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Art projects are a fun way to spend an afternoon when you are babysitting. But what should you bring? More importantly, what shouldn’t you bring? What is appropriate for the age of the children you are babysitting for? Here is a list of things to bring and not to bring, and tips for fun art projects.
Safety scissors. If there are any children under the age of nine, only bring safety scissors. Even if you only let the older children use the regular scissors, you never know when a younger one might grab them and hurt themselves. Glue sticks. They are better than bottles of glue because they don’t drip everywhere. It might be a good idea to have a bottle of glue on hand, but make sure the children can’t get their hands on it. Sometimes glue sticks don’t stick well enough for some projects. Again, a good rule of thumb is that any child under nine-years-old can’t touch the bottle of glue. If you do have a younger child who wants to use the bottle, and you feel that he or she is capable of using it without getting it all over, you can let him. It can’t hurt though, to remind the child of “the secret of gluing.” This is that the less you use, only little drops, the better your project will stick. Construction paper, copy paper, envelopes, notepads, and cardboard. You can do wonderful things with these materials. Let them make stationary, paper airplanes, cards for friends and family members, or whatever else they want to make. Let the children use their imagination and you will be amazed what they can do with a bit of paper, glue and some scissors. Crayons, colored pencils, and chalk. You don’t need fancy crayons for the children to have fun. Get a small Tupperware type box or a Ziploc bag and throw all your old crayons into it. The children will be just as happy with the old, broken ones, as they will with the brand new ones. Toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, small boxes, cardboard tape rings, empty jars or cans. All of these things can be used for many projects. Cans or jars can be turned into pencil holders, marble holders, or crayon holders. Egg cartons can become decorated containers for small items or cut in half and turned into caterpillars. Toilet paper rolls can be turned into binoculars, noisemakers for a band, or silly people. Let the children use tier imagination. If you just set out the stuff and let the children go at it, you will be surprised at what they come up with. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Art Basics Part I in Babysitting is owned by Colleen Bittner. Permission to republish Art Basics Part I in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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