Print-making for young children
and simple stamps
for ages 4-7
Supplies for print-making:
pencils
foam brushes
3 or 4 colors of tempera paint in small containers
white copy paper or construction paper cut to 8 1/2” squares, about 5-10 per child
q-tips
wet wipes or damp cloths
cookie sheets for each student (from the dollar store or print directly onto plastic table coverings)
and the book: The Shape of Things, by Dayle Ann Dodds
Lesson 1 Print-making:
Set up the classroom by placing q-tips out on tables with foam brushes in small containers of several colors of tempera paint, and cookie sheets on the tables. Each child should have their own cookie sheet and container of paint. I’ve never tried it but you could probably tape plastic onto the tables and paint directly onto the covered table. Just make sure the plastic covering doesn’t move around.
Put the kids into old t-shirts or painting smocks if you have them. Students like to wipe the paint onto themselves before using the wipes or cloths. I’ve learned that the easiest way to get four and five year olds into their painting shirts is to do it as they are walking into the classroom. Place the shirt over their head and tell them to find the arm holes themselves as they walk to their chair. It doesn’t matter if the shirt is backwards or inside-out. BTW: I guess smock is an old-fashioned word because either the kids have never heard it before or they think it’s a really funny word. Either way it gets their attention.
Begin this lesson by reading the book, “The Shape of Things”, by Dayle Ann Dodds. The rhyme in this book flows easily and each page shows objects that can be made with a simple shape. “A square is just a square, Until you add a roof, Two windows and a door, Then it’s much, much more!” It only takes a simple shape to create a house, a kite, the sun or a sail boat. Give the kids pencils or markers to doodle in their sketch books while you read to them.
Younger students need to see the process of print-making to understand it since the print will be a mirror image of their design. The very first step for this lesson is to tell your students to write their name or the first letter of their name on their paper so you can tell who’s print is who’s after they dry.
Demonstrate the project to the kids by applying a small amount of tempera paint onto your cookie sheet with the foam brush and spread the paint into a thin, even layer. Not so thin that you can see mostly cookie sheet but no thick spots or goopy lumps.
Use a q-tip or your finger tip and draw a simple, symmetrical design into the paint, like a sun, happy face, flower or heart. Turn the paper over and place it down onto your design. Press down on the paper with your finger tips. Rubbing the paper will move it around and smear the print. Carefully pick up a corner and pull the print up to see the transfer of the design onto the paper. Show your students where you could have pressed harder to get the paint to transfer better or discuss if the paint layer needs to be thicker or thinner.
Demonstrate a second sample by drawing something asymmetrical like a letter or a word. This will show that a print is a mirror image of the design. Again, before pulling the print, emphasize the importance of writing their name on the paper by asking them, “what is the first step?” Spread some paint onto your surface. Write a letter or one of the student’s names. Place the paper down onto the design, press down well or hold a corner down with one finger and rub carefully with another so the paper won’t slide around. Pull a corner up and look at the print. It is backwards. In order to get a ‘right-reading’ design on their print, they must first draw it backwards in the paint. Depending on the age, you may want the kids to stay away from words and numbers or help them out by writing their design backwards for them on paper so they can copy the design into their paint.
This project is an introduction to the art of print making which is a mature process. If the kids scribble abstract designs, it is perfectly fine. The younger the child, the better it is to stick to designs that look good forward or backward.
Have students take their prints to the drying rack or do it for them if they have become focused print-making machines. Some kids really get into print-making while others are satisfied after only a few prints.
When the kids want to use a different paint color, have them move to a different cookie sheet and foam brush. Dedicated colors on cookie sheets make the process more simple and clean-up easier.
After the prints have dried, ask your students to scribble their fancy artist
signature onto a small part of the print. You can also offer larger cut pieces of black paper and use stick glue to mount them for a professional artist look.
Lesson 2 SIMPLE STAMPS:
Supplies:
beverage bottle lids, foam stickers in different shapes small enough to fit on the lids, tempera paint, foam plates or trays, foam brushes
This is the best kind of art lesson... cheap, fun and easy. It is a shorter lesson if you have less time to fill. I don’t like to use ink pads with permanent ink with the younger kids so instead, I make my own. Pour tempera paint onto foam plates and spread the paint out with foam brushes.
Now simply stick a foam sticker onto the smooth top of a lid and you have a stamp. Press the stamp into the paint and then onto paper. Your students will learn that too much pressure into the paint makes a messy design. A gentle hand gets the foam shape stamped nicely.
At one time I had a lot of beneful dog food containers with lids that had been cleaned and donated. I cut up sponges to fit in the containers and poured just enough tempera paint to saturate the sponge. They made nice spill-proof
inking pads for the kids to take home with their stamps.
Have lots of paper available for stamping and ziplock baggies for the stamps to go home in. The stamped paper dries pretty quickly so they can take their art home the same day, too.
I included a link to images of both projects in the show notes.
