Appendix for Sue Ridgeway's Art in the Foundation Stage

Contents

• Planning sheets for activities
• 3D Paint
• Clean(ish) mud
• Exploring texture
• Hoop Weaving
• Textured Finger Paints

1 Planning sheets for activities

Task: What am I going to make?

(The child draws what they intend to make)

Requirements: What will I need?

(The child draws what they will need)

2 3D Paint

Recipe:

• 5 cups water
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons salt

Method:

• Mix ingredients.
• Cook in a saucepan for approx. 7 minutes, until it bubbles – take care here as it will burn quite easily, which not only makes it smell unpleasant, it spoils the texture.
• Cool.
• Add paint and other materials e.g. smells or textures as required.
• OR allow children to add extra ingredients as they wish.

Use on thick card or paper plates (the finished product can be very heavy, depending on the user!)

Spread with glue spreaders or lolly sticks - or allow children to experiment.

3 Clean(ish) mud!

Recipe:

• 2 cups soil based garden centre compost
• 2 cups sand
• Half cup salt
• Water

You will need:

• Wooden spoons
• Measuring cups
• Sieve
• Bucket or bowl
• Newspaper, plastic work trays or old baking sheets
• Warm soapy water

Method:

• Sieve the compost
• Mix in sand, using hands or spoons
• Add the salt
• Add just enough water to make a malleable consistency
• On a newspaper protected area, or outside, tip out into trays or onto baking sheets
• Model like dough.
• Have warm soapy water ready for those muddy hands!

Extras!

• Add PVA glue - models will last longer
• Use peat instead of compost
• Add ingredients such as flavourings/smells, glitter, straw, leaves etc.
• Mix cornflour and washing up liquid in to make shiny mud.

4 Exploring Texture - using Lucy's Picture by Nicola Moon

Read the story, discussing why Lucy might be making her various decisions as her picture develops. Talk about Lucy's grandfather, widening out to a discussion of what it means to be blind and then including our other senses.

Discuss ways of making pictures that someone with a sensory impairment might enjoy.

Allow children to work on their own ideas either singly, in pairs or in groups - or, if you like, make it a large whole group project. Make sure there is an extremely wide selection of resources available (chocolate box packaging is good , smells divine!!!)

Allow children to admire and explore the finished artworks - with a blindfold, if they will allow it.

5 Hoop weaving

This might not be a new idea, but it's worth the reminder!

Have some prepared hoops, already wound with string like bicycle wheel spokes.

Provide a variety of flexible materials e.g. wool, lace, elastic, plastic wire, pipe cleaners, bendy twigs, reeds or similar.

Model the weaving technique, discussing the movements involved and what works best - it might be useful here to include some inappropriate materials for reinforcement.

Allow children time to create their own woven master piece.

It can help to have other woven objects to link the technique with their experiences.

6 Textured Finger Paints

Recipe

• 1 large saucepan
• 1 cup cornflour
• A little cold water
• 2 pints boiling water
• 1 cup soap flakes
• Colouring and other additives as desired – glitter, groun rice, semolina, sand, fragrance etc.

Method

• Dissolve cornflour in cold water in saucepan.
• Add 2 pints boiling water – obviously, away from the children!!
• Bring back to the boil, stirring.
• Remove from the heat.
• Add soap flakes.
• Cool.

It will be runny at first, but will firm up as it cools. Experiment with water quantities to alter the behaviour of the medium.