Sunny Summer Sky Collage

Collage comes from the French verb “coller”, meaning to glue or to paste. Considered an assemblage or construction based art form, collages can be created by using many different type of materials. This activity will encourage your child to use her investigative and observational skills and discover workable collage materials from her very own household.

This sunny summer sky collage will help your child to learn about artistic processes, develop an art vocabulary, refine fine motor abilities, and increase general knowledge about the seasons and weather. Try this activity outside on a bright summer day.

What You Need:

• Construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Collage materials (these can be found/reused items such as newspapers, magazines, fabric, or even cereal boxes or these can be store bought materials such as craft foam, felt, and tissue paper)

What to Do:

1. Go outside! Observe the summer weather. Ask your child what she sees. What color is the sky? Are there clouds? Are there birds or bugs? These answers will change depending on the time of day. Mid-afternoon might have a bright blue sky, while the early evening sky may be purple and pink.
2. Gather your materials. If you are planning on using recycled household items find a wide selection in many colors and shades.
3. Have your child choose materials that reflect the colors outside she observed outside. If the sky is blue with some clouds, have her find papers or other materials in different shades and textures of blue and white. A plain blue sky does not have to look the same the whole way around; instead it can be bumpy from fabric, smooth from metallic paper, and soft from felt.  Encourage your child to explore with different shades and color and texture combinations.
4. Ask your child to cut or tear the collage materials into smaller pieces.
5. Using the glue, your child can now assemble her collage. Encourage her to overlap the papers and materials.

Extend this project into other seasons or types of weather. Your child can become a mini-meteorologist and give her weather predictions in the form of some beautiful art!