A super-simple craft,
perfect for a spring parade ...

Nothing says spring like rainbows! But if you can't find any in the sky, just make some!

What to get:

What to do:

1. Cut out the middle of the plate, creating a ring. Leave it white for clouds, or color it yellow for the sun or blue for the sky.

2. Cut a few lengths of streamers, at least 18" but no more than 24".

3. Glue the tops of the streamers along one half of the ring.

4. After drying, either hold the non-streamer side to wave your rainbow tambourine-style, or poke a hole in it and hang it up to dance in the wind!

Try adding cotton balls for clouds. You can also use yellow streamers glued all around the ring for a fun sun or use pastel streamers all around the ring for a long-petaled flower!

Source:kidsguide

ART IS EVERYWHERE.
Encouraging Artistic Exploration and Expression*

While some autistic individuals are very artistic and do most of their communicating via painting or drawing, others are less drawn to the typical art activities. For these people we have to be a little more creative and brainstorm a little to find interesting and altered ways of taking part in part. Here are a few of the ways to help your child dive into art. You can also find some great ideas in the book "The Out of Sync Child has Fun".

1. Some children with Autism don't want to get their hands dirty or sticky so they steer clear of painting projects. A fun way to encourage participation in painting is to first provide rubber gloves (like the hospital type) if they prefer and then introduce them to paint. There are some really cool and tempting ways of painting that may win over your reluctant child. Using a train or car as the print maker put some paint in a shallow pan and drive the vehicle through the paint being sure to cover the wheels completely. Now let your child drive the vehicle around on some paper and look at the resulting tracks left by the painted wheels! This is a fun activity that you can keep for later displaying in a frame, window or scrapbook. It's also fun to take a picture of the child doing the project to display with the finished piece. This acts as a reminder and many times a prompt for repeating the activity.

2. Using marbles, golf- balls, ping-pong balls or whiffle balls as the printer cover the bottom of a cake pan with paper. Now dip the balls in paint or simply roll them around in a paint container until they are covered. Pick the ball up with tongs or gloved hands and place them on the paper in side the cake pan. Now have the child slightly tilt the pan or roll the balls using chopsticks or spoons. Look at the patterns made by the rolling balls.

3. Some children are less likely to put pen to paper on a surface that is flat. For a change try hanging large pieces of paper on the wall or get a white-board mounted with dry-erase markers nearby. You can find end-roll newsprint at your local newspaper business at a low price or try looking at thrift stores for unused wallpaper rolls. These make for heavyweight extra long lasting paper for painting, and drawing and just about any other use.

4. Building with blocks or boxes is another form of artistic expression. Keep a camera handy to capture extra-loved or unusual creations. Display them on the art wall or in a booklet we keep by the block supplies. (This also serves as a reminder of play choices in the future.)

5. Water play is one of the nearly universal loves of children and even this activity can be turned into art we can keep and remember. You need regular colored construction paper and a bowl of water and a paintbrush. Now, let your child paint designs on the construction paper using the water. The water will darken the paper leaving drips, splashes and handprints -while this will only last a little time it is a lot of fun to do and even more fun to see the image disappear as it evaporates. (This same idea works outside with paintbrushes on the dry sidewalk.)

6. Clay and similar sculpting mediums offer another artistic option that some people really enjoy. Even the tactile-defensive person can find enjoyment in this sculpting idea: Take a lid from a jar or a pie tin or other small shallow container and fill it with air-drying clay. Now provide a variety of interesting items to stick into the clay, creating a mural or mosaic or a 3-dimensional tower of intrigue. Suggested items: plastic gems, ceramic tile chips, pipe cleaners, colored wire, nuts, bolts, paperclips, leaves, sticks, bottle caps or anything that catches the child's interest. Finally, put the creation up until it hardens.

Whatever your child's unique interests, there is surely a way to share them in an art form with our friends and families and to display them in a proud manner on our walls, windows or good old refrigerators.

To capture our children's unique joys and interests:

Cut 2 equal pieces of clear contact paper and sandwich the creation - you may want to add glitter or colorful crayon shavings or sequins to add pizzazz. After sealing this, cut the edges with zigzag scissors and add a ribbon at the top for a cool window sun-catcher display. You can also do this to make personalized placemats, book-covers, small key chain decorations or special cards for Grandparents. This is one way of sharing your child's efforts, creations and obsessions with loved ones while helping to instill a sense of pride and appreciation in their work and play.