Materials
Thin cardboard pieces or poster board
Permanent marker
Various types of dried beans, peas, and feed corn
Instructions
What to do
1. On each piece of cardboard draw one simple picture such as a tree, flower, pumpkin, turkey,
boat, animal, etc., for each child.
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2. Invite the child to choose the items to place within the picture's outline.
3. Suggest to the children that their mosaics will look better if they use the same kind of
peas/beans/corn in the same area (e.g., black beans for the tree trunk). Younger children will
probably mix and match their choices.
4. These mosaics can be as simple as needed or, with older preschoolers, you can add details and
use a larger variety of dried food materials to enhance creativity and categorizing.
5. When finished, the beans and peas can be returned to a bowl and later used for soup making.
More to do
More art: Make permanent mosaics by giving children non-food items to glue inside their drawings.
