Fall Reflections

Get ready for a very cool art project. I love how these turned out! The one above was my example. It's so boring compared to what the kids made today! Start with a piece of white construction paper and fold it in half the long way.

Make a nice crease so the kids know where the middle is when they open the paper back up. Have the kids paint trees on just the top part of the paper, with the trunks starting at the crease and going upward. We used tempera paint. Then (and here's where the cool part comes in!) fold the paper again and gently press down. When you open it back up, you have a lighter version of what you painted on the bottom, only upside down.

Then add colorful leaves by dotting the paper with the paintbrush. And fold the paper and press down again.

You can keep adding to the trees, just make sure you fold the paper now and then before the paint dries.

You don't want to push the paint around, just gently pat the paper so the painting transfers. We also painted a strip of grass along the crease to give a better visual of where the horizon was.

When that is dry, use blue watercolors to paint the sky on the top.

Then paint the bottom part (the water) but this time paint right on top of the trees, not just the white parts of the paper. This will smear it a bit, but it will look more like water. I encouraged the kids to use a little more water with their paint than they did for the sky. That makes it easier for the brush to glide over your trees.

When everything was dry, we drew in a brown line along the crease, again to show the horizon better.

These turned out so cool! I hung them up with this title:

Don't you love fall crafts? Happy Autumnal Equinox!

P.S. To celebrate the letter C today, we had Crazy Hair Day! Here's a picture of a few of my kids:

**I linked up to Show-and-Share Saturday and The Sunday Showcase!**