Monday, December 3, 2012

December Guidecraft Educators Review/Giveaway: Desk to Easel Art Cart




Each month, the Guidecraft Educators will share our honest feelings
about a Guidecraft product(s) and how these products would fare in an
early childhood classroom. This month's selection comes from Guidecraft's Art Equipment line - Desk to Easel Art Cart.

I was very excited to see the Desk to Easel Art Cart when I arrived home from work in early November!  My classroom art center needed some sprucing up and this seemed to do just the trick!
This versatile unit can be positioned as an upright, angled easel or a folded-down, flat workspace. Features easy-to-clean laminate surfaces, with a write-on/wipe-off surface and paper roll on one side and a chalkboard on the opposite side. Plenty of storage space including four fabric bins, paper cubbies, and a paint/glue bottle area allows young artists to stay organized while working. Includes an 18" x 100' paper roll, five paint cups, and side clips for displaying artwork. Adult assembly required. Each fabric bin measures 9"W x 9"D x 5"H. Ages 3+. 22.5"W x 26"D x 42"H with easel fully assembled. 24" flat desk height. 
While the assembled unit is very sturdy, I, personally, found the it very difficult and clumsy to put together.  At times it required three sets of hands to maneuver the pieces into the correct position.  I also found it necessary to "lock" the cart into the easel workspace, as I feared that the curious little fingers in my room would be too inquiring and get pinched.  However, the lock can easily be undone and will make for a great crafting table for other projects at different points throughout the year (it will make for an awesome beading table)!

However, none of these factors has limited the children's interest in the art cart - it quickly became the favorite area in the room (despite the fact that we have had an easel/painting area ALL year long, I can count on one hand the number of children that showed an interest until last week)!  We had to have a waiting list of children waiting to use the "new paint area" and could not help the children clear up their artwork fast enough for the next!  No one has had much of an interest yet in the chalkboard side of the art cart, but I'm sure that time is coming - the children love their chalkboard table in the house area and it's only a matter of time until they really discover that there's now a second chalkboard for their use! 

As you can see, we've moved added an extra set of portable tabletop easels to the table so that extra painters can be at work!

The storage bins on the bottom will come in handy for storing an assortment of paint-related supplies and materials that will help them be easily accessible to the children.  Overall, I think the art cart is a great piece of equipment, once you get past the minor frustration of putting it together!

So... what do other 'Guidecraft Educators' have to say about the Desk to Easel Art Cart???

Maureen at Simply Stacie
Andrea at MommyPR
Deborah at Teach Preschool
Carrie from Huppie Mama
Jody from Mommy Moment
Candace at Mamanista!
Lisa from Planet Weidknecht
Vanessa from Pre-K Pages
The Giveaway

Guidecraft is generously offering ONE lucky reader of the Guidecraft Educators a chance to win one of these Desk to Easel Art Carts!!! To enter, comment on this post, sharing one of your favorite paint-related projects to explore with preschool aged children!

You have until Wednesday, December 12 @ 11:59PM eastern time to enter.  Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!

Or... if you just can't wait to win one and NEED them now, they can be purchased online at: 






If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

257 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   1 – 200 of 257   Newer›   Newest»
style='clear: both;' Autumn said...

One of my favorite paint projects to do with preschoolers is writing their name in white crayon and having them paint over it with watercolors. It's magic!!!! Always fun to watch their expressions when we do this :)

style='clear: both;' sonyamorris (Sonya Morris) said...

I love letting helping little ones paint their hands and make wreaths around Christmas. I haven't had a preschooler in the house in so long and now with a two year old, we need to start some fun projects with paint! My older girls loved painting rainbows and it makes me wonder what my youngest one will love to paint. sonyadmorris@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' pocketfirecracker said...

One of my favorite Holiday Painting projects would be the hand-print Christmas tree. Paint one hand and print it to paper. Then the other over top of the first, but slightly higher. Go have a snack or make holiday cookies. When paint is dry come back and use finger prints for the lights and star.

style='clear: both;' kristin said...

This is AWESOME! It would get so much use with my preschooler. Our favorite paint activity right now is exploring what happens when we mix paint colors.

style='clear: both;' JS Legs said...

My son (5) is deaf/autistic and has a lot of sensory issues. Thus, painting is not in his current gameplan. But, he loves to stand and watch his two sisters (8) paint, with a brush or using finger paint and stamps. So anything that gets his attention and keeps him entertained would be my favorite project. Right now, that's hand painted Christmas cards that he's been "helping" the girls with all week. :)

style='clear: both;' nlevin said...

would love to win! my 4yr old daughter loves to draw! she just started drawing faces and upgraded her stick figures! this would really help her progress!

style='clear: both;' Mama L said...

My favorite art activity with my preschoolers is when I put two colors out and then they "discover" a whole new color! Mama_L@comcast.net

style='clear: both;' Penniless Teacher said...

Love painting hand prints for every holiday!

Thanks!
Pennylessteacher at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Joelle said...

I like to put down paper on the table and give big drips of paint and let them drive their matchbox cars thru it.

italiancookies@aol.com

style='clear: both;' momtoem said...

My children love fingerpainting, wax paper finger painting, coffee filter painting and splatter painting. Lots of fun!!!! The desk to easel art cart is on their Christmas wish list but we unfortunately can't afford much right now. It'd truly be a blessing to win this. Thanks
Lena N.
lejn05 at yahoo dot com

style='clear: both;' Iman Cassells said...

I did a project with my son where we taped the letters of his name on a piece of paper, then finger painted over it. When it dried we removed the masking tape and had a beautiful piece to hang on his door.

style='clear: both;' Iman Cassells said...

