Creative Art Projects for Out-of-School Time

Scraping your well of inspiration for activity ideas? Here is a roundup of some inspiring art projects to kindle your imagination and add a sprinkling of excitement to your out-of-school time art projects.

1. Tribal Mask-Making

Handmakery takes good ol’ cardboard mask-making to a whole new level with some amazing Kimmy Cantrell inspired designs. Reclaimed/ repurposed cardboard, scissors, sharpies, pastel chalks and glue - the materials you will need remain more or less the same as in regular mask-masking. What makes these masks different is the detailing and the brilliant use of colours and textures. Check out this post on ‘masks in the making’ for a step-by-step mask-making guide and a generous helping of creativity.

2. Continuous Line Drawing

Continuous line drawing is one of the exercises given out in art lessons to help develop eye-hand coordination and observation skills. Simple as it might seem, it’s also a fun activity that can proudly stand on its own feet as an independent art project.

And the best part? You don’t need a big stash of fancy art materials. A few sheets of paper, graphite pencils/ pens or markers, and you are good to go! Just keep an interesting object or picture as the reference subject and ask the children to copy it on paper without lifting their pen from the paper. Check out this tutorial from The Virtual Instructor for some ground rules.

3. Shadow Art

Shadow art is a great way to combine outdoor fun with art. All you need are a few clipboards, pencils, sheets of paper, some toys with interesting shapes and, yes, a nice bright sunny day. If the sun refuses to play along, well, you can also make do with a good indoor light source.

How to go about it:

Set sheets of paper on the clipboards and place them on the ground. Keep a toy in front of each sheet and let the shadow fall on the paper. Get the children to trace the shape. If you have a long session ahead and you are doing the activity outdoors, ask them to repeat the exercise every half an hour without moving the object, and observe how the shadow changes. Need more inspiration? The Artful Parent has a treasure trove of shadow art ideas to experiment with.

4. Magnetic Sculpture

Magnets are one of those geeky materials kids (and adults for that matter) can never get enough of. Add them to an art project, and you will have a happy bunch of children to work with. Check out Babbledabbledo for some interesting magnetic sculpture ideas and detailed instructions on how to use magnets safely.

Things you will need:

Nuts and bolts

Recycled metal jar lids

Ceramic magnets

Spray paint (optional)

How to go about it:

Prime and paint the nuts, bolts and jar lids in your choice of colours. Let the kids place two magnets on the underside of the jar lids. Get them to turn the lids over and add the nuts and bolts on top to build a structure of their choice. Sit back and let their imagination take the reins!

Related Links:

4 Easy Science Experiments for Preschoolers

Amazing Kindergarten Designs from Around the World