ARTventurers Autumn Newsletter

ARTventurers Autumn

Newsletter

Spooky Halloween Craft Party!

We’ve got some fantastic spooky crafts planned for our half term sessions – pumpkin lanterns, creepy spiders, witches and ghosts and lots more! Pre booking essential, £6 per child including all materials and refreshments for the little ones. Suitable for ages 18m-7yrs.

Tues 25^th Oct – St Johns, Ashbrooke

Thurs 27^th Oct – Washington Arts Centre

Little ARTventurers

We’ve had a great couple of weeks so far this term exploring and creating with our “Space” and “Bugs” themed sessions. Coming up – “Under the Sea”, “All about Me”, “Autumn”, “Crunchy, Scrunchy Textures” and lots more!. Little ARTventurers is suitable for children aged 18 months plus – painting, collage, modeling, sensory activities and lots more.

NEW WASHINGTON CLASS!

We’re delighted to be launching a new Little ARTventurers class at Washington Arts Centre on Thursday mornings after half term. It’s a fantastic venue and we really enjoyed running our Little Potters course there over the summer. Little ARTventurers is suitable for pre school age children from 18 months upwards. To book a place contact Fiona - mail@artventurers.co.uk. Sessions are £4.85 per child including materials and refreshments, sibling discount available. We also hope to run some pottery painting activities for children aged 6+ in the run up to Christmas – register your interest now!

Christmas Crafts!

Christmas is a fantastic time of year for childrens art and craft activities – what better excuse for lots of glitter and sparkle?!

Our Christmas craft holiday sessions will be taking place w/c 19^th December in Ashbrooke, Washington and Roker – places are already filling up so book your space now! Suitable for children 18months – 7 years.

Weekend Sessions

 If you can’t make our weekday sessions don’t forget we also run weekend sessions – our Saturday morning Diddy Art club suitable for 4-11 yrs runs at Hawthorn Arts in South Shields and we also run  occasional workshop sessions on Sundays at the Seaburn centre. Watch out for Spooky Crafts on Sun 23^rd Oct and Christmas Crafts on Sun 27^th November!

Birthday parties

Looking to do something a little bit different for your little one’s party? Our creative birthday packages are great fun for age 2-12 years. Themes such as Glitter and Sparkle or Pirates, activities like pottery painting or teddy bear making….let us host the activities and then clean up the mess too!

www.artventurers.co.uk

07775911990 mail@artventurers.co.uk



The Very Hungry Caterpillar week!

This week at ARTventurers we've been running some Very Hungry Caterpillar sessions - inspired by the Eric Carle classic!

So what have we been up to? Well, we've been making paper plate suns, fantastic Hungry Caterpillar hats, butterfly puppets, collage fruits and trying butterfly painting as well as making some delicious looking lollipop bookmarks! Then at circle time we used the things that we made to tell the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar - it was great fun! I love to get the children using and interacting with the things that they've created during the classes rather than them just getting stuck on the fridge, it's a great way to get them inspired and thinking creatively and I'm sure that the book has been read and read over this week at home!



Making our paper plate suns

I think that the buttefly puppet was the most popular activity this week. Here's how we made them -

You'll need - a butterfly shape cut out from stiff card, glue, some collage materials (we used tissue paper and sequins as well as squares of coloured paper), a wooden stick or lolly stick, some sellotape.

We decorated our card shapes with the collage materials (the more colourful the better), of course remembering that buttefly wings are always symmetrical! We attached some tissue paper streamers to the bottom of our butterflies and then attached them to the sticks with sellotape - they were then ready to be fluttered around the room!

Butterfly puppet making!

Next week we're going On Safari - can't wait!!

Summer Holiday fun!

Phew - it's been a busy week for ARTventurers, the first full week of our summer holiday schedule!

Tuesday and Thursday mornings we ran our Little ARTventurers summer fun sessions for children up to 6 years old at Ashbrooke and Roker. Both sessions were fantastic - we made pirate hats, parrots and telescopes, tiaras and wands, got mummy/daddy/gran to draw round us and made life size pirates and princesses and we also tried loot rubbing! Great and very very glittery - the life size drawings were especially popular! I love to do activities like that where the kids can get down on the floor and really get stuck into what they're doing, moving around their artwork - it makes for great creativity.