The above comment email address is Imanc84@Yahoo.com if I win.

style='clear: both;' Tracy said...

I just love giving them space and letting them do whatever they like. My son currently doesn't like painting too much, but he's warming up. Right now it's glue stuffs. (Oh MY!)

style='clear: both;' Bonnye said...

My daughter and I have had a whole lot of fun foot painting on HUGE sheets of paper! she loves to squish the paint between her toes!
bonnyejean at gamil dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My daughter and my kids in my class love to paint with odd things. we have painted with bubble wrap, balls, their feet, newspaper, fruit and vegetables. I think my kids favorite so far this year has been the okra painting using dried okra.

style='clear: both;' kellythom747 said...

cool giveaway- i am now following you- i have 2 year old twins and need learning information so i am excited....i like to take the kids in the backyard and put on old clothes and put watercolor on paper on an easle and then give them brushes and water cup and let them go at it= they are too young to do much else- its fun!

style='clear: both;' Staci A said...

We love to paint on fun mediums, pumpkins, pinecones, etc. The textures make it so exciting for my little guy!
mommastaci33 at yahoo dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My son, who is 3, loves to paint. I usually give him finger paint, or some other type of washable paint, and some heavy paper and let him go to town. He loves to use his whole hands. He would love a table/easel like this.

style='clear: both;' Janet W. said...

One thing I did with my daughters when they were younger was make thumbprint Christmas trees out of paint! I haven't tried it yet with my grandson, but I'm sure he would enjoy making it, too!

janet3rdgrade@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Julia said...

My daughter loves to use sponges to paint.

style='clear: both;' one frugal lady said...

My kids love crafts and we gift their crafts into useful items! Last Christmas, I had my kids create kitchen towels with their handprints on them with the date!
onecheaplady@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

One of my favorite preschool paint projects is to halve an apple and make a stamp to dip in paint and print on paper.
adriannebraun@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

we love to use finger paint and we love to trace and paint our hands. we make all sorts of fun stuff! amypugmire@live.com

style='clear: both;' d schmidt said...

My children and I really enjoy creating items out of papier mache and then painting them

style='clear: both;' Becky Barrett Beitzel said...

i loved last year when i helped my kids paint their feet silver then we put it on a canvas and turned them into reindeer. i hope to hand it every december for years to come!

hiccupapparel@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' debijackson said...

I like to have them paint the frog life cycle debbie jackson
djackson1958 at hotmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Erica said...

One of my favorite painting projects is using items as masks. They children have a shape tape to the easel paper after they paint their paper, we peel off the mask to reveal a surprise.
tiggerfan6@hotmail.com

style='clear: both;' Janelle said...

I teach preschool and have children at home. One of my favorite activities is to do easel starters like two googly eyes on easel paper and see what the students create. Their imaginations run wild!
Ajlim01@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Amanda said...

One of my favorite painting projects with my kiddos has been ice painting. I mixed water and washable paint in ice pop molds and froze them over night. The next day I gave the kids the paint ice pops and they went to town! It was neat to see the effects that were made on the paper when the ice melted together. The outcome of the paintings were really cool! amandanobbe@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Cheryl W said...

The easel is the most popular center in my classroom. I try to change out the colors and paint type each week. My favorite idea each month is i've asked the children to paint a specific thing. September I asked them to paint apples, October they painted pumpkins (this was my favorite month so far as each pumpkin was shaped differently just like real pumpkins.) November was a turkey and this month I plan to have them paint a xmas tree. My easel is a hand me down little tykes which only holds 3 cups of paint - I could really use an upgrade !! Thanks

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

We just painted with feathers at the easel for Thanksgiving. The kids loved it, and they made beautiful paintings!
shirastu@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' MommyKuehner said...

We love to paint. We have painted with leaves, feathers and sticks for a cool spring bird painting. We also have painted with toothbrushes, q-tips, cotton balls. I encourage them to explore.

renitakuehner@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Lishelle said...

We love to bubble paint at the easel! Put paint in the bubble bottle, shake to mix, and let the children create bubble pictures by blowing the bubbles.

style='clear: both;' FindingNemo10 said...

My favorite paint project is when we use our entire hand to make a turkey.
droffe10@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Our favorite painting project right now is marble painting to make a candy cane. Thanks for the give away!

style='clear: both;' ParentCoach said...

This would be greatest gift for a model classroom that I set up for training!!! And my 4 year old granddaughter would LOVE it! ecedr@yahoo.com
Jeanne

style='clear: both;' Omaira said...

We do a lot of different paint projects including fingerpainting, stamping, using items other than paintbrushes to 'paint', so many options! :)

style='clear: both;' Omaira said...

Forgot my email address for the above comment: umayrah at yahoo dot CA

style='clear: both;' jgfamily said...

One of my favorite paint-related projects to explore with preschool aged children is painting to music. It's fun to see how their paint strokes differ depending on the beat of the music.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

The little kids I keep in my home would LOVE to use this! Our fav. painting projects were painting bears with chocolate pudding & painting anything with glue/shaving cream mixtures!

style='clear: both;' teacheranne27 said...

We do lots of fingerprint painting and sometimes paint with pudding teacheranne27@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Newsprint Painting! Crumble a piece of newspaper and dip into paint to create cool prints. Using this technique works great to create a moon.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

our kids love to do puffy paint painting when you mix glue and food coloring and shaving cream usually i hide the drop of paints inside the blop of puffy paint so while the kids mix the paint they discover the color
drup74@aol.com

style='clear: both;' jgfamily said...

