With Passover coming up in three weeks, and the wave of super hectic preparations quickly approaching, now is a great time to get the family busy with simple and great looking Count The Omer watercolor calenders! I am reposting this from many years ago, when I did it with my kids as an art activity, but this year it occurred to me to re-brand it as an Omer calender craft, because, it is actually quite perfect! Make 7 circles in a row, and then make 7 rows, and voila! When the omer arrives count by adding a sticker, drawing a doodle or writing the number of the day. You'll be so happy you thought to to do this a month ahead, believe me! And, if you use stickers I'm pretty sure kids can start counting on the calender even during Passover, yippee! Okay, lets do it!
Ah yes, and just by the way, this nesting doll Matroyshka is one of many sets that I own that were purchased in the Ukraine. Sigh.
Watercolor circle paintings are a great way to teach kids about the beauty of abstract art, the idea of juxtaposition of color, and are at the very least a great exercise in learning how to control a paint brush!
I saw this project a while back on small for big, and it was the perfect little project to pull out for a child home from school. Plus they perfectly compliment all the fun Purim decorations that we've been up to, and will be creating for another three weeks or so until Purim. And given the small time commitment, kids can even do several once they realize what a great project it actually is, despite its simplicity.
My eight year old begrudgingly painted a first sheet, and later happily did a second one. Mom of course enjoyed painting both of hers, its such a relaxing little project, you really should try it too! We started our first set of paintings, which you can see in the foreground, with somewhat large circles, and for the second round I divided the page into more segments, resulting in smaller circles and even more beautiful results, I must say.
And with any watercolor painting, one certainly learns about the necessity to keep the brush clean and not to mix the colors!
How To Make Watercolor Circle Paintings:
On a sheet of watercolor paper (preferably) make a light grid using a pencil and ruler. We had 9 x 12 paper on hand, but larger paper is even more stunning. Your grid doesn't have to be 100% perfect but should result in a page filled with squares. Then instruct your little painters to paint a circle in each square such the the circle touches all the sides of the square.
And of course, do be sure to emphasise that perfect is not the point, but rather concentrating on which colors to use in each square. Make enough to fill a wall, and iron them if they curl after painting. Enjoy!