different coloured papers (green, black, white), different sized shapes, different coloured crayons, or even chalk!
You could let your child create in a completely open way, or ask them to create a pattern, or a picture. Or – let them try all three versions.
Further Steps for Young Children…
When your child is done, why not have them sign their work to practise writing their name. You could even offer to add a sentence describing their picture by asking them to tell you about what they created.
Further Steps for Older Kids…
Have them write a story or a new legend for St. Patrick’s Day using their art as inspiration. Or help them create St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards for friends.
Hope you have a wee bit o’ fun with this activity!
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