Repeating my comment - Forgot my email the first time around...

One of my favorite paint-related projects to explore with preschool aged children is painting to music. It's fun to see how their paint strokes differ depending on the beat of the music.


j5garc at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I let my kids paint by using their hands and feet; they just love getting messy and painting this way.

lagatis23@inbox.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

We love to paint expressively! We use a variety of materials and create inspirations from books we have read! We just painted our own birthday cakes based on a story we read and tying it to Christmas.

nblemulholland@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' AB said...

My kid loves to gather acorns in the fall and roll them around in a cake pan with some paint to make awesome artwork!

style='clear: both;'
Anonymous said...

A project I have loved doing at this time of year is to add peppermint flavoring to red paint. The children paint freely. Then, cut out a big candy cane shape when the paint has dried. These are colorful and the smell is lovely!
Diane
teachgrd3@aol.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

This easel would be such an awesome addition to our family! It is much needed! A really fun and cool paint project I like to do this time of year is read books about Hanukkah and have my son make dreidel paintings by dipping the tips of different dreidels in different colors of paint (one at a time of course) and then spin his dreidel onto paper so he can see the different paint patterns he can make. I just put a large sheet of paper in a large baking pan/tupperware container and let him have at it! Faye E. Hunt chrisandfaye at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Jolissa said...

I really enjoy experimenting with painting with preschoolers...rubberbands, marbles, printing with fruit, etc. So much fun!!

style='clear: both;' Diane said...

We just painted using pine branches after our field trip to the Christmas tree farm.

rainbowlanepk@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My favorite classroom activity with paint is 'free paint' where the little ones are allowed to just paint whatever....or anything that involves their little hands/feet...it brings many smiles and giggles

style='clear: both;' nvater said...

Our children are given different mediums to paint with such as ice cubes with watercolors mixed in or canned pumpkin during Thanksgiving holiday.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

when it comes to easel paiting my favorite art activity derives from them. I enjoy watching them paint freely from their imagination and after they complete their masterpiece I ask them to tell me a story about it. I type the story up and hang it with the picture.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I work with 3&4 year old children with special needs and love to see them exploring with paint. We are currently making a large handprint Christmas tree right now.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My kids love the puffy paint (elmer's glue and shaving cream). We've had a lot of fun making puffy snowmen lately.

Thanks for the giveaway - what a great gift!
spenc279@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I love to have my PreSchool students paint with straws. We always practice blowing air out of our straws first, before we begin painting. (so we don't suck paint up the straw) It always fits well into our weather unit...we paint using "wind."

style='clear: both;' AJ said...

I have 3 that love art and are always doing something artsy. With my littlest, our favorite thing is to make potato stamps...using the ends of potatos, we etch a design with a knife (mom does this!), paint it and stamp. It works with zucchini as well. My oldest is experimenting with mixing colors, and my middle man loves to draw pictures then paint them like mosaics.
We don't have an art area, so it would be great to feel organized and give them a place to work! aimee at mtwmex dot net

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My favorite paint project is using tape to create the child's initial on paper and then letting them finger paint over it. After drying, I remove the tape and they have a beautiful, personalized piece of work.

catlittle713@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Julie said...

My students have always liked painting over tape. It is fun to see their reactions when we remove it.

style='clear: both;' Laurel said...

We really like to put small drops of paint of different colors all over a page, then with a medium brush paint over all, speeding out and mixing all the paint!
Laurelgraphics@sbcglobal.net

style='clear: both;' Jena said...

I know that others have mentioned this, however I love allowing students to create their own shaped sponge and used that to paint or create murals. Contact Info for giveaway is jandrus@hoglezoo.org

style='clear: both;' weety said...

I don't have an easel so my TK students just have to paint on the table. It works, but man, an easel sure would be nice! My favorite kind of painting is water paint anything!!! ctillack@verizon.net

style='clear: both;' Ana Sneed said...

My sons love to paint with rollers, leaves and stamps..anything they can get their hands on. They paint out in the sunshine or in front of our big window looking out at the rain. I live that even though they are boys, art is their most favorite thing to do, they will always choose it above any other toy or game. Sneedfamilyemail@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Chris Gerber said...

I love to use handprints and footprints as a foundation for a piece of artwork--it's a beautiful memory piece.

style='clear: both;' Kitty said...

My son loved fingerpainting on construction paper, and then using his paintings to create a garland for our christmas tree. Whenever he walks by the tree - he stops and admires his garlane and says "I did it!"

style='clear: both;' Jer and Kylie said...

I would love to win this!!! My preschool class love to paint anything. I think my favorite is when we make something with their hand print.We just made moose for the letter M using their foot print for the face and then their hands made the moose's antlers. They turned out so cute!!

style='clear: both;' Torah Momma said...

We love paint in a squeeze water bottle, then make beautiful abstract paintings from afar by shooting the paint at our easel :) so fun! and extra pretty! bellaxgonzalez@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Brittney said...

I love teaching my children about color mixing. It's so fun to watch their expressions as just a few colors can suddenly turn into a rainbow!

style='clear: both;' ruth m. said...

I like to put assorted paints markers and crayons out and watch the children explore with them

style='clear: both;' sarahflib said...

I love finger painting, particularly foil painting. sarah.peris@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

With four kiddos (5,3,2,10 months) and very little artistic ability myself, I can see great projects with the aid of this easle in our future. Right now our five year old loves making books and this easle would be perfect to help her with her illustrations!

style='clear: both;' Miss Karen said...

