An Easy November Project

This year, so far, we have been very blessed with some pretty mild fall weather. Though we have had a few days that required bundling up, most days we can still get away with being outside in just a sweater. It has been so nice! There is nothing I personally hate more than having to bundle up each kid in layers before going outside...and doing it for months and months on end. Definitely enjoying this mild weather while it lasts!

We have been keeping busy with some fun and very easy fall crafts in the house. I have noticed since we began homeschooling that my son is extremely artistic, and he isn't even 5 yet. He can take a glance at something and copy it really well. He colors completely in the lines, and he draws a really impressive picture off the top of his head! However, I have always been less than a lover of art and the reason for that is probably because of my serious lack of skill in the art department! That said though, I want to nurture my little guy's talent as much as I can, and since getting him into an art class right now is not really feasible, I figured I would try to give him as much opportunity as I could at home. Don't be impressed though, because I really am taking it slow. I am not a fan of projects that require me to run on a shopping trip to Michael's and spend a lot of money on materials, followed by the prep work, or projects that leave me more exhausted than I was before we began. So it is with great thanks to Pinterest that I have been able to find a few easy and low-stress/low-mess projects to do with the kids. I thought I'd share for the other Mamas out there who want to keep their kids busy with something a little more special than just plain old coloring.

The first project we tried out was making leaves on bare trees with the use of a dish brush and some paint.

I downloaded the template here and printed out one for each of my older kids. I printed it onto cardstock because I thought it would be nicer to use rather than paper, considering the paint factor.

Then I had the kids color in their trees and the grass below. I helped my 3-year old because she is not a huge fan of coloring.

Next, I gave them some fall-colored paints on a plate and a dish brush each. I had them dip their brushes into whatever color paint they wanted, and paint some leaves onto their trees. We also put some "falling leaves in the wind" for effect. They did need some help getting started and a few examples for technique. When the trees were dry, I cut the white off the bottom, mounted them onto some colored construction paper, and voila! They hang so nicely on our huge bay window, adding some fall color to my kind of bland decor (I'm still learning the ropes of home decor!!!) :-)

Just a note to add. I have been slooowly reading through the book The Artful Parent, and this book is so wonderful in guiding clueless, not-so-artsy mothers on how to incorporate art into their kids' everyday lives. I love it! This project was not from that book, but I wanted to recommend the book to other Mamas because it is that good. It is worth every penny. I am going through it slowly for a second time, in hopes that I can actually incorporate the recommendations the author gives into our lives one bit at a time. So far, we have built play-doh into our daily routine pretty well, and coloring as well. The kids are having fun experimenting with different mediums for coloring and drawing. Though it can sometimes get messy, like when they are using markers, (nothing a hand wash cannot fix, though), it is really fun to see what they each do with the various types of coloring tools! Even the 22-month old joins in on the fun!