On Tuesday the Sunderland Echo came to visit the session to take some photos - always tricky to get toddlers to stay still for more than 2 seconds, especially when they're full on engaged with what they're doing but hopefully we've got some great action shots which sum up exactly what ARTventurers is all about - having lots of fun experimenting and creating! The article should be in the paper later this week - watch out for us (and me with a face covered in glitter no doubt!). I'm really pleased that the Echo is supporting us as a local business, having publicity like that really helps spread the word.

Wednesday also saw the first week of our Little Potters course at Washington Arts Centre where we worked with clay to make some handstamped coasters and also tried out different pottery painting techniques on a breakfast mug. Really looking forward to seeing how they've turned out when they come out of the kiln - will try and post some pics!

Tomorrow is a day off with my little ones (fruit picking hopefully) then the weekend is a busy one with two things booked in for Sunday. Sunday morning we're running a craft workshop at the Makers Market at the Seaburn Centre (fabric painting and keyrings) - come along and say hi and treat yourself to some gorgeous handmade goodies. Then later in the day we're off to run some activities at the Leighton Cook family fun day at Quayside Exchange, Sunderland. Leighton is a little local lad - just 4 years old, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma June 2010, four days after his 3rd birthday.

Leighton's family and friends have set up a fund to raise the £50,000 they need to raise to send Leighton to Germany is to increase his chances of survival from 30% to 50%. Leightons story is such a heartbreaking cause and I'm just pleased that there is a small something that I can do to help with their fundraising efforts. Please take a minute to pop over to Leightons page to show your support and to see if there is anything that you could do to help them reach their target. http://www.facebook.com/TeamLeighton?sk=wall#!/TeamLeighton?sk=info Thank you!! Next week's holiday sessions - The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Caterpillar hats, butterfly puppets..... it's going to be tons of fun!

Make a Summer Suncatcher!

The photo of this craft doesn't really do it justice - when we made these they looked really pretty and sparkly hung up in the sun and the children in the session really loved making them!

What you'll need is some sticky back plastic (2 circles of it) - an assortment of sequins, tissue paper and maybe some glitter, a hole punch and some ribbon.

I cut the two circles of sticky backed plastic out by drawing round a tea plate - leaving the paper backing in place of course! Then we peeled the backing off one circle and laid it on the table sticky side up. The children then had loads of fun arranging the tissue paper and sequins on the circle.

To make the suncatcher we then peeled the backing off the second circle and placed it over the first (so both sticky sides together if that makes sense!). Hole punched a hole at the top for hanging, threaded ribbon through and there you go - a lovely suncatcher that really sparkles!

Phew - a busy weekend!

Have had a jam packed weekend to top off a manic fortnight so whilst I'm just chilling on the sofa catching up on emails and Facebook/Twitter thought I'd jot down what I've been up to and what's going on in the next few weeks in the world of ARTventurers....

The last couple of weeks have been really mad - getting the summer programme sorted, venues and planning activities. I've had some really exciting meetings too. Perhaps the most exciting was a meeting with a local art shop - they already run a fantastic Saturday morning art club for kids age 4-11 and I'm really chuffed that they've asked me to take over the running over it from September :). It's a big responsibility to take over what is already a very successful and happy class run by a very talented artist but I'm always keen to take on new challenges and have some great activities planned for the kids....

As some of you might know my great love is ceramics and so I can't wait to run "Little Potters" over the summer - a three week course which is an introduction to ceramics for kids aged 6+. There'll be some handbuilding with clay as well as pottery painting and I've found two fantastic venues to hold it in, including the Washington Arts Centre. The struggle I've had is with the pricing as the cost of glazing and firing is becoming so expensive, as electricity prices are shooting through the roof!

And for littler ones I'm teaming up with Music Bugs in Sunderland to run a Teddy Bears Picnic party in the first week of the summer hols which should be tons of fun - then launching straight into 3 weeks of Little ARTventurers Summer Fun classes. Pirates and Princesses, the Very Hungry Caterpillar and On Safari - three themes I can't wait to get cracking on! I've run the same summer programme a couple of years ago back in Yorkshire and they were really good fun and feedback was excellent so I'm hoping that the kids and parents/carers here will be just as enthusiastic!

