Materials:

• Styrofoam plates or trays
• pencils or pens
• tempera paints
• paintbrushes
• different types of paper (drawing, construction, newspaper, wrapping paper)

Objective: Children will develop fine-motor, observation, and language skills as they explore ways to make copies of their artwork using simple printing techniques as well as the copy machine.

ACTIVITY
1. Provide each child with a Styrofoam plate and a pen or pencil. (You may need to remind youngsters to use pencils and pens with care so they don’t hurt themselves or others.)

2. Encourage children to draw any design they’d like on their plate. Explain that they don’t have to press very hard for their design to show. If youngsters are having problems because their writing implement is going through the Styrofoam, just put another plate under the one they’re working on.

3. After drawings are completed, ask children to paint lightly over them. Before the paint dries, invite children to choose a sheet of paper and press it onto their painted plate to make a print of the design. Encourage everyone to observe what happens as they print on different materials.

Tip : Paint washes off easily, so children will be able to experiment with different colors throughout the printing process. They may also enjoy trading plates with one another or combining designs.

Spin-offs

• If you have access to a copy machine, encourage children to make drawings, then allow them to accompany you to the machine and assist in making copies. Together, observe the flash of light that occurs as the copy is made. Ask the group to come up with theories on how the machine works. Compare and discuss the similarities and differences between their plate prints and the copy machine prints — both the actual products and the process itself.

• Now that children are experienced printers, challenge them to think of other ways they can make prints using Styrofoam plates and paint. What additional materials could they use to print with? What are other surfaces they would like to try printing on?

BOOKS
The illustrations in these books were made with interesting and colorful printing techniques.

My River by Shari Halpern (Scholastic Inc.)
Swimmy by Leo Lionni (Alfred A. Knopf)
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (Simon & Schuster)