Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Propeller Drawing

This summer I've been activity shopping. You know, looking through blog posts and other resources just to learn new ideas or remember old favorites.

I was thinking about art and drawing and such. And I remembered something we did in my VBS class a few years ago - propeller drawing


(This is also a great "repurpose" activity, using things for a different purpose than intended.)

For each "propeller" you will need a foam cup, a wide craft stick, and two markers. You'll also need masking tape and scissors.

Use scissors to make a vertical slit on one side of the cup; make the slit starting a inch or so from the bottom of the cup. Make another slit in the same place on the opposite side of the cup. Slide the craft stick through both slits, leaving an equal amount of stick extending from each side of the cup. Tape the stick to the cup. 


Tape a marker to each end of the stick, with the drawing end of the marker extending past the top of the cup. Make sure the two markers are even.


Make several propellers. Place them on a table with paper.

Let the kids experiment with the propellers. The idea is for kids to rotate the cup like a propeller, making circular drawings or patterns.


Kids may want to draw side to side or make various loops.


Let them experiment. They could surprise you. 





I think it's great to use these just for experimenting. If you want to tie these to a theme, the activity would work with transportation or travel or shapes (circles). You could provide bigger paper and challenge kids to write their names or other words. Use them at the easel to provide a different plane for drawing.

I think I need to try this again soon.