I like to have students paint reindeer during the holiday season.

misskarenroom15@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My favorite paint project is only painting half the paper, and then folding it over. The symmetry and visual effects are amazing. It opens up discussion on a whole new level.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My favorite activity its to draw with white crayon on blue paper a winter scene then we paint it lightly and then add a wonderful snowman made out of tissue paper over it. It ends up looking like a snowman in the middle of winter and the kids love it!
dolphie@rcn.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Blow painting is one of my favorites. The children really experiment with how their breath moves the paint (through straws).

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Being a nanny for over 15 years I've done lots of arts & crafts activities. Each family lending its own unique ideas to the activities I share with them. My favorites always include the hand and footprints.

misssuzanneb@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My 19 month old granddaughter loves to paint her hand with a brush and make fingerprints and handprints all over the paper. So far, our little artist has explored paint, crayons, markers, and fingerpaint to her great delight!
-Carol Roberts, ce.roberts@cox.net

style='clear: both;' jessDan29 said...

My three year old loves to paint, exploring the different colours and using different utensils to paint (paintbrushes, sponges, pine cones, fingers, etc) and my one year old just loves the messy aspect of painting. My boys would love this. jessie_daniell@hotmail.com

style='clear: both;' Emilee said...

I love having them paint abstract season paintings, using ony the "colors" of that season. We used leaf colors for Fall and added real leaves after the paint was dry. They turned out great.

style='clear: both;' Donna Svensen said...

I love to have preschoolers use different items to paint with not just a paint brush. Items we use are bows, yarn, straws, pinecones, artificial flowers etc. It is fun to see a child's creativity. For some it is easy and for others the unconventional is more difficult. It is fun to watch their process.

style='clear: both;' Jill said...

I love to make fall leaves using liquid water color, eye droppers and paper towels, they look amazing when done and each one turns out so different,

jillebos@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' ShareandRemember said...

We love to paint with a variety of objects! Like painting with flowers: http://shareandremember.blogspot.com/2012/08/painting-with-flowers-from-garden.html slransom @ charter . net

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Paint is out on our easel daily but love it when they explore with different tools to make textures and mix colors. I also love to put a piece of paper in a box with a hole for their hand to fit through, add finger paint, then close the lid. They paint with their fingers without looking. They love the anticipation of seeing what they created by touch only.

style='clear: both;' Stacey C. said...

Nothing in the world can beat fingerpainting. So simple and easy, but kids get so much joy out of squishing the paint with their fingers and making whatever comes to their imagination!

style='clear: both;' K's Mom said...

This would be so useful in our house! My kids love anything with finger painting. Rainbows are their favorite, but I guess they also like writing letters!

style='clear: both;' Pearl said...

White paint on blue paper, clouds.
pearlho81 at gmail

style='clear: both;' Marlo said...

Our favorite paint project is wet on wet watercolors.

marlosmi at comcast dot net

style='clear: both;' Janie said...

I love making a hand painted flower or trees they make a wonderful Mothers or Fathers day gifts for parents or even grandparents.also you can never go wrong with molds of any kind hands,feet prints flower, Chirstmas orderments, Birthday orderments,love useing cookie cutters the plastic one :-)
cjanie09@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Rochel S said...

Love doing handprint paintings. There are so many different shapes you could make out of handprints and kids love it! I also love finger painting!

rufful at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I show my students paint chip colors from the paint stores and we talk about the names the company gives the color. They then mix paint colors at the easel. We make our own paint samples and think of names to give to each color.
hansfarm@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Kimi 'Ohana said...

After reading Karen Beaumont's "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!", have your child or students paint a self portrait (the "clean" version of themselves). On day 2 put the self portrait in a box and have children splatter thinned down red, yellow and blue paints over the top of it (the "messy" version of themselves). They'll love it!!

kimiohana@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I love to mix colors with my children to create a new color.

kwoetzel@earthlink.net

style='clear: both;' TaraO said...

My daughter just did a great project where she used spray bottles of watered down paint to create a colorful marbelized effect on the paper. This works great on a roll of paper towel-type paper because the colors blend together like beautiful watercolors. cteeobrien(at)cox(dot)net.

style='clear: both;'
Anonymous said...

Painting with all different types of brushes, especially those things that are not normally used, like vacuum brushes, bottle brushes, pot scrubbers, basting mops, fly swatters, thread spools, stuffed animal toys, little matchbox cars. The ideas can be endless and each time they paint with something new they create something totally different. Change out the size and shape of the paper too. Thanks to Bev Bos for letting me see the possibilities around me for kids. CarolWatson1@suu.edu

style='clear: both;' little frog said...

I like to have the children paint with differnt items like toothbrush, feathers, toothpick, cotton balls with a clothpin, socks, q- tips. The children come up with all differnt idea to add to the paint bin.

liljumpinfrogs@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' kinderjules said...

I like to have my class "horse tail" paint. Take some lengths of yarn and tie a knot at one end. The child holds the knot, dips the "tail" in paint, and flicks it on the easel. I don't currently have an easel, so I would love to win one! jujuz20@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Flyfreak said...

We love to mix paint. Our class could use this to spruce it up a little :)

brunner5ptd.net

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I need this easel! We have the current easel set up every day with paints and different tools, like sponges, feathers, etc. instead of using brushes all the time. One of our favorite activities is to partner paint. One child will start the painting, another adds to it. Creating collaborative art builds communication skills and is just plain fun! Only "problem" is who gets to take the art home. So we make lots of pictures.

style='clear: both;' kswaaa said...

