Watercolor Sun Prints

A great way for children to get to know each other is to go on a walk, exploring the school grounds.  We did this, and as we walked we gathered materials to create sun prints!  We visited, explored, and searched and came back with lovely shaped leaves, twigs, and whatever else struck our fancies!



When we returned to the sidewalk area near our classroom, we set the gathered materials aside, and began creating the base of the print, the paper.

I set out a large tray with lots of individual containers of liquid watercolors, each with its own pipette.  The children "made little rivers" and squeezed beautiful mixtures, of the colors.  Then each child placed his or her found treasures onto the pieces of paper.  I covered each one with plastic wrap (squishing down the rivers a bit - in some cases.)

We weighted down the papers with sticks and rocks so they wouldn't blow away, and left them in the bright sunshine for the rest of the day.

The next day, I unwrapped the papers, and the children removed the natural objects, revealing . . .

I asked the children what they thought happened to make the paintings look this way.  One child said the leaves must have soaked up all the paint underneath them, and another child said that he could still see the leaf shape because the leaf was somehow stuck inside the paper!

I typed up their explanations, glued them to the back of the pictures, and put them in our Nature Journals for safe keeping!

I wonder what we will put into our Nature Journals next!