TRANSIENT ART WITH FELT

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Creating transient art with felt shapes

Creating transient art with felt shapes

TRANSIENT ART WITH FELT:

Would you like to set up a creative invitation to create  with ZERO MESS? I’ve got a great one.  No paint, no clay, not even a single marker! Meet your new best friend, felt.  

Felt is a fantastic material for both art and play. This medium is inexpensive, readily available, and can be used over and over again. Read on for tips on how to set this up for toddlers, preschooler and big kids.

Felt Shapes for PLAY

Felt Shapes for PLAY

HOW TO SET UP AN INVITATION TO CREATE WITH FELT:


First, I covered our table in our favorite white roll paper.  This is completely optional, but our kitchen table is where my children and their friends congregate after school to snack and chat and make.  Laying down the paper gives it an inviting feel.

Next, I gathered our play felts from the playroom.  We keep them in the playroom because the children use them in their block buildings.   They also use them for gross motor play when they play a twister-like game by laying out the different colors. They put them all together to make a beautiful sea of colors and then play boat with our Wiwiurka XXL Rocker.

I simply placed our felts on the table and when my Ruby got home, she sat down and got IN THE ZONE.  Ruby is used to playing with felt, so there was no hesitation on her end.  I know what must be thinking: Really? Felt? My kid wouldn’t even know where to begin.

WHAT TO DO:

Toddler Prompt-

  • Set up on the floor for a toddler. She will have more space to move around.

  • Can you find all the red felts? Let’s gather them and put them in one spot.  What color would you like to choose next? Will you choose a circle or a square?

  • This red felt feels fuzzy against my skin.  Do you think the blue one will feel the same or different? What does it remind you of? My blue felt feels like a soft bunny or a kitten.

  • Can you jump from the red square to the blue square? Wow! That was easy for you. Let’s make the space bigger by moving them a little farther apart. Can you try jumping again? How did that jump feel?

Preschool Prompt-

  • Lay out your felts on a low table or a mat on the floor, depending on how your child will be most comfortable working.

  • Preschoolers are beginning to think about patterning and they also love to sort. (hello, math skills!) You can build off the toddler prompt by encouraging them to group the felts by shape or color.  Maybye you will start a pattern for them with a big red square, then a small red sqaure. Big red square, small red square. Say it out loud and model how you are thinking. Follow their lead and keep this a CHILD-LED, OPEN ENDED activity.

  • Put out some blocks, animals or small peg people with your felts. You could even put out a favortie stuffed animal or action figure toy.   See where your child takes this play.  You might put some sea animals on the blue felts to represent water, and some farm animals on the green for grass.  Again, follow your child’s thinking on this and don’t press them to go in any direction. Children engage best when they are playing about their own interests, not the interest we think they should have.  

  • Preschoolers are often very interested in growing BIG and this is great way to encourage basic measuring.  Have them lay down on the ground and measure them in felts.  Have them measure you in felt squares.  Compare which one is bigger, smaller, etc.  Maybe they’ll begin to measure other things as well.  ‘How many felts long do you think the block shelf might be? Let’s take a guess and then see if we are correct.”

Grade Schoolers Prompt-

  • Definitely go table top for the big kids. Setting up felts on the table offers a new, blank canvas for creating.  My nine year old spent ages making abstract patterns and playing with color and design. 

  • There are no mistakes with felt.  Nothing is permanent, which means that even your perfectionist child can work on this without hesitation.  Transient art like this is a great way to get hesitant children making.

  • Sit down with your big kids and works beside them.  No phones, no interruptions.  As adults, we might be hesitant to put marker to paper.  Maybe it feels silly? Maybe you don’t feel like a great artist? With felts, it is just simple arranging, rearranging and hanging out.  Try it out. Make a snack for your big kid and a cup of coffee or tea or yourself. Sit down and relax.

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-Lizzie