Every spring PTO at my two schools has an event called "Family Fun Night". It is a fundraiser for PTO- they sell tickets for admission that includes a meal and access to "booths" with different activities. I was asked to run an Art booth this year so I was trying to come up with a quick project for multiple ages that fit the "Down on the Farm" theme. I tried searching the internet for ideas but couldn't find anything I liked. I found lots of projects where everybody made exactly the same thing but if it was going to be called an Art booth, I really wanted them to make Art.
I decided to cut out simple shapes that could be combined and printed to make farm animals. I figured out how to make a cow, a horse, and a pig. I cut the shapes out of thin craft foam, brushed paint on the shapes and stamped them, then added details with more paint and crayons.
Here is how I set up the room in case you ever need to do something similar
I had a sign on the table closest to the door with instructions to take a piece of construction paper, write your name on it, and pick a table for the farm animal they wanted to make. I printed a simple sign with the name of the farm animal (cow, horse, pig) and a clipart picture of it hanging from the crayon banks I have over each table. That was really helpful when the room got crowded as the students and families could still see their choices. Each table was covered with butcher paper that could just be thrown away at the end of the night. At the tables, I had printed instructions for a guide. (Obviously since it was a fun night and not an assignment, the students could kind of do their own thing.) I ordered some large, shallow trays to use for printmaking next year so I was able to just squirt the tempera paint colors for each animal on the correct table. I also put the shape stamps, brushes, and an example at each table. One table just had tubs of crayons so the students could add details when the paint dried a little. Some students just chose to draw with crayons instead of using the paint! I put long strips of paper on the floor so the wet projects could sit there to dry and be picked up later. I had someone announce over the intercom that projects had to be picked up by the end of the night. I did not want to mess with trying to sort projects and get them passed out at each school.
Some printed, some painted, some just drew. Each animal was different and the students and parents had fun making Art!
