Brown Paper Bag Art - Ages 3 and Up

This is a first in a series of examples of how you can recycle common day-to-day items as art materials for your children.

Who said that all painted art works has to be on white paper?! Cut out the bottom of a brown paper grocery bag and you have a great piece of paper for your child to create a beautiful work of art. In the examples shown here children applied color to the brown paper with colored marker and tempera paint. Here are the supplies you need for this project:

* Brown paper grocery bag with bottom cut out to create a flat piece of brown paper

* Washable & non-toxic colored markers

* Washable & non-toxic tempera paint in various colors - highly recommend some white and silver and gold colors that really look wonderful on the brown paper

* To apply the paint: paint brush, paint roller and small piece of sponge

Non-Toxic and Safe Art For Kids

Whether your child is engaged in art activities in a public setting or at home, it’s important that only non-toxic and safe art materials are used.

First, materials and tools should be age appropriate (e.g. pre-schoolers should not be given sharp scissors or tools or very small objects that they might swallow). Second, make sure that art materials are non-toxic by checking to be sure they have the AP seal for non-toxicity & quality and they conform to ASTM D-4236 (this is a US labeling regulation and this is what it looks like). Also check that the products are washable by checking for washability on the label. Finally, to ensure a safe art experience, make sure that the space in which the art activity is done has proper ventilation.

Why Environmental Education Is Important For Your Child

1. Helps them develop into adults who understand and care about environmental stewardship

2. Nurtures their sense of wonder, imagination, and creativity

3. Provides them with a sense of beauty, calm, and refuge in a sometimes frightening world

4. Expands their intellectual development; it’s been proven to improve test scores, grade-point averages, and problem solving skills

5. Enhances physical development

6. Helps them understand the interrelationship of all life

Source: http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/environmental-education.htm

Why Art Is Important For Your Child

1. Art stimulates and develops the imagination.

2. Art develops cognitive and creative abilities.

3. Art strengthens problem solving and thinking skills.

4. Art is important for fine motor, language and social development.

5. Art teaches children that problems can have more than one solution.

6. Art celebrates multiple perspectives.

7. Art teaches children that small differences can have large effects.

8. Art helps children to say things without words.

9. Art enables children to have experiences unlike any other learning situation.

10. Art is the one curriculum area in which there are no wrong answers.

Sources: Learning and the Arts: Crossing Boundaries Jan. 2000, Americans For The Arts Benefits of Art Education Preschool Arts Education Fact Sheet 2002 and Young Children and The Arts: Making Connections, 1998