Art Time with 1-2-3! Textured Products

Art and science projects are favorites in our household.  All of the kids, regardless of age, seem to gravitate to hands on learning projects and love creating new things with even the most basic items.  So, when offered the opportunity to review a textured craft from Preschool Projects' 1-2-3! Textured Products line, I jumped at the chance.  The premise behind these products is to provide children with a simple medium to work on fine motor and tactile skills using a range of textural materials.  Preschool Projects' mission:  to nurture a child's creativity and developmental progress and facilitate a love for learning at an early age.  There's nothing I love more than to find a company that produces a quality product in line with my own teaching philosophies and, even better, chooses to produce it right here in the U.S.A!

The boys are really into reptiles right now...crocodiles, alligators (you know they aren't the same thing, mom), snakes, etc., so Hissy the Alligator was a natural choice for us.  Hissy measures roughly 4.75"x1" and comes with 3 packets of textured medium for decorating.  I chose to do this project with my 3 youngest kiddos ranging in age from 2-5.  I really loved watching the different strategies the kids used as they worked together to make Hissy his scaly best!  My 2 year old took on the task of pasting Hissy onto a half sheet of construction  paper which she had previously decorated with marker scribbles and circles (a mix of fine motor skill levels on par for her developmental level).  My 3 year old decorated the back half of Hissy by first applying paste and then sprinkling various textural materials with a pincer grasp, while my 5 year old decorated the front by carefully placing individual pieces of the textured material where he wanted them (advanced fine motor given the size of the pieces).

The kids had a wonderful time completing this project together and have asked for more to keep in our art cabinet.  One of things I love about this product is that it is compact enough to slip into a purse, diaper bag, or carry-on.  Pair it with a glue stick (less mess) for a perfect activity to occupy idle hands when on-the-go!

Be sure to follow @PreschoolProj on Twitter to stay up to date on all the happenings with 1-2-3! Textured Products.  Another bonus to purchasing from owner, Linda Scanlan, is that she uses some of the proceeds to provide free educational activities to schools and orphanages in Haiti.

* Disclosure:  I received a craft kit, free of charge, from 1-2-3! Textured Products, for the purposes of this review.  All views and opinions are my own and based on the personal experiences of my family.