VBC for kids – Donald Crews – Freight Train – Smudging Artwork

This month’s virtual book club for kids features Donald Crews.  The only book we have of his is Freight Train , but it is a perfect one for Luath.  She loves trains, this summer she saw a steam train and also had her first trip on a train.

I especially like the images of the moving train with the blurring and blending of the wagon colours and was inspired by this to do art with Luath.

I set out chalk pastels (they have been waiting patiently to be used), cotton wool balls, a foam sponge paint brush and different coloured paper.

Luath asked what we were to do.  I said she could pick a piece of paper and draw on it using the chalk.  Once she had finished with the one colour I then told her she could smudge it with the cotton wool. She really enjoyed this and repeated with many different colours.

I drew a few rectangles in a row to be like a train and Luath smudged these together.

She tried using the foam sponge paint brush which gave a gentler smudging effect.

The final image, our train is on the left.
 
We were doing this as I prepared dinner so while I finished up I suggested she and daddy could make a firework picture on black paper.
   
(Luath is 30 months)