I teach at a very small privately owned preschool. It is very hard for us to come by funds to update our center and we are in desperate need of new materials. This easel would be PERFECT for my classroom! It is so versatile, it would definitely be put to good use. My favorite paint related activity is providing the children with different materials to explore while painting and watching their creativity run :)

style='clear: both;' Allison Nelson said...

I like my son to paint whatever he wants...sometimes animals, sometimes letters, sometimes people. We're flexible!

style='clear: both;' Jessi said...

Painting is one of the most fun activities for preschool children. Finger painting seems to be what my children and I enjoy most!

style='clear: both;' Jenny Whitaker said...

I loved making ice paint (tempura paint frozen in fun shapes) the kids can use the frozen paint shapes like sponge or they can just use them like frozen paint brushes and use their imaginations to paint whatever they like. It's a great art project that also allows for important sensory exploration as well. Would LOVE to win this easel art cart! Jenwhitaker00@gmail.com is my email... hope to get an early Christmas present late next week from you/Guidecraft. Thanks for the opportunity!

style='clear: both;' Katie said...

Thanks, Teach Preschool, for sharing! I love this easel! I learned about Guidecraft when we were shopping for a kid's stool for the kitchen. I was impressed. This should be great! My kids love to mix the primary colors and see what happens. Ktlasers at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Marcie Moyer said...

We just did spin art in a salad spinner. The kids loved it!!!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My kids love to draw holding 2-3 crayons together,which itself is a colorful art work :)

style='clear: both;'
Anonymous said...

My class would go crazy for this!My favorite painting experience for my 3's is to let them paint on an easel with anything BUT a paintbrush...bubble wrap, sea sponges, those foam glass cleaner sponges on a stick....even legos! After all....I want to have fun too, and watching them try any of the above is really rewarding...

style='clear: both;'
Anonymous said...

I love this style of easel - it's so versatile! It would be a fabulous addition to the classroom. I love doing all kinds of painting project, especially using various additions for changing the textures of paint (adding salt, coffee grounds, sand, glitter, corn syrup, etc) and putting out different types of "paint brushes" (cotton balls, q-tips, feathers, pine needles, cut veggies & fruits, string or yarn, sponges, pot scrubbers, you name it!)

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

This is such a fabulous easel with a lot of storage space. The children in my family home daycare love to paint rainbows. Since we don't have an easel and a lot of storage space, we could put this to use right away. They would be intrigued to be able to "stand up" and paint from a different angle since they usually paint at a table. Thank you for offering this beautiful easel as a giveaway.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My Preschoolers love painting onpaper shaped like dinosuars, apples, anything we are learning at the time!

style='clear: both;' shamrocks said...

I teach 3 and 4 year olds and we recently painted with feathers. The kids loved the feel of the feathers as well as the designs they made on the paper.

style='clear: both;' Brenda Moore Fritz said...

I love to allow free art at the easel for painting inspired by an artist like Monet or Van Gogh. Brenda
brenda.fritz@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My preschoolers love painting on paper shaped like dinosaurs, apples, or anthing else we are learning about!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

My preschoolers love painting on paper shaped like dinosaurs, apples, and anything else we are learning!

style='clear: both;' Marcie Moyer said...

Spin art using a salad spinner is lots of fun!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Great giveaway! Everything can be conveniently stored on the bottom. My son loves to paint with different objects we find in the house (bubbles, cotton balls, q-tips, potato smasher...). He's my little explorer! Salazje@hotmail.com

style='clear: both;' Sarah Christine said...

I love to paint anything that has to do with handprints. We recently found a calendar that has a different handprint for each month. Very cute Christmas present for moms and dads.

style='clear: both;' kt said...

I like to let my students fingerpaint. It's such a great sensory experience and it keeps them engaged forever!

ktentoni at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I like to show my early childhood students paintings from Jackson Pollack and then take them outside to make splatter paintings on large pieces of paper.

mlappin@tesseractschool.org

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Anonymous said...

One of my favorite art projects to do with preschool children is "Under the table" painting. The children enjoy lying on their backs to paint. Children who normally will not be involved in painting activities will do this one. They love it!!

style='clear: both;' zeser1024 said...

I love having little ones finger paint their letters or numbers. Giving that extra stimulation while learning really grabs their attention! Thanks!-
Jamie
hazeltine1024@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Marianne said...

My preschoolers loved painting real pumpkins this fall. They also enjoyed shaking a box with marbles that were covered in paint and watching the designs. We put paper in the bottom of the box so they can take their creations home with them. Right now we don't have a paint easel in our preschool room but would sure love one.

style='clear: both;' Bianca said...

Hi, this is a beautiful giveaway. My son is beginning to paint. Finger paint, sponge paint. This Desk to Easel Art Carts will be so much appreciated as he will grow and he will be expressing much more trough paint. bianca . bodoki at gmail . com Thanks.

style='clear: both;' BoLA said...

My little one who just turned one enjoys squishing paint in his hands through his fingers, on to his body and to the floor.

email: knishina at yahoo dot com

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

The children love painting their hands and arm and trsnsfering that onto a piece of paper and making a tree to represent what season we are in. They can use their fingerprints for the leaves. This art center would be a big plus in my classroom.

style='clear: both;' Rocky Mtn Stamping Diva said...

I love to let my students just paint - out the paint out and see what happens! They love it too.

style='clear: both;' Lindsey said...

Fingerpainting is the most entertaining paint activity for my two year old group! We don't have an easel at my newly opened home daycare but it would b super cool! In my cousins class the use the easel for a shaving cream activity n she loves it!! Contact email address: lindseyaliggera@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Kathy said...

My three year old class enjoys painting their hands and then making handprints all over the easel.

style='clear: both;' MollyMoo said...

