1. Invite children to choose an object to print and a block of wood approximately the same size.
2. Spread glue on the wood block to cover the entire surface.
3. Place the object or objects on the glue in any desired arrangement.
4. Allow the glue to dry in place overnight.
5. Pour a dot of ink onto the inking slab.
6. Roll the brayer through the ink on the slab, spreading the ink evenly and soaking the roller.
7. Turn the wood block design side up and roll the ink over the raised surface.
8. Place a piece of paper on top of the design.
9. Use the clean brayer to smooth the paper in the ink.
10. Carefully lift the paper to reveal a print.

Cardboard blocks
Here’s what you need:
sheets of corrugated cardboard
white glue
glue brush or sponge
scissors
heavy cardboard or mat board
printing paper
water-based printing ink
brayer or roller for ink
clean brayer
plastic ink slabs

1. Draw designs and shapes on corrugated cardboard. Cut out the design.
2. Glue the design onto heavy cardboard. Let dry thoroughly.
3. Pour a dot of ink onto the inking slab.
4. Roll the brayer through the ink on the slab, spreading the ink evenly and soaking the roller.
5. Turn the cardboard block design side up and roll the ink over the raised surface.
6. Place a piece of paper on top of the design.
7. Use the clean brayer to smooth the paper in the ink.
8. Carefully lift the paper to reveal a print.
Variations: Use more than one ink color in the design.
Make other raised block designs. Draw a design on mat board. Trace the design with heavy cord glued in place or a heavy bead of glue left to dry hard. Print the design as described above.

First screen prints
Here’s what you need:
large sheets of paper
plastic paint trays
large, stiff paintbrushes
masking tape
liquid tempera
scraps of loose-weave burlap

1. Pour about one tablespoon of paint into a paint tray.
2. Tape sheets of plain paper onto the table. Place and tape a scrap of burlap to the paper.
3. Show how to dab the paint onto the burlap and then how to carefully lift the burlap revealing a textured print.
Variations: Reproduce this activity using other open-area materials like fiberglass screen wire, paper doilies, lace, perforated cardboard, and stencil templates.

Floral foam prints
Here’s what you need:
blocks of floral foam
cuticle sticks or short, sharpened dowels
knife-shaped vegetable peeler
masking tape
scrap paper
pencils
small pieces of dry sponge
paint trays
liquid tempera
scissors
paper for printing

1. Wrap tape around the blade of the vegetable peeler, leaving the blunt end exposed.
2. Cut scrap paper to the size of the floral foam.
3. Invite children to draw a simple design on the scrap paper.
4. Show how to hold the paper on the foam and trace the design using the cuticle stick or dowel. Make an impression in the foam.
5. Use the vegetable peeler to carve around the design, scraping away excess foam. Insist that the tool be pushed away from, rather than toward, the body.
6. Prepare for printing by pouring paint into paint trays. Have a supply of printing paper nearby.
7. Dip a dry sponge into the paint and dab onto the foam design.
8. Place the design, paint side up on a flat surface.
9. Place a piece of printing paper on top of the design and gently rub with fingers.
10. Lift the paper carefully, exposing the printed design.
Variation: Use the same process to make soap bar prints. The soap is harder to carve than the foam, so reinforce safety procedures. Note that it may be necessary to add a drop of dishwashing detergent to the tempera to help it adhere to the soap stamp.

Polystyrene blocks
This activity requires careful adult supervision and a well-ventilated work space—outdoors is best.
Here’s what you need:
polystyrene sheets
pencils
fingernail polish remover
fine-tipped paintbrushes
brayer
clean brayer or roller
inking slab
water-based ink
printing paper

1. Invite children to draw designs on polystyrene sheets with pencils, indenting the plastic slightly.
2. Trace over the design with a fine-tipped paintbrush dipped in nail polish remover. Note how the polish remover dissolves the polystyrene.
3. Pour a dot of ink onto the inking slab.
4. Roll the brayer through the ink on the slab, spreading the ink evenly and soaking the roller.
5. Turn the polystyrene block design side up and roll the ink over the raised surface.
6. Place a piece of paper on top of the design.
7. Use the clean brayer to smooth the paper in the ink.
8. Carefully lift the paper to reveal the print.
Variation: Invite the children to discover that they can make more than one print from a single inking. Try overprinting with a second, darker color.

Silk screens
Silk screening is a printing technique in which paint is pushed through a fabric screen to make a crisp design. Most decorated
T-shirts are silk screened.
Here’s what you need:
embroidery hoop
heavy cardboard
masking tape
liquid tempera
scrap paper
pencil
scissors
printing paper
squares of lightweight fabric (like cotton organdy) to fit hoop

1. Place fabric in embroidery hoop. Pull the edges taut—the fabric must be tight and wrinkle-free.
2. Make a squeegee by cutting the heavy cardboard into a 4-inch by 2-inch strip.
3. Cover one edge of the cardboard with masking tape. This keeps the cardboard from absorbing the paