There’s a magical moment in printing when a child peels off the paper or lifts the object they have been pressing down to see the image that is left behind. They can do this again and again because printing allows them to create multiple images from the same plate. Printing is a way of exploring the environment through pattern and design, using natural and made objects. Almost anything can be used to make an image, giving young children lots of opportunities to experiment. Their experience can be extended by printing onto different types and thickness of paper or fabric and making things with their designs, such as cards or wrapping paper. Share with them the work of famous artists such as William Morris and Andy Warhol who used different printing techniques to create multiple images in their art work (Painter and Thirlwall and Eglington). Printing Activities Printing captures children’s imaginations and they may lead these activities in all sorts of different directions. Give them lots of time to explore and repeat an experience. Help them to make links between different types of printing and prints that they see around them – e.g. paw prints from a wet dog, potato printing and a printed design on some curtains. Don’t forget the camera to record their experiences and discoveries. Starting Points Choose unusual or interesting materials and resources that inspire exploration... (Development Matters in the EYFS, Expressive Arts and Design, 22-36 months p. 43). Puddle prints – look for some puddles with the children, or make some together by pouring water from a watering can. Make sure everyone has their wellies on. Have fun jumping in the puddles and look at what happens when you step out of them onto dryer ground. Can they tell which wellie print belongs to who? Tyre tracks – use puddles again. Roll old bike tyres, tricycle wheels and small world vehicles through the puddles and look at their tracks on the dry ground. What patterns have they made? Nature’s prints – the children might find an animal footprint – a dog, cat or bird – in the earth or after the animal has walked through a puddle. Support them as they make links with their own wet footprints. Clay or playdough imprints – collect together lots of objects that can be pressed into clay/playdough to make an impression – keys, pine cones, coins, clay tools, twigs, bark, cotton reels etc. Help the children to make links between the print left in the clay and the print made by a wet wellie boot or a sponge dipped in paint. The children might press their fingers and hands into the clay and examine the impression left behind (Eglington). Hands and feet – invite the children to explore making hand prints. They might like to swirl the paint around with their hands, or be more precise by placing their hand carefully and lifting it straight up. Compare hand prints – the spread of the fingers, the size of hands. Use long sheets of paper taped to the floor for footprints so that the children can have a good walk along leaving their footprints behind them. Sponge printing – provide cut up sponges and shaped sponges for the children to dip into paint and print with. Hang a large sheet of paper on the wall or lay it along the ground for a communal printing experience. Finger prints – use finger paints, or water based printing ink for a clearer image. Invite the children to look at their fingers through a magnifying glass, examining the swirls. Do some finger printing and see if they can see the swirls left behind (if using printing ink). They might like to create patterns or even characters with their finger prints, adding arms and legs, eyes and hair using felt tips (Eglington). Bubble prints – an old favourite. Ask the children to help you to mix a third of a cup of paint with a third of a cup of washing up liquid. Add some water and leave overnight. Help the children to pour some of the mixture into small trays. Blow up some bubbles with a straw – don’t suck in! Lay the paper over the bubbles and carefully peel off (Brilliant Publications). Splodge prints – another old favourite. Show the children how to put some splodges of paint on one side of the paper and then fold it over. Open it up to see the original image repeated on the opposite side. Lots of opportunities to talk about symmetry and colour. Printing in the environment – look for examples of printing in the environment e.g. the design on curtain fabric, wrapping paper, wall paper or a T-shirt. Make links with the children’s own printing experiences. Pattern- explore different kinds of patterns: rotating, symmetry, repeating, brick wall formations. Use lots of vocabulary such as overlap, criss-cross, next to, above, below, opposite, upside-down, turn, rotate, repeat. Look for wallpaper, fabric and wrapping paper to examine with children. Printing Techniques Block Printing Make materials accessible so that children are able to imagine and develop their projects and ideas while they are still fresh in their minds and important to them (Development Matters in the EYFS, Expressive Arts and Design, 40-60 months, p.46). Potato printing – slice a potato in half and cut into it so that you have a simple raised shape (triangle, circle, square or star). This can be a bit tricky, but the children could help cut the potatoes in half and suggest some shapes. Support the children as they put some paint into small trays, dip the potato into the paint and press it down on the paper. What sorts of patterns can the children make? Fruit and Vegetables – as well as potatoes there are lots of fruit and vegetables that can make a good printed image. Try peppers cut in half, corn on the cob, halved mushrooms/lemons/apples. Onions leave a layered image behind – cut them in half and let them dry out overnight first for a clearer image. Bits and bobs – collect together all sorts of things that could be dipped in paint/ink, and pressed down to make an image. Get the children involved in finding things. Corks, bottle tops, wooden bricks, cotton reels, poppy seed heads, pen lids. Try different things