Snowy Crystal Process Art Tutorial

Snowy Crystal Preschool Process Art

Set up a fun Snowy Crystal Process Art Invitation this winter for your preschoolers. 
This invitation is easy to set up and creates a wonderful opportunity to make observations. 

Materials:

This fun activity is one of 200 hands on preschool activities featured in our Pre-K Play Ideas eBook! Purchase our eBook to have all of these activity pages at your fingertips.

• Dark construction Paper (heavyweight)
• Crayons
• Salt
• Paintbrush
• Hot Water
• Tablespoon measuring spoon
• 1-Cup Measuring cup

Start with some coloring

Encourage your child to draw freely with their crayons. Each child is different, some love to create detailed drawings and some you can barely get to color at all!
Allowing your child to create freely supports their creative development.  I encouraged my child to spread his design across as much of the paper as possible for enough coverage for the second part of the activity. 
​Once your child is satisfied with their design, it's time to add a little science! 

Create the Salt Solution

 Fill the measuring cup with 1/4 cup hot water (hot enough to dissolve the salt, yet safe to touch).  Explain the process to your child. Tell them that they will be dissolving (be ready to explain this term) the salt in the water and then painting the mixture over top of their design.

 Instruct your child to add 4 tablespoons of salt (math!). And then mix.

Mix to Dissolve

Encourage your child to study the bottom of the cup as they stir.
What is happening to the salt? 
What happens when you stop stirring?
What do you think would happen if we used cold water? (try it!)

Get Painting

Next, invite your child to cover their design with the salt mixture using the paintbrush. 

Cover the Image

Encourage your preschooler to cover the entire paper with the salt solution. 

Dry and Observe

Place the paper somewhere to dry. Come back often during the drying process to see the changes. 
Once dry there will be a coating of salt, the salt may brush off if touched. 

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​Buy the eBook!

Save time planning your hands on preschool activities! Find detailed directions for this activity + 199 more in our Pre-K Play Ideas eBook! Print each activity page, or access them digitally!

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