Welcome to the second part of the Halloween Invitation to Play series that I’m doing with Twodaloo, Play Trains!, Buggy and Buddy, Fantastic Fun and Learning, and Nothing if Not Intentional. Last Tuesday’s invitation was Frankenstein Monster Pumpkin: Halloween Fine Motor Play.
Today’s Invitation: Halloween Sticky Table Art
Related: Halloween Activities for Preschoolers
Materials
Black and orange straws, cut into pieces
Black, orange, and yellow pompoms
Orange glass craft gems
Googly Eyes
Contact Paper
Child-sized tweezers
How we played
I placed Contact paper along the length of one of my classroom tables, sticky side up. I made sure to secure the sticky paper in various places so it wouldn’t come off the table too easily! Then I set out the straws, pompoms, glass jewels, and googly eyes. I encouraged the children to come and explore the materials as they see fit. They loved the sticky table so much I ended up keeping it out for the entire week!
Some of the children had fun lining up the materials all along the Contact paper. Others liked exploring the stickiness of the paper rather than playing with the materials. Still others were very focused on creating people, animals, and designs.
I must admit that I LOVED watching the students create their Halloween sticky paper art! My favorite part was watching the collaborations between students. Some of the children worked individually, while others worked in small groups. Either way, the children often left their art on the sticky table and others would come over and add to what the previous child had done.
Skills that were touched on
Fine motor skills
Art and free expression
Teamwork
Colors and shapes
Sensory exploration
This activity was done with my pre-k class, which consists of kiddos aged 4 and 5. My son would definitely enjoy this, as well — in fact, he’s already requested to do it this week (after seeing the pictures from this post)! So older children (ages 6 and 7) would also likely enjoy the Halloween sticky table art. If I did this activity with younger children, I’d use a few different materials — perhaps larger pompoms and straws, along with colored construction paper. Obviously, I’d base it on the individual children’s needs and concerns.
Please be sure to come back next Tuesday for the final Halloween invitation to play! Also, I’d love for you to check out the other bloggers who are participating in this invitation to play — they have some AMAZING ideas to share with us!
Halloween Invitation to Paint by Nothing if Not Intentional
Halloween Weaving by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Playing & Creating with Sand & Glass Gems by Buggy and Buddy
Pumpkin Railroad Building by Play Trains!
Spooky Mirrored Sand Play by Twodaloo
Shared at Discover and Explore: Halloween, The Sunday Showcase, Mom’s Library, The Kids Co-Op
Love this, Mary Catherine! And the kids were so creative!
Thanks, Stephanie! I think the kiddos did an amazing job with the sticky table art! We kept it up all week long, and they continued making the most creative designs.
That looks like great fun! Wonderful how creative the kids were and how they worked together!
Thanks, Tina! The kids did an awesome job!
We do this on our easel ans use a variety of things to stick on–plastic alphabets, shapes, etc. love this Halloween idea and using the whole table.
I’ve done this vertically, too, so trying it out on the long table was a bit different. It was really interesting to see how the kids worked together and created on a horizontal surface too. They loved it so much that we will definitely be doing more sticky art! 🙂
I really want to try this with the kids! I can’t believe I have yet to try any sticky art- but this may have motivated me! So much fu!