Mermaid Dreams by Mark Sperring is about Meriam who doesn’t
like getting ready for bed. But as her mom brushes her hair, shells
and other ocean items fall out. They are all hints to the end where
we learn that she is a mermaid.
The illustrations in this book flow across the pages. The picture of Meriam’s tail has been created from a variety of paper, layered on top of each other.
I was inspired to try to copy the mermaid. I began by making a stencil
on styrofoam for the children to paint and print.
Yarn was used for her hair. Old greeting cards and scissors with
scalloped blades were used to make the scales of her tail.
They also cut crabs from a special hole punch and used those to
decorate their pictures.
We also used shell and star shaped sponges to paint the background.
The children’s creations turned out lovelier than I could imagine.
What a great activity! I love the book pairing and that you made a mermaid with relief printmaking for the kids to decorate. My son often gets frustrated not knowing where to start and is frequently discouraged when his picture doesn't look realistic. This would give him the opportunity to be creative without all that. The final result is awesome - especially the wild yarn hair! I'd love it if you'd share this (and other amazing ideas of yours) at the After School Linky Party up on my blog each Monday: deceptivelyeducational.blogspot.com. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThank you and yes I will link up.
DeleteI struggle with how much to do to prep for the art table. But I so love the illustrations in this book and believed the simple outlined printmaking would still allow the children to make their mermaid unique.
What a great project! When my kids were little we use to pair books with art projects. I have a trunk full of their old projects. Thanks for stopping by and linking up to Fluster Buster's Creative Muster Party! Looking forward to seeing what you're going to link up next week.
ReplyDeleteRobin @ Fluster Buster