As you build your art area, consider the different types of art projects the children will be able to do there.

A table is only one idea for a suitable work surface for your art projects. You can provide “placemats” created from pieces of unused flooring or large wooden “tree cookies” (sanded slices of fallen tree trunks) or even vinyl place mats that are placed on the ground for each child. Hang a piece of Plexiglas or attach it to the fence to act as an outdoor easel.

This space is best created in an area that is a combination of sun and shade, with enough room for different types of art experiences. Provide some form of shelving in the sun for drying. This might again be shelving attached to the fence. It can also be a re-purposed pie rack with tiles over the wooden shelf to make it more appropriate as an art station.

The shade for this area can be a simple patio umbrella mounted in a PVC pipe that has been placed in the ground. Be sure to include a cap over the end of the pipe when the umbrella is not in it in order to keep out the dirt and insects that would try to fill it up and make it unusable for the umbrella at a later date.

Your art tub might contain pieces of scrap wood and wood glue in addition to clay, collage materials, paint, crayons and paper. Remember to have a bucket of water and large paint brushes handy to “paint” the fence – a favorite activity of toddlers.

If this space is situated near the science and sensory area, then the mud from your fabulous mud pit can be used to create the adobe bricks and then dried on the art drying rack. They can later be used in an adjacent block area to enhance the building of creative structures or as a part of an extended art project as they become elements in a collage.

Return to childcare-resources home page

Return to Outdoor Classroom from Art Projects