DJ had his first art class with our homeschool co-op for kids 3-6 years old. He was supposed to start last week, but he was sick so we had to miss it. I was SO sad. But today, he was able to go and he “HAD A LOT OF FUN”! (His words as we left to get lunch).

This is his masterpiece from the class. The class is set up to be an open-ended style. The leader provides art materials on 3 tables and the children choose what to do at each table. There is no suggested product, it’s just all about the process.

DJ’s favorite option BY FAR was this one. A tray with a piece of paper, a couple globs of paint, marbles and… matchbox cars!!! You cannot go wrong with wheeled vehicles for this boy!

A second table had a mix of supplies, mostly stamps and ink pads, but also tape, stickers, scissors, etc. DJ used a few stamps and then squealed when he realized he’d made a bird or an airplane or a bus. Then he took the scissors and cut the page into strips.

The third table was very popular with most of the kids. It was simply…shaving cream. Yep, just globs of shaving cream sprayed onto the table in front of each child. This quickly became a very social group activity.

DJ was intrigued to try it. He stuck all 10 fingers into the gooey whiteness… and froze. He then tried to shake the globs of shaving cream off with no effect. He was nearing potential panic when I pointed to the sink and said he could rinse it off. He ran right over and once he saw this was true, he played in the water for a few minutes before leaving with clean hands.

He didn’t touch the shaving cream again but he did try to clean the table with a paper towel before he realized that wasn’t an easy task to do without getting your hands messy again! Next time perhaps I’ll bring a gallon size ziplock bag for him to do the messy activities.

At the end, he explored the fish tank with a friend from the class. He is really looking forward to next week!