Toddler Art Class: Oil Pastels

Just a little bit different than a crayon, oil pastels are a fun foray into "fancy" art supplies.

Art Project:  Creating with Cray-Pas
Supplies:
cray-pas
black construction paper
(optional:  Crayola construction paper crayons)

Book:
  Harold and the purple crayon / Johnson, Crockett

My crayons talk / Hubbard, Patricia

Music to make art by:  
Good morning my love songs to bond you and your baby / [sound recording] : Vered

 What Kids Do:  Draw (er, tap) dots:

 Draw wild scribbles (Look!  Black on black!):

 Some of the older siblings did more representational illustrations (very elaborate!):

 Some laid down solid blocks of color:

 Some drew "roads":

 Some really got into their work:

 I personally loved this artist's style--draw a circle and then decorate inside it.  She told me it was a rock. 

 And this one is a dinosaur.  Possibly an ankylosaurus.

 

And just to demonstrate how different two artists' styles can be, the artwork below is that of two twin siblings.  BIG BOLD swirls vs. careful, light circles.

 

I went back a bit later and found more careful circles:

 

 And his sister had resorted to holding a whole bouquet of crayons to get the effect she wanted.

 Here's a different set of twins' drawings:

 

 One difference between crayons and cray-pas?  Oil pastels can make your fingers messy.

Hindsight Tip:  The Cray-Pas are labeled as being "not for children under 36 months" so please use your discretion if using them with young children.  I explained this to the adults in the room and offered the special construction paper crayons as an alternative.

 Variations to try: 

Give them both black and white paper to compare.

Adult Challenge:  Just Watch.  See what they do!