Spirograph Cyclex, Something New!

So the kids love making spirograph art at the kitchen table when I am cooking or we need to wait patiently until it's time to scoot out the door. Here is something new I picked up with their Christmas money.

One thing I like about it is it is just one piece so it's easier to clean up and keep together than the traditional kind with the loose gears.

It took a little getting used to but now I see the kids are pumping out cool designs with no trouble. Emmitt is 5 and still learning a proper pencil grip and he is able to manipulate it with a little effort.

Here Emmitt turned two partial circles into arm's for a person. 🤗

 Here you can see the box of gel pens I keep in the living room along with a pad of paper and a coloring book.

I encourage the kids to get creative like Emmitt did by turning his into a person. A great way to foster this is to make a picture yourself and turn your circles into a flower garden, it will open up the possibilities for them. 

Let me say that I don't like to tell the kids how to make their art, other than practical suggestions like "did you want you person to have arm's?". For example, I wouldn't tell them to turn their circles into flowers. I would never lean over them and tell them their doing it wrong.  I instead make my own thing and share it with them. They see my work and get their own ideas. Sometimes they copy, and sometimes they do something completely different with it.  It's okay if they deviate from the target activity, as long as they are creating and learn to manipulate the materials. Another thing is that I always show pride in my work as an example to them to be proud of their own and that art is important. 

Making kids art is a blast guys. You should definitely try it if you don't already!

I keep only one activity out in the upstairs at a time (which is the spirograph/gel pens) to save me from too much mess. I do keep one or two activities put away in dinning room but the kids need permission to get them out. The rest is kept downstairs in my craft room/classroom or the play room. Needless to say my downstairs is always a wreak, but I try to keep the upstairs as the tidy, presentable spot in my house. Yeah, I try. 😁

During this activity, Easton was in the classroom working with his washi tape and Ella was coloring her color book, coloring things she shouldn't, and clinging to my leg while I cooked (I need to and am cooking up some busy bags for her!). 

You can find this at Walmart, Target, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby for 14.99 to 19.99 but Amazon.com has the best price right now.

The gels pens are great and I got them from Amazon and the Dollar Tree.