Fun with Stencils

My kids have been playing around with stencils lately.  I found a bunch of them on clearance at Joann's about a month ago.  I think it's a great fine motor skill to work on: staying in the lines, how to completely fill each hole, and techniques with different mediums.  Plus even my 2-year-old is proud of her final product.  We have used markers, pencils and even baby wipes with a little marker smudged on them in our stenciling.



Ages: 2 and up

What you need:
stencils: anything you can find!
paper
tape
markers
colored pencils
crayons
paint brushes, if you feel like cleaning up extra mess
tempera paint
baby wipes
plastic covering

What to do:
Pass out the paper and stencils.  Pass out the crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint brushes, paint, baby wipes in any order or capacity.  Spread out a plastic covering.  Help tape the stencils to the paper for the younger ones.  Let the kids experiment and share the different stencil designs.  Encourage them to add their own backgrounds and details. Be sure to display their beautiful work!