The shorter days of Winter gives us lots more opportunities to see some of the most beautiful skies. The later sun rise and early sun set mean that we get to see them without having to wake up too early, or go to bed too late. The longer, colder nights give us more opportunities to stargaze and watch the cycle of the moon.
Sun Rise…Sun Set…
At first glance there doesn’t seem to be as many things to look at and take inspiration from in the Winter time. I often find my eyes looking up at the sky at this time of year. In particular, sunrise and sunset seem to be particularly spectacular, especially on a cloudy day. The golds and oranges cast from the sun, mix with the grey in the clouds, creating purples and pinks. The sky often seems to be full of magic, and that isn’t only on Christmas Eve!
‘Brighten up a Grey Sky’ art idea:
Use some grey paper or card to brighten up as you explore using these colours. Watercolour paints are an excellent art material for mixing colours together and for layering colours are you can make them thicker or more transluscent, depending on the amount of water that you use. Paint your paper or card with a layer of water first and then add the colours on top of the water. You will see cloud shapes and streaks naturally start to appear.
Magic Night Sky…
The longer nights give younger children more opportunities to study the night sky and quite often in the Wintertime, we get cold crisp cloudless night skies that display hundreds of stars and we get great views of the moon too.
Wrap up warm with lots of layers and head outside together. Hands wrapped around a mug of hot choccie, simply look up and have a chat about what you can see in the sky. What shapes can you see? How many stars can you count? What does the moon remind you of? Listen to how silent the night time can be in the Winter. Smell the cold fresh air. Taste the creamy hot chocolate…What a lovely Mindful activity to do!
Create a Night Sky Collage:
Use some black paper or card and some glue to create some art inspired by this magical night time sky. Tear or cut up some scraps of foil, foil wrappers, dig out some sequins and gems from your craft box. This bits and pieces will make a beautiful night sky collage. If you have some silver paint and a paint brush, dip your brush into the paint and gently flick the end of the brush over the top of your paper to make a silver spray of stars.
Chalks and soft pastels are a great art material to use on black paper or card. Rub the chalk or pastel on some scrap paper to create chalk dust. Squeeze some glue onto your art into whatever shapes and patters you like, and then sprinkle the dust onto the glue. You could also sprinkle on some glitter or finely chopped up foil onto the glue.
These activities are a great way to develop your child’s creative thinking skills as they will take inspiration from what they have seen, but will use their own imagination to interpret it. They will take from it the parts that they like and enjoy the most.
We would love to see your Winter inspired arts and crafts. Please share and tag us on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #rainbowtreebox or email us. We would love to hear from you!
