Ants at a Picnic

We love picnics around here, and posting our wedding photos last week reminded me of a picnic art project that's great for kids.

You'll need:

white construction paper

red & black tempera paint

square building block

felt

small piece of cardboard

glue

scissors

1. Use a block to stamp a checkerboard pattern with red paint on white construction paper. (I did this part while Abe was napping so it would be dry when he woke up. Older kids can do it themselves, but let it dry for a bit before adding ants.)

2. Cut an ant shape out of felt, and glue it to a small piece of cardboard to make a stamp. Use multiple layers of felt and cardboard to make the stamp easier to handle for small children. (My stamp only had one layer of felt, so globs of paint stuck to the cardboard whenever we dipped it in the paint.)

3. Dip your stamp in black paint and add add some ants to your picnic blanket!

When I was a toddler teacher, we made a giant picnic blanket as a background for the kids' picnic lunch art. It was a great display for summer!