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Natural Art Ideas for Kids

Families who enjoy outdoor activities can take advantage of this enjoyment to create artwork as part of the fun. At a park, playing in the yard or going to a beach provide opportunities for creative fun for kids of all ages. Here are three ideas for creative activities using the natural items commonly found at popular outdoor locations.

Beach Art

Beaches are the easiest example of nature crafts as anyone can make a sand castle. Challenge the kids to sculpt something other than a simple castle. Add shells, sticks, flowers or colorful leaves for accents. Older kids can sculpt almost anything they can imagine. Use a stick to draw the outline in the sand and then bring wet sand to build the sculpture. Start with something simple such as a starfish or snowman. Once they have learned how to create a new sculpture they can move on to more elaborate ones such as lions, dragons or mermaids. Be sure to take a picture of the completed masterpiece.

Yard Art

Kids love to play outside and they can be quite creative in their playing. Encourage this creativity by giving them several small people, action figures or Polly Pocket sized figures and ask them to create a city for the people to live. They can use whatever they can find in the yard. Sticks, leaves, acorns, rocks, grass and flowers can all be used to create a one of a kind city.

If the kids want to do something else have them find leaves of different shapes and textures. Arrange the leaves on a flat surface and lay a piece of white paper over them. Rub a crayon lightly over the white paper to create a rubbing of the leaves underneath.

Playground Art

The range of items available for natural art projects can be more limited in a park. Bring sidewalk chalk if the park has any hard surfaces such as cement or blacktop. This will give the kids an extra activity to do alone or with other kids at the park. Encourage the kids to use the natural items to play games such as Tic-tac-toe. They can use items they find to create a free-form sculpture too. Bring paint brushes and water so the kids can use the water as the paint to create wet pictures. The pictures will disappear when the water dries.

These are only three ways to help kids create fun art while they are enjoying spending time outside with the family or their friends.

Article Source: GardenGap.com

About the Author

Want to find out more about keeping kids creative, then visit Dawn Marcotte's site for more fun craft ideas for your family.