Back to School Parent-Child Art Activity

It’s back to school time! There are tears, anxiety and trepidation. No, I don’t mean your child – I mean you. Everyone seems to pay so much attention to how your child feels about, will deal with and reacts to the first day of school, who is worrying about you – the parent? Sure, making your child feel confident and comfortable as he ventures into the world of academics is essential. That said, it can be extremely trying for a parent to let go and watch as her baby boards a bus to spend the day with someone else.

My son went to preschool. Even though he had already gone to a school (it was only a few afternoons a week), when he got on the big yellow bus to go to kindergarten, I cried. It’s funny, as I was thinking about that day I ran into an old neighbor who had moved years ago. Our kids were the same age and when they were younger (they’re tweens and teens now) we spent almost every day together at the park, the pool or each other’s homes. We also spent the first day of school together. We waved good-bye to our kids together and then went to her house – both with tears in our eyes. Even though this sounds super-sad now, a few weeks into the school year we weren’t crying together. We had very much begun to enjoy the fact that we had time to talk about “grown-up” stuff without having to spell certain words out.

If you’re worried how you will react to your child’s school debut, don’t stress – it’s completely normal. Before you pack his book bag, hand over his lunch box and send him on his merry little way, try out a parent-child back to school bus craft. Not only will it provide some quality bonding time for both of you, but it will give you a lasting memento to look at when he’s away at school all day.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Card stock paper

·        Scissors

·        Markers

·        Tempera paints – Yellow, red and blue

·        A paint palette—I reused the plastic lid from a large-sized coffee can.

·        One photo of you and one of your child

·        Clear drying school glue

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Cut shapes from the paper. Use one 8x11-inch piece of paper (horizontally) as the body of the bus. Cut a square as the front of the book and two circles for wheels. Take the opportunity to review these basic geometric forms with your child.

 

2.     Glue the square to the front of the rectangle (right side) and the two circles at the bottom.

 

3.     Draw windows on the front and body of the bus. Have your child free-hand these to practice drawing shapes.

 

4.     Now it’s time to get crafting together. Pour a golf ball-sized pool of yellow paint onto the palette or lid. Each of you should dip one finger into the paint. Finger print the bus together.

 

 

 

5.     Paint print the wheels and the windows. Pour pools of the other colors to finger paint the rest of the bus. Your child can mix the primary colors to get the secondaries – orange, green and purple.

 

 

6.     Trim the photos of yourself and your child. Cut out the heads.

7.     Attach the photo heads to the bus. Glue your photo in the driver’s seat and your child’s in the body of the bus.

 

 

Are you looking for more creative crafts to try with your child? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas or like the Mini Monets andMommies Facebook page!

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