It is definitely winter time outside which makes it the perfect time to explore all kinds of mitten art. Let’s kick off this amazing freezing cold season with a mitten sticky board collage.
What is Sticky Board?
You may not be familiar with sticky board art but before I go on, let me tell you that this can easily be done with glue and art paper. But sometimes, it is fun to try a new canvas material like sticky board.Â
Sticky boards are like thin pieces of 8 x 10 card stock with one side completely sticky and the other side has a glossy finish to it. It comes in rectangular sheets which are easy to cut into different shapes or can just be left like it is. We cut two mittens out of each sheet of sticky board material and set them out along with a colorful assortment of different textured lace.
Why I Like the Sticky Board
I liked using the board for making the mitten collages for a couple of reasons. The first reason is because I wanted the children to take their time sorting through the different colors and textures of ribbon or lace. If we used glue, the children would have been more focused on glueing and less on exploring the textures and colors.
I also know that fabric doesn’t stick all that well to glue and preferred to save that kind of experience for another day. Besides, on this particular day, we also had out lots of painting activities. The sticky boards were not only a nice alternative to glue, but they also kept the centers more balanced when it came to messiness. A little mess here and a little not so messy there is always a good thing.
And finally, the sticky boards were fun for every child – especially for those who don’t like to get their fingers all stick from glue. But again, we offer LOTS of other types of gluing experiences which is important to do.Â
All throughout the morning the children stopped by the mitten collage table to put together their own sticky board collage. The children took their time looking through the lace and deciding how they wished to line up the lace on their mittens. Some children were more meticulous than others in what they chose to do.Â
We also set out scissors in case the children wanted to cut the strips of lace into smaller pieces. I found that most of the children just preferred to focus on choosing their pieces of lace and putting them on the sticky board mittens like a puzzle. When the children finished the mittens, they simply put them in their take home cubbies. No drying time was necessary for this collage.