Glitter Spin Art

This was a sparkly activity that we did for not only for a fun experience (we are already eager for anything slightly suggestive of Halloween!), but also for the 30 Invitations to Play Challenge by the site Meri Cherry.  Meri Cherry is an art teacher and parent who is encouraging families and educators to share their play and creation ideas on Instagram.  If this is something you are interested in participating in or if you are looking for inspiration, give it a peek.  Her website has lots of great process-based projects that are engaging for little ones!

http://www.mericherry.com/2015/09/07/30-invitations-to-play-challenge-join-me/

*Our son was experienced with spin art, but the glitter was a new addition-  he loved it and was quite engaged for a good portion of the afternoon, we highly recommend it after you have tried paint.  However, spin art may be new to you, so we also included a few tips and starting points that might assist in the process.*

Materials

• Salad spinner (we use this old one only for crafts)
• Paper (we went with black cardstock)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue (white craft glue)
• Sparkles
• Glitter glue
• Craft tray
• Old Knife (for removing the paper circles)

We always find a smock helpful too:

Directions

• Don your smock.

• Depending on your child’s age and abilities, have them cut out circles out of your paper the size of the bottom of the insert for your salad spinner.  (You could also do this in advance.)  We happen to have this circular lid that is just the right size for ours so we used a pencil, traced around it and then cut our circles out.

• Insert your paper into the bottom of your spinner.

• As my son was experienced with spin art this was more of an experiment/ discovery process with the materials:

(The results of each follow each method)

Glitter Glue

• First he tried squirting glitter glue, adding the lid and spinning it.

Glitter Glue & Glitter

• He followed the same method as above, but experimented with adding glitter to various parts of the design and then spinning the piece again.

Glue and Glitter

• He added glue and then spun it around.

• He then added sparkles to the glue pattern.

• He then altered the size of the glitter flakes (combining large and fine glitter):

• And then wanted to see what would happen with a word, adding a friend’s name:

• He further experimented with changing the paper shape:

• And adding objects:

(Which the next day he turned into a necklace for his sister while she was at a birthday party!  We thought the pipe cleaner beads were quite a clever addition!)

Clean-Up

• We have a special container for mixed glitter.  We took our craft tray, slightly tipped it, made a funnel out of paper and gently and slowly brushed it into the container.  However, as with all glitter activities, it is also good to have a vacuum on hand!

• Spin art is a great way to explore and discuss centripetal force!  Are there art projects that you have done that lend to science explorations?  We would love to hear about them!

Purpose

• Learning about force
• Developing things

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.

Necklace:

• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.