My son and I use finger paint to make wrapping paper.
lumbardm@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Miss B's Class said...

This easel would be great in preschool not only as an art center, but for Circle Time as well. The white board side could be used for magnetic letters, and story props. It would also be great to use as a Big Book holder during story time or to hold a flannel board as well. Circle Time supplies could be stored in the bins below. Looks like a great product. I'd love to have it in my class.

style='clear: both;' Miss B's Class said...

The easel would be great not only as an art center, but for Circle Time as well. The white board would be great with magnetic letters, story props, and games. It would also be great when using Big Books or flannel boards. Also supplies would be handy in the storage bins below. Looks like a great product. I'd love to have something like it in my class.

style='clear: both;' Joan said...

We love to paint at preschool. One of the children's favorite activities is Magic Pictures. Using wax candles we draw on the paper, then using watercolors we paint over to discover the magic picture.

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Would love this for my classroom. We have many special needs children who benefit from a vertical work surface. We have easels outside, but not one inside. This would be perfect.

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Anonymous said...

Hi Katie,

Thank you for being so generous, and sharing this giveaway. What a smile you are going to put on a Child's Face, if she, or he is the Winner.

Im entering more so for my granddaughter, due to her writing interest at an early age. She recently turned Two, and enjoys writing. It doesn't matter, whether she uses a pencil, pen, crayon, marker, color pencil, etc. The forming of circles, drawing lines up, or down, and doing her very best to write letters ate her favorite thing to do.

May God's Blessings, and Grace be with ALL the participants.

Respectfully,
Mary
http://projectsbyMtetar.wordpress.com

style='clear: both;' Maggi said...

I teach preschool and recently had my students recreate the Aurora Borealis for our Alaska unit. We did a salt painting. First you start out with sheets of card stock. Each child uses a glue bottle to create lines and patterns in glue. Then the child shakes salt onto the glue. I knock off the excess salt. On the art table we set out 4 different colors of water paint. Then the children paint on top of the salt. When it dries it has a cool effect. The colors are rich and look great in the window.
Maggi Bailey
BriarMaggi@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' kirsten said...

The children in my class love painting with different tools. We love cotton balls, brushes, droppers, and, most recently, bath poufs from the dollar store. They also love shaving cream with food color as a medium!!

Kmdmanning (at) gmail (dot) com

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Anonymous said...

I like the thoroughness of the review of the easel. It seems like it would be a great addition to my kindergarten classroom. During the holidays I enjoy having my students make handprint calendars for presents.

style='clear: both;' emilyran said...

I always enjoy sand painting and find that it is great to creat textures in paintings all year round!!

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Anonymous said...

I love this furniture and all of the ideas!!

I have my students draw a winter scene on dark construction paper. Then, I mix Kosher salt with water. The kids paint their paper with the mixture. The result is a crystallized snow scene. The kids love it!!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

Most of the children in my class do LOVE to paint. Painting on or with different materials provides a new experience. I put out sheets of foil and various colors of tempera paints for the children. They thought painting on foil was so "fun"! I noticed they were using four of their senses during this activity except of course for taste! I brought this to their attention, "I see that you are using four of your senses while you are painting. Can you tell me which ones?" They gave me all the right answers, even adding "if we tasted it, we would use all our senses". Everyday they give me they gift of laughter!

krn4kz@verizon.net

style='clear: both;' Stacey said...

I like to paint with colored sweetened condensed milk. So shiny and pretty!

sfeehan at murraycsd dot org

style='clear: both;' Susan said...

I love for the children to do "team" painting....where two or more children work on one piece. It encourages planning, collaboration, language, negotiation and it's really fun to paint with your friends!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

We enjoy adding things to the paint like Epson salt for a sparkly picture.

style='clear: both;' Young Explorers said...

I like to keep the children's painting open ended. They love to finger paint and mix the colours. This easel would be a great addition to the preschool I hope to open up in the next couple of years! trishbro79@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Kenna said...

My kids love to paint. We try to pick a different "brush" everytime we paint.

kgathright@marykay.com

style='clear: both;' Susana Maria said...

A simple paint project we like to do is just use two colors at a time, one always being white. Like black and white or red and white or green and white. Simple, but my boys always just enjoy the painting aspect and the mixing of the colors to see the light and dark contrast.

style='clear: both;' Wing said...

Love doing handprints arts

style='clear: both;' Tanya M said...

My daughter loves the magic of mixing colors. That's her favorite painting activity.
Thank you for the giveaway.

style='clear: both;' kelly said...

What a great Christmas gift for my classroom!!
Working with Head Start four year old children our budget is next to nothing. My little friends LOVE to express their artistic talents daily. We use our tables or have clothes pins glued to the wall for our easel.

va_white_house@verizon.net

style='clear: both;' Gweenie said...

This looks like the answer to a neater classroom. Two messy activities in one area, room to keep all supplies, and even space to display art work. It would be a great place for the students to experiment with glitter paint and express their holiday feelings. Glitter paint can be bought, but it can also be made by adding a paint additive (Make it Glitter) or salt. If you use salt, be sure to stir until the salt is mixed into the paint.
ckaycox@comcast.net

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Anonymous said...

I like to introduce my preschoolers to different artists - showing pictures of different stlyes of painting - and then I set out a flower in a vase, or piece of fruit on a tray, etc. near the paint easel and let them create their own still life painting. cindym119@gmail.com

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Anonymous said...

We love finger painting!

style='clear: both;' LeiahF said...

I love having the children do open ended art with oil pastels and after they are down drawing their picture they paint over it with water color. So pretty and so much fun for the children!

lfischer@waverlyforest.com

style='clear: both;' AJ said...

