By Marilyn Pribus
Edited by Amy Crelly

Bonnie Williamson of Folsom, a retired elementary teacher and author of 101 Ways to Put Pizazz in your Teaching, suggests these art activities to promote learning while providing fun. All these projects are kid-friendly, and surprisingly satisfying for moms and dads to do too:

1. Make Art Projects a Family Affair
"On a beach one time, I noticed a three-generation family building huge sand castles," recalls Williamson. It turned out one couple had started doing it years earlier. Now their children bring the grandchildren the same weekend each summer. "It was absolutely stunning," Williamson says. "The children just loved it."

2. Play with Your Food
Potato prints, on paper or cloth, offer an easy way to get crafty. Carve a design on a potato half, then dab paint on the design and press it on paper or fabric. Use Tempera paint to decorate gift-wrap paper, greeting cards or paper napkins. After some practice, use permanent fabric ink to embellish potholders, place mats, or garments.

3. Create Stained “Glass”
Arrange small colored leaves, dried flowers, or other flat items on a sheet of waxed paper, then grate stubs of old crayons onto empty spaces. Cover with another piece of waxed paper. With adult supervision, kids can use an iron to melt the crayons and waxed paper. Frame with construction paper and hang in your window. Beautiful!

4. Go on a Scavenger Hunt
We've all done "rubbings" with a pencil on a piece of paper atop a penny—this is like that. Go on a field trip to an old cemetery or downtown where there are old buildings. Use paper with crayons to collect designs (on headstones, statues, bricks in sidewalks, street lamps). Williamson notes rubbings can often whet an interest in history.

5. Give Your Little Shutterbug Wings
Give children an inexpensive camera and, if possible, some instruction in photography. "Taking photos makes your child look for color, shape, shadows, and light," explains Williamson. "It also trains the eye to be able to put a perimeter around a certain thing." Remember that not every picture will be great, but the more you take, the better your odds of snapping a treasured shot. Use your family’s favorites to make cards for a relative, or post them on a bulletin board or on your blog. You can frame enlargements of others to decorate your home.

© 2009 Marilyn Pribus

Long-time Fair Oaks resident Lynn Pribus is a wife, mother, musician, and mediocre (but enthusiastic) artist. She and her family now live in Charlottesville, Virginia.