And as for this weekend - yesterday was a school fayre at Durham High which was a lovely afternoon. Didn't start well as I had the wrong start time so was running late and then the roads were all closed in Durham due to the Miners Gala. To top it off I also managed to lose my voice somewhere along the way (don't ask!!). All that aside though, the children and parents were all great and very friendly making me and the other stall holders feel very welcome. Then today I was down in Seaburn running a couple of pottery painting sessions for kids at the Makers Market in the Seaburn Centre. If you've never been to a Makers Market then you really should get down there - they are fantastic markets packed with gorgeous handmade goodies, cupcakes, jewellery......www.makersmarket.co.uk. I've got a few kids craft sessions booked in there for the course of the year - next one is Sunday 7th August, T shirt printing (and might do some keyrings too!)

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Hot hot hot - warm weather activities for the garden! Part 1

It's so warm here at the minute - who knows how long it will last but we're all making the most of it by opening those doors and windows and letting the summer in! We've got the paddling pool and water slide out already this morning (and it's only twenty to ten!) but when they get bored with that it's a good opportunity to try out some outdoor art and craft activities that we might not have space for in the house (or just not want to do in the house!!!)

Here's some ideas you might want to try.......

Ice cube painting

My kids LOVE doing this - it's great for all ages but takes a wee bit of pre planning. Make some ice cube painting sticks - you can either do this by using ice lolly moulds or alternatively ice cube trays and toothpicks/lollysticks. Make up the ice cubes/lollies by pouring paint in and then freezing overnight. You can use normal non toxic liquid paint or try watercolours mixed with water. Then when frozen the kids can have great fun using the lollies/ice cubes to paint pictures - make sure the paper you use is quite thick. Just remember to remind the kids that the lollies aren't for eating!

Life size self portraits

Fab activity for on the lawn! Get a large roll of paper (wallpaper is great for this) or stick a few sheets together. Get your child to lie down and then draw round them and cut the shape out. They can then paint the figure, make a collage person......

Football painting

In a previous blog post I talked about bouncy ball painting - this is a super sized version! Get a large piece of paper and a tray of paint. Roll the football through the paint then have fun kicking it around the paper (best to do this barefoot!). If you're not too precious about garden toys you could try scooter painting or even space hopper painting using the same theory - but thick card or even board will work best.

Painting with water

This is one for the teeniest tots - give them a bucket of water and a paintbrush and set them off to "paint" the fence, the patio....keeps them entertained for hours and is a good way of mastering holding a paintbrush, a fun way of learning to draw shapes etc.

Den building and decorating

All kids love building dens - easy enough to do with chairs and a couple of sheets. Then they can spend many happy hours decorating then den and getting really creative designing bunting, keep out signs, pictures to decorate the den....!

Hope this might give you a few ideas to be getting on with - my ice cube paints are now frozen so off we go...!

Why do we have music at our pre school sessions?

At our Little ARTventurers art and craft classes for pre schoolers we always round the session off with a well deserved snack and a drink and a noisy sing along  joined by Arty the Bear!

For me it’s an integral part of the class structure – the kids absolutely love it, it's part of the routine of the weekly classes and it got me thinking again about the importance of music for babies, toddlers and pre schoolers.

So why is group singing and music making so important for young children?

-         It’s a sociable activity – it stimulates a basic desire to join in and interact with others

-         Music encourages self expression  and self confidence

-         Engaging with music encourages children to develop gross and fine motor skills and coordination – moving and dancing in time to the music and using instruments to tap and shake

-   Sing a longs are great fun!

One of the most fun sing a longs was when we ran a carnival themed session and the children made their own musical shakers as well as party hats and pasta jewellery - they then had loads of fun  using their shakers during singing time! One for this coming term again I think.....:)

And don't forget our Teddy Bears Picnic party on Tuesday 26th July when we'll be teaming up with Music Bugs to run a jam packed session of teddy bear art and craft activities, biscuit decorating and a fab and noisy Music Bugs session! Session is to take place at St Andrews Church, Roker, Sunderland and places are limited so must be pre booked! check out our website http://www.artventurers.co.uk/ for more details!