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SHARED By: Max Stadnik, Director of Art at Gymtime, Early Learning Foundations Preschool and York Avenue Preschool

Introducing MAKE IT MONDAY! Every Monday, we will post a creative craft or activity just for kids. Check back each week for inspiration and ideas. To kick it off, we have winter-themed crafts from the art room! – Gymtime

As I am writing this, it is nearly 60 degrees here in New York City, but traditionally January is a time for snow. Luckily, we have had some of the white stuff fall on us earlier this season, so the children should be able to relate to these art activities. If they have forgotten what snow looks like, find an appropriate book to show them or find images on the Internet!

COLORED ICE CUBE PAINTS:
What You’ll Need:

• Ice Cube Tray
• Food Coloring
• Water
• Toothpicks or Popsicle Sticks
• Construction Paper

What You’ll Do:
Fill an ice tray with with water and add food coloring to each cube. Start with your primary colors, then allow your child to explore by mixing colors (red +blue = purple, yellow+blue = green, red+yellow= orange). Lay toothpicks or Popsicles sticks in each cube and freeze. Once frozen, take the tray out of the freezer and allow the ice to soften before taking the cubes out of the tray. Take the colored ice cube by the stick and swipe over white construction paper. The ice slowly melts leaving the soft colors behind. The children love swirling the ice and watching the colors blend.

Snowflakes:
What You’ll Need:

• Toilet Paper Tubes
• Scissors
• Paper Plates
• Tempura Paint
• Watercolors
• Construction Paper
• Glitter
• Doilies

What You’ll Do:
Printed Snowflakes: Take toilet paper tubes and make different length snips at the end of the tube. Bend the ends back so they are all flared out. Dip the flared edges into white paint in a paper plate (the tube makes a great holder) and print onto dark blue or black paper. Print with several tubes, perhaps mixing a small amount of color into the paint for each tube. When done, sprinkle with silver glitter if you like. It looks like snowflakes. With all the different lengths made in the cuts they are all different and unique, just like real snowflakes!

Glistening Snowflakes: Lightly tape a doily to a paper plate. Use a paintbrush to gently dab blue tempera paint over the entire doily. While the paint is still wet, carefully remove the doily. Sprinkle silver glitter on the wet paint on the paper plate (you can also use glitter paint). Shake off excess glitter and set to dry. Once the paint and glitter are dry, cut around the pattern.

Colorful Snowflakes: Lightly tape a doily onto a piece of white construction paper. Paint over it with watercolors allowing the colors to blend. Remove the doily and repeat with a new doily of a different shape and size, all around the paper. Notice how the doily patterns seeped through the lacy holes.  When the doilies are dry, then can be used for collage!

Need some snow to complete your indoor winter wonderland? Glue cotton balls onto blue construction paper!