Not sure if my first comment went through, I didn't see it in the comments section. We would love to have an "art place" in our small home! We love to paint mixing colors, or doing mosaics, or even potato stampers (I etch a design in the end of a potato that I have cut off, then let my 2 year old stamp away!

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Anonymous said...

One of my favorite painting projects for my students is to give them a blank sheet of paper with two googley eyes already glued to the paper. It is so fun to see what creations they come up with, they love the googley eyes and it gives them some form of a start point which helps. I don't tell or dictate what to paint, I just hand them the papers and let their creative juices flow! -jennabrott@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Emily said...

One of my favorite painting projects I have done with my preschoolers is to give them a paper with their name written in dots, they then use paint to trace over the letters of their name. This provides and fun way to practice letter formation and spelling their names!

Desertblossompreschool@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Cindy and Fred said...

My granddaughter loves to paint with anything, on anything. She loves the feel of the paint. She likes to dip her dinosaur feet(or her feet or hands) into paint and walk on the paper for dinosaur tracks. She loves to draw with chalk and crayons (she only makes circles right now. . . she's 2 1/2). I take care of her every day while her mama works and we love to do all kinds of arts and crafts together. fcfeather@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' Sedna-is-my-own-last-name said...

these are terrific! what a great way to add the storage piece to something that already takes up room. would love to say goodbye to pizza boxes and use a real easel for my little one instead. ; )

jennifersedna at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' alma doria garza said...

The easel would be a great addition to my classroom at NCredible Kid's Day Out. I love to paint. I work with 18 mos. - 24 mos. old. They love to paint with brushes, their fingers, feathers, marbles, sponges, cotton, leaves, cars, papertowel rolls, toilet paper rolls, etc.

style='clear: both;' Deb said...

My kids at preschool love to paint anything!!!!!

My Grandsons love to Paint with the daubers.

style='clear: both;' Grandma Sandy said...

Glue two wiggle eyes on the paper and let the children paint a bear, dinosaur, etc.
Love teaching preschool
granny-sandy@att.net

style='clear: both;' Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies said...

Love to explore how when we mix different colours we can make other colours

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Anonymous said...

The children in my class and I love to paint blindfolded, cause you don't know what your painting until it's all done. It also gives them an opportunity to explore painting along with gaining an understanding of sight and senses.

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Anonymous said...

Painting blind folded is fun in my preschool classroom,the children get really excited to see their painting that was made without their eyes. It gives them the opportunity to explore their senses and gain a better understanding about seeing.
cheneyabcpreschool@gmail.com

style='clear: both;' SHANNA ELIZABETH said...

Pressed leaves make beautiful pictures when colored on top of =) My son loves that .
Also the handprint Christmas tree . =)

Shanna.Elizabeth1
AT GMAIL DOT COM

style='clear: both;' Samorjj said...

For a 3rd birthday party I bought small canvases at the art store and gave the kids brushes, sponges or had them use their hands to creat a masterpiece to take home.
samorjj at hotmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Debbie B said...

My grand children love to paint. We do finger painting and they like to use my old water colour paints

style='clear: both;' sweetone said...

A paint project that you could do with preschool aged children is cutting pieces of fruits or vegetables in half and dabbing them with paint and then stamping them on paper. It's a fun and cool project for them to do. And very colorful too. If I won this cool desk/easel cart, I would give it to a friend of mine who just opened up her own daycare. It would be very cool for her to have and the children would love it. very much! My e-mail address is jkoskamp9@gmail.com.

style='clear: both;' Beanscoupons said...

I didn't know that something this awesome existed! This would solve all of our arts and crafts supplies storage issues and contain it so that she's at a "station". We're still at the finger-painting stage but she's still my little Picasso :) Therefore, my favourite painting project is when she discovers the blending of colors to discover new colors in a "hands-on" kind of way!

beanscoupons@hotmail.com

style='clear: both;' Bernice06 said...

My Favorite is to make hand print Christmas wreaths or just let Them finger paint and make a masterpiece ,My 4 years old loves to paint and draw


bernice-mckay@hotmail.com

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Anonymous said...

I am a new preschool teacher. So far we have only been able to explore tempura paints. Mostly we use construction paper or printer paper. But, this week we tried using watered down paint on coffee filters (that we had cut into snow flakes) and they had a blast. We are going to use some bucher paper and try the easel starter (with the bow.)I It would be nice if we had an easel to do it on. We will turn a table sideways instead. Thanks, Karen jaxique at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Sweet Panda said...

My favourite paint job with my kids are hand prints and foot prints done by my kids! They really enjoy it!

sweetpanda2010 at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Olivia said...

My oldest is now 2.5 and she will be getting some paints for Xmas. We haven't done paint-related crafts yet, but I'm looking forward to showing her the stuff that I liked to do way back like fingerpainting.

style='clear: both;' Olivia said...

Oops, email is olivialasting at gmail dot com
Thanks!

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

leaf painting is a great way to bring nature into the mix. They can paint the leaves and use them like a stamp - or they can lay the leaf on the paper and 'flick' the paint over it to create a leafy outline. a little walk outdoors turns into a great creative opportunity & you can talk about the different leaves as well as combine the shapes to make scenes.
rjdoghouse (at) yahoo dot com

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corey said...

We did the hands in the plaster kit and we still do painting with them on a regular basis. We buy old wooden items, ornaments etc at yard sales and then the kids repaint/paint them at home with the collection of paint they have accummulated over the past couple years.
coreybrennan26@hotmail.com

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Anonymous said...

