Homemade Watercolor Alphabet Chart

Lately I am loving all the uses of liquid watercolors I am seeing with kids’ projects.  I originally discovered liquid watercolors from this fantastic post by Fun at Home with Kids.  The vibrant colors are gorgeous and I knew we needed to get our hands on some liquid watercolors and start experimenting!  My three year old daughters spent over an hour painting about 20 beautiful watercolors each one unique.  We decided to take some of our watercolors and create a beautiful Homemade Watercolor Alphabet Chart for our playroom.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE YOUR OWN HOMEMADE WATERCOLOR ALPHABET CHART

20 x 30 foam board
watercolor paper
liquid watercolors (red, yellow, blue)
wooden alphabet letters
glue gun
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AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT

fine motor development
artistic expression
creativity
color exploration
letter exploration
patience (letting paintings dry)

SET UP FOR THE HOMEMADE WATERCOLOR ALPHABET CHART

Prior to introducing the painting activity set up a painting area with one piece of watercolor paper per child and cups with diluted liquid watercolors in individual cups (I used about 10 drops of watercolor to 1/4 cup water) and individual paintbrushes. Give your children the freedom to explore the painting materials.  Like with all children’s art projects the focus should be on the process of the art experience rather than the end result.

Focus the language you use with children on their actions rather than your own opinions and visions of their work.  “Luca, look at the way your blue paint and red paint are mixing together.  Look, I see a new color forming!”  “Charlotte, look at the way you are using your brush to cover your paper with blue paint.  I see you used a little bit of yellow too.”  Avoid using the phrase “I like” as it implies that at some point you may not like a child’s work.  Instead of saying “It looks like a…” center your comments on the actions your child is doing to create the work.

Let the paintings dry.  Depending on how much paint is used it should take about an hour for the paintings to dry.

Once dry cut the watercolor paintings into 6 equal parts.  Organize the papers on the foam board so that the entire board is covered.  Glue the papers on the board with the glue gun.

Secure the letters in alphabetical order onto the board using the glue gun.  I alternated rows of 5 letter and 4 letters and ended in 3 letters.

Our Homemade Watercolor Alphabet Chart would look beautiful hanging in a playroom, bedroom or classroom.

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