What Does it Feel Like to You?

Wednesdays With Whitney: Creating Texture With Kids

Texture is smoothness, roughness, softness, or slickness of an object. By the time kids are six-months-old they are naturally attracted to texture. Texture of a favorite blanket or stuffed animal can provide comfort to children. Teach the kids you care for about texture with the simple projects below.

Tissue Paper Rubbings:

Use tissue paper or thin tracing paper to make rubbings on items with texture such as the bark on a tree, a brick, stone, leaves, coins, combs, or stencils. Have the kids place the paper on top of the selected item and then firmly rub a crayon back and forth across the paper until an image appears. We used coins above.

Sand Paintings:

1. You will need sand you can purchase at a craft store or make colored sand by mixing powdered tempera paint with sand. You will also need some white glue, poster board, paint brushes, and shaker bottles with big holes.

2. Pour the colored sand into shaker bottles with large holes.

3. Mix school glue with a little water. Have the children brush the glue onto poster board.

4. Shake the sand onto the sticky surface.

5. Gently shake off the excess sand into the garbage and allow to dry before hanging.

Reference: Projects from Art for the Very Youngby Elizabeth McConville and photos by Stephanie Felzenberg