Eric Carle Art Activity

After finishing our Colors unit, we move on to our Eric Carle author study.  The first Eric Carle book I ever bought was Draw Me a Star when I was doing my student teaching.  I found a great activity to do at http://www.ericcarle.com/ a few years ago, and it has become a student favorite every year. 

First, we read the story.  Then I give every child a square of aluminum foil.  I let them select the color or tempera paint they want to paint their foil and they finger paint the sheet.  We do this the 1st day and let it dry overnight.  The next day, I give each child a copy of a star printed on white cardstock.  The children cut it out and spread bottle glue all over one side of the star.  I give students a small piece of aluminum foil in each color.  They then tear small pieces of painted aluminum foil  and press it onto the glue until the whole side is covered. I try to get students to not leave any white spots in between the colors, but some do better than others.  We let them dry overnight and repeat with the other side the next day.  After letting them dry completely, we hang them up around the room for the rest of the year.  They look just like Eric Carle's art technique, don't you think?