Seashells

A very cool concept to teach was how paint interacts with different things.  This also helps students remember scientific concepts such as action/reaction and physical property changes.  Since we were learning about the ocean and sea, we made seashells.

The supplies we used were:

• paper plates
• washable paint
• salt
• baby oil

I cutout seashell shapes from paper plates and let them begin to paint their seashells any color they'd like.  Before the paint dried, I had them pour salt onto the seashells and I dripped some baby oil onto the shells.

 

Their faces lit up when they saw how the salt made the paint spread out a little bit.  The baby oil was fun because they noticed how the texture of the paint changed slightly.  After the paint dried, I let them try to sprinkle the salt on the shells again, and they quickly noticed that the salt did not adhere to the shells the way it did when the paint was wet.

I love when you can integrate core subjects with art.