Blueprint Project
I had the idea for this ages ago but knew that my son wasn’t ready for it. I am so glad I waited. We have been taking him to open houses lately, and talking about how houses are built , floor plans etc.. for a few weeks so this was the perfect time to become architects ourselves and make some blue prints! I helped a lot with this craft but older children ( 5 +) would have no problem doing it independently. Toddlers would likely get frustrated, so here is a great alternative for them Shape House.
- Gather your materials. You will need a white wax crayon ( yellow will do in a pinch), some white paper, blue paint and some sponge brushes or rollers. The sponge brushes really ensure that there isn’t too much paint which makes all the difference!
- Start by drawing your house with the white crayon, pressing hard. My son wanted me to draw the “real picture of the house” meaning the outside , I made him a deal that if I did the outside he’d have to do the inside.
- For the inside if your child is like mine and still too young to make things exactly how they want them but old enough to get upset if they aren’t perfect help them make the floor plan. How we did it was I put one finger at the starting pint of each wall, and one at the end point and he drew the lines. He eventually felt confident enough to do a few all by himself.
- Next decide which rooms should be which- this was probably my son’s favorite part ( well until he started painting), he went on and on about if they needed a bedroom more than a garage. Bedroom won out, maybe our next house will have a garage !
- Label them.
- Time to paint. I thinned the paint just a tiny bit with water.
- Roll it on!
- Sometimes you need to blot with these types of paintings if the paint glops on too heavy, we didn’t this time but grab a paper towel if you do and gently wipe.
- Let dry. Grab some lego or other blocks and build the house 🙂
Song
This is the way we pound our nails,
pound our nails, pound our nails,
This is the way we pound our nails, so early in the morning.
This is the way we turn the screw,
Turn the screw, turn the screw
This is the way we turn the screw, so early in the morning.
This is the way we saw the wood
saw the wood, saw the wood,
This is the way we saw the wood, so early in the morning!
This is the way we build a house,
build a house, build a house.
This is the way we build a house so early in the morning!
Books
by Byron Barton is a no frills look at how homes are built. The bright colors and concise wording is perfect for toddlers and young preschoolers. I love that there is writing on one page and illustrations on the other, makes it super easy to show children the pictures as well as for them to see you follow the text with your finger! My son started enjoying this book well before age 2 and still grabs it for me to read at three and a half although seems to yearn for more details than this simple book provides.
by Elisha Cooper is a really stunning book. The story itself is really detailed and although he sat for the whole thing my son’s attention was thinning out at parts, I edited the text a little but we got through it. There is nothing wrong with this book, its just too long and detailed for the average 3 year old. A keen 4 year old or 5 year old would totally dig it though. The illustrations are watercolors and so beautiful, but are not detailed like the text. Visually they are beautiful, but my son wanted to know why no one had faces. If you are learning about or interested in the process of construction from start to finish this is a wonderful book to read.
by Gail Gibbons is the happy medium for my son of these two other books, while one was a little too simple, the other a little too detailed, this one was just right for his attention span and need for details. In this book readers are taken from the architect’s desk to the day the family moves in with just the right amount of detail about all the intermediate steps. Each worker and what they contribute to building a house is explained briefly, from the laying of the foundation, the carpenters who frame the house and even the landscapers who lay the sod. If you have a little builder in your house they will love reading about the steps and many people who help build a house.
Scott says
I’ve done this “crayon resist” type picture before but not for a blueprint. I’m definitely “borrowing” this idea for my class.
.-= Scott´s last blog ..Weaving =-.
Lisa Baldwin says
Love this… I should totally know the answer to my question but I’m going to ask it anyway:)
are all crayons wax? or do I need a specific brand (I tried melting them once and had some come out weird)
and did you use basic poster paint (like the Crayola) or something else.
.-= Lisa Baldwin´s last blog ..Q&A: Independent Work Question =-.
admin says
Basic crayola kids paint – and no not all crayons are wax. I actually grabbed a water color crayon by accident when we did this and had to dig through my crayons to find my wax one. So not a silly question at all. Basic crayola or rose arts crayons work great for this and are widely available .
commonplaceiris says
What a fun idea. This could be good timing for it since one of my daughter’s main drawing subjects right now is houses and we’ve just recently been experimenting with drawing with crayon and then painting over with watercolours too!
I remember as a girl (probably more in the 7-10 age range) spending so much time drawing elaborate floor plans for imaginary houses (often with the furniture marked in) and then sketches of the furnished and decorated rooms so perhaps this project will be just the beginning…
.-= commonplaceiris´s last blog ..Kids Clothing Challenge Update =-.
Maranda says
This looks like a fun idea! Thanks for the new song. I totally bribed my little one today and got her to drink her milk with breakfast by promising she could watch your new song after. Thanks for sharing!!
.-= Maranda´s last blog ..Beer-Braised Chicken =-.
jen @BigBinder says
I love this!! My son has already decided he wants to be an engineer. He’s 6, and I think he’s probably right – I’m going to adapt this a little and use it for him, he’ll LOVE it!
.-= jen @BigBinder´s last blog ..Viva la (bean) revolucion! =-.
jeana says
What a neat idea! We have been house hunting and going to the parade of homes the past few weeks, this would be a perfect project, thanks!
.-= jeana´s last blog ..Loving The Boys, Choosing Some Life, and Book Review =-.
Ashley says
This is actually perfect for us, since we are building a house right now! We’ve been finalizing the blue prints this week, and it will be fun to be able to share this with the kids!
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Taking a LONG break… =-.
Tanya M. says
Brilliant! I remember spending hours drawing imaginary house floor plans when I was a little girl. Sometimes I would draw in furniture, too. I love how you incorporated that idea w/ a wax resist paint technique.
Deborah says
My husband is a builder and think this is awesome:)
.-= Deborah´s last blog ..Displaying toddler art =-.
Marie says
This is so great! I bet my kids would love to map out our house! FUN!
.-= Marie´s last blog ..Pirate Birthday Party Ideas…Arrr =-.
Brenna says
Oh, I love this idea! It would actually be perfect for both my boys… one would be into the designing, architecture, aspect of it and the other into the building, construction part. Both love that song, thanks!
.-= Brenna´s last blog ..The Soft Landing giveaway… =-.