Day: June 26, 2009

Are you ready for some fun ideas to keep your kids busy this next week?

Here are five ideas to get the creative juices flowing (and please, take these ideas, build on them, make them your own, use them as a springboard for bigger and better ideas):

Day One – Encourage your child to check out two books this month from the library.

Day Two – Write a list of your child’s favorite animals. Talk about what makes each animal special.

Day Three – Include your child in preparing a healthy meal. Talk about the importance of healthy eating – try something new, like couscous or tofu.

Day Four – Explain origin of holidays, such as Independence Day.

Day Five – Ask your child to write a thank you note or write a note to a relative or friend.

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Here is a fun activity from the book, “A Lithgow Palooza!”:

Pulpture

What I love about this palooza is that it’s a sneaky combination of brainstorming, problem-solving, and making art.

What to do:

Use the news to create an unusual work of art. A work in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City called Bedspring is a mixed-media assemblage on wire bedspring created in 1960 by artist Jim Dine. Dine’s work is composed of old clothing, bedsprings, crumpled paper, and other trash taken from the city streets. Have a look at Bedspring and try not to want to create an assemblage or sculpture just like it. That’s the idea behind Pulpture: create a spontaneous work of art made from newspaper, twine and tape.

Forget about recycling for a week and save stacks of newspapers for Pulpture. Gather a good-sized stack of papers, several day’s or a week’s worth if possible, along with masking tape and twine. Clear a workspace in the family room or kitchen, or set up outdoors in the yard or on a patio or driveway in nice weather. Parents give yourselves over to this one, and don’t worry about containing the mess, at least initially.

The goal is to create a Pulpture, aka newspaper sculpture, using the paper, twine, and tape in any way you can imagine. Think crumpled paper. Think folded paper. Think paper taped to the twine. Think about how it’s possible to tape one piece of crumpled paper to another to create a figure. Or how a Pulpture can hang from twine that is taped or tied to the ceiling or to other household objects. Pulptures can also be mounted with tape onto everyday items such as a garbage can lid, a sled, or a tricycle. Or Pulptures can stand on their own. How might a Pulpture stand up — perhaps folded paper bases and tripod constructions — figuring it out is the most satisfying part of this process.

You can work for hours (or days, if the spirit moves). Have at it for as long as it takes. Make Pulpture animals or human figures. Pulpture buildings. Pulpture forts. Alternatively, use a timer and a start a frenzy of Pulpture design and construction. Who can make the tallest Pulpture in five minutes or less?

Name the Pulptures and — here’s the best part — display the sculptures prominently in your home for a week. Out of respect for the art and artist, of course. Take pictures. Invite the neighbors in for the Pulpture Gallery opening.