Create Big Backyard Art With Your Kids

Before your kids head back to school, let them end summer BIG. Big backyard art projects are a great way to release some of the anxiety surrounding school preparation. The following projects are more fun when done with a friend or two, besides, containing the mess in one backyard is good for everyone.

Major Mural
Cover a fence with a plastic table cloth and then hang butcher paper, or a white sheet, over top. The plastic should be taped securely in place to keep the fence paint-free. Hand out paint brushes and several colors of tempera, or acrylic paints. Let the kids create a masterpiece. They can paint individual paintings, or work together to make a scene.

Family Fun magazine suggests letting kids dip rubber spike balls in paint to toss at the paper. This makes unique circular shapes that kids can then draw monster faces with a black marker when the paint is dry. This fun abstract can be cut into squares and used as wrapping paper throughout the year.

Freeze Paint
Another project you probably won't want to tackle once school starts up in the fall, are freeze pop paintings. For this project you will need popsicle molds, or small paper cups. Fill mostly full with water. Add a tablespoon of dry tempera paint powder and stir well with a craft stick. Popsicle molds have a built-in holder, paper cups will need to be covered with aluminum foil so a craft stick will stay in place as it freezes.

Once frozen, take the paint pops outside to paint on a piece of poster board or butcher paper. The coolness of the paint makes outside art bearable on a hot day.

Rock painting
Every year my daughter looks forward to making more decorations for the garden. We take a bucket of rocks from the garden path, or rocks collected on our walks. She lays them out on a sheet in the backyard and spends time just rolling them on paper plates to create a marble look. Other rocks are painted a solid color and then she adds facial features with a permanent marker once dry. The rocks are covered in clear shellac and then placed throughout the gardens as markers. They add a touch of color, much appreciated when all the flowers die off.

Clean up collage
Pull out all the odds and ends from junk drawers and craft areas. Have kids cover the frame of a large garage sale mirror, or gaudy frame with knick knacks and small toys. Add kitchen items like dried beans, pasta shapes and natural items like pine cones, sticks and tiny pebbles. Once the frame is completely covered, spray paint with a solid color, such as gold or other metallic. The unique creation helps you clean up small random items from the toy chest and around the house, while making something new for display.

Enjoy the dog-days of summer with these messy outdoor projects. The best part is that the once the kids are done, you can hose them and the yard off.

Resources:
Family Fun, August 2011
Personal experience

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