out and discuss which ones worked the best. Foam shapes blocks – cut some squares of thick cardboard from an old cardboard box and provide some pre-cut foam shapes with a sticky back. Invite the children to make their own printing block by sticking the shapes onto the card. Support them as they ink up a roller by rolling ink onto a tray or sheet of Perspex, and then roll the ink onto their printing block. Then they can press it down onto paper. Lots of opportunities to talk about pattern and position – upside down, next to, overlap etc. Other home-made printing blocks – the children can make their own blocks by wrapping things round a wooden brick. Try string, corrugated card or hessian. Use double-sided tape or P.V.A. glue to fix them, and then print with them using ink, trays and rollers. Wood blocks – try to source some carved wooden printing blocks for the children to have a go at printing with. These are used to print Indian bedspreads. If possible, bring an example of this printed fabric in to look at with the children. Mono Printing This printing technique is one where you create an image only once, rather than multiple times. Provide a wide range of materials, resources and sensory experiences to enable children to explore colour, texture and space (Development Matters in the EYFS, Expressive Arts and Design, 16-26 months p. 43). Paint swirls – invite the children to put some thick paint into a builder’s tray. Give them time to explore it with their fingers and hands, combs, twigs or anything they find that will leave a mark in the paint. Show them how to lay some paper on top of the swirls and lines they have made in the paint, and peel it off to see the image left behind on the paper. The children can swirl the paint some more and do it again. Leaf mono prints – Ask the children to help you collect some leaves. Look at them closely through a magnifying glass and talk about the ridges and veins they can see. Invite the children to roll a little ink onto some Perspex until it is evenly covered. Lay some leaves into the inked up Perspex, place some paper over the top and press down firmly using a clean roller or your hands. Peel off the paper to reveal the shapes of the leaves. The children might like to then ink over the leaves on the Perspex and lay some more paper down and examine this image. Make links with the shapes and lines and veins they examined originally with their magnifying glasses. Collect lots of things for the children to use to make mono-printing images in the same way as the leaves – netting, doilies, ferns, pressed flowers, lace. Relief Printing Provide children with opportunities to use their skills and explore concepts and ideas through their representations (Development Matters in the EYFS, Expressive Arts and Design, 40-60 months, p.46). Ask the children and parents to bring in the polystyrene backs in pizza packaging. Cut these into squares. Keep the cut-offs and let the children experiment with using biros to draw lines and shapes into the cut off pieces. Show them how to press down quite hard so that the biro leaves a dented line in the polystyrene. When they have had time to explore this (they might make holes, not press hard enough, snap the polystyrene) offer them each a square of polystyrene and invite them to use the biros to make a pattern/design on their squares. This could be straight and wavy lines or a simple shape. Remember to make sure the lines are dented into the square. Get the children to ink up their rollers (by rolling the ink on a tray/Perspex) and then roll the ink onto their square. Then press their square down onto paper, using their hands or a clean roller. Lift it off and examine the image. Do all the lines show, should they have pressed down harder with the biro? Have another go with the same square or make another one. Relief printed cards – when the children have had a go at relief printing they might like to make some cards. Offer them some pre-cut card so they can put their polystyrene relief image at one end and then fold it to make a card. They could make quite a few, add envelopes and make little bags to put a few cards in to give as a present or set up a little stall to sell them. Screen Printing Extend the children’s experience and expand their imagination through the provision of pictures, paintings, poems, dance and story (Development Matters in the EYFS, Expressive Arts and Design, 40-60 months, p.46). This is a method used by Andy Warhol to create some of his most famous images. You will need to get hold of some printing screens (wooden frames with gauze stretched over them) and some squeegees (a strip of wood and rubber to drag the ink across the screen) – try asking a local college that does art courses or a local art shop. Invite the children to look at some images of Andy Warhol’s work. Talk about the simple, bold shapes he has used. Show the children how to cut out some shapes or strips of paper and lay them in a design onto some thicker paper. Place the screen over the paper and squeeze a line of printing ink along the top of the screen. Use the squeegee to pull the ink over the screen. The children can have fun making sure the ink has covered the screen while an adult holds it steady. Carefully lift up the screen. The paper shapes will be stuck to the underside of the screen, leaving a bold image on the paper underneath. Printing resources – here are some of the basic things you need for printing projects: Water based block printing ink, paint, rollers, trays, sheets of Perspex, sponges, rags, different types of paper, card, fabric, aprons and old clothes, collections of interesting objects to make images/impressions, clay. References: Art and Design Resource File, Jill Painter and John Thirlwall, LCP, Warwickshire, 2006 Art in the Early Years, Kristen Ali Eglinton, Routledge Falmer, 2003 Preschool Art, Mary Ann Kohl, Brilliant Publications, 1999 Art Attack, Louise Park, Ashton Scholastic, 1987 Art 4-11, Margaret Morgan, Simon and Schuster, 1991
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