A fun and different way to encourage creativity through drawing is by mixing up the drawing tools and using different mediums as your base. Here we explored the use of highlighters on bubble wrap.
Such a quick and easy activity to set up.
You will need: Highlighters, bubble wrap and plain paper
Setting up your "Invitation to Play" I put a piece of plain paper underneath the bubble wrap to make visibility easier.
Noticing straight away that the plasticy surface of the bubble wrap allows ink to sit on top. It isn't absorbed like with paper
Because of the see-through nature of the bubble wrap, Maddie kept checking underneath to see if the ink was on the paper
She insisted on continuing until ever part of the bubble wrap was covered
Design done. Now what?
Flip it over, rub over the other side and take off. Maddie was impressed.
Examining the patterns. Talk about why some parts are darker/lighter. Why did some parts work and not others? Which colour showed up the best? etc
Try drawing actual designs and printing those. You can reuse the same bubble wrap over and over.
Prints can work really well
You're a star
Handy Tips:
- Simplify this activity by just letting your child draw and be creative. Demonstrate printing and what can happen when they flip over the bubble wrap.
- Extend this activity by using to talk about other concepts
such as symmetry. Try writing letters or numbers on the bubble wrap and see
what happens to them when flipped over and printed. Challenge their problem
solving. Can they find any letters of the alphabet that are the same when printed? etc
- Talk with your
child about what they are doing. This will help them understand the physical
and mental processes they are going through as well as giving them the
vocabulary to describe it.
- Use new language and descriptive words like, "absorb," "symmetry" etc. This will help with their language development.
- Remember that children need to create and explore, they don't need it to be a specific item at the end or to have drawn a specific picture. Allow this and don't push them to think they must make something "real."
Happy playing,
Debs :)
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