I have a licensed home day care a nd my kids loved the pretend stain glass we did. You need wax paper, rollers and paint. Put one sheet of Wax paper down for each child and child picks their colors to drip on the wax paper then cover with another piece and use the rollers to roll and mix the colors. When dry hang in the windows. shellie.cormier@nl.rogers.com

style='clear: both;' Jodie said...

What a great giveaway. We would love to have the easel. My son loves to paint with lots of different kinds of brushes and his hands. Thanks so much. jheliker@msn.com

style='clear: both;' Maryse B. said...

my daughter LOVES painting. Recently i started making her paint for the tub by mixing food color with shaving cream, i give her a brush and there she goes all over the shower tiles! easy to clean and she has SO MUCH fun!

style='clear: both;' Anu C. said...

My son loves to paint and color and this would be a great gift for him to do his crafts and art projects!
mailsforanu at yahoo dot ca

style='clear: both;' gibberish said...

We made potato stamps and then the kids stamped blank newsprint and created wrapping paper for Christmas. Fun & economical too.

bandkgram (at) hotmail (dot) ca

style='clear: both;' christine said...

I love handprint painting...especially the red, white and bue turkeys we make for our "We're Thankful for our Veterans" bulletin board!
kcahcrim@comcast.net

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Anonymous said...

I personally love finger paints. Also, painting anything wood with my daughter:)


jmatek AT Wi DOT rr DOT com

style='clear: both;' Jenni said...

Our favorite easel project is tempera or watercolors with open ended materials such as foam stickers and painter's tape. The kids like stickers so much they want to use the whole sheet we leave out, so everyone spends a good amount of time at the easel and then has a completely original finished product. When they paint and peel the stickers off (peeling stickers sneaks in some fine motor) they think its like magic and discover a whole new form of art they created!

style='clear: both;' dhlarson said...

Loving drawing pictures in white crayon- and having the kiddos use watercolors to unveil the picture! They love it! (They just love paint in general and this easel would be awesome!! :)

dhlarson2005@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Danielle Lamoureux said...

My fav is when we explore painting with anything but paintbrushes. Toy cars, leaves, sticks, plants, flowers, bubble wrap. It looks awesome and the kids love it!

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Anonymous said...

At the moment we are sensory painting...this week we are painting with gift bows and evergreen branches. I cant wait to painting with ornaments and candy cane art next

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

This would be a fantastic (and most welcome) addition to my Head Start classroom! As a Full Day Full Year class we have 11 hrs a day to fill with creative learning time, this would sure help.

Laurie @ llbowentn@gmail.com

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Kayme said...

My favorite paint job are using paints that have different smells and different textures in them. I love to hear the children talk about what they smell like or how they are different in the ways that they are textured. Another project that I love doing with the children is making my own paint for them to use. They love making the different ingredients and colors.

kayme_m@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Sarah said...

My favorite painting activities are always ones that use something other than paintbrushes. This holiday season my preschoolers loved painting with pine tree branches. It made a cool texture on the paper and each child had of different way of using the branches- some smoothed the paint and some flicked it.

style='clear: both;' Sarah said...

My favorite painting activities are always ones that use something other than paintbrushes. This holiday season my preschoolers loved painting with pine tree branches. It made a cool texture on the paper and each child had of different way of using the branches- some smoothed the paint and some flicked it. jeanzy312 at gmail dot com

style='clear: both;' Brianne Hager said...

One of my favorite painting projects is laying out trays of paint and taping down paper from a roll of newsprint and letting my kids walk all over it leaving paint footprints.
briannehager@gmail.com

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Anonymous said...

One of my favorite paint activities is to paint with different items. We have painted with feathers and pumpkins(kinda like the apple print activity) and then we have painted with pine branches, and you name it we have tried it. And this year we can't keep paint at the easel fast enough. I have kids there all the time. So a new easel like this would be a wonderful addition to my Head Start classroom.
jenjen01_99@yahoo.com

style='clear: both;' Caryn s said...

i love painting santa hands with my kids are christmas time! i keep all of their santa hands from years past to see how they have grown!

style='clear: both;' Miss Niki said...

I have to say that one of my favorite painting activities to do with the children in my classroom is cork painting. The children love using non conventional items for painting. The corks provide the added protection from mess for my sensory sensitive learners while engaging my more exploratory learners with a chance to roll, dot, and smear paint in new gross and fine motor actions. This easel would be a blessing to my classroom as we have a very old, hand-me-down, on it's last legs, double sided easel that needs replacing!
nikipurcell@sbcglobal.net

style='clear: both;' Caryn s said...

i forgot my email is carschick2000@yahoo.ca

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Anonymous said...

Our favorite thing to paint is anything with our hands....the kids love the squishy paint on their hands and mommy loves the hand prints to keep !!! I love this easel !
kmorgan18@hotmail.com

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Anonymous said...

I would LOVE this for my pre-k class as we were created from nothing and I have no budget so to speak! I have been using a re-purposed white board and hot glued clips for an easel that really works okay. The kids love paint with toothbrushes, q-tips, and anything else that shows different textures in their art.

style='clear: both;' Andrea said...

My children (6 and 3.5) would absolutely love this! They love painting all. of. the. time! their favorite painting project right now is making pictures of our museum (they hang their pictures up on our walls and my daughter writes a caption underneath each one because "that's what real artists do"). she wants to be an art teacher when she grows up :-)

style='clear: both;' Unknown said...

I love resists the most have yhe chikd draw a picture nd color hard with crayon all over the picture i love to use india ink over the image and wipe it away. They always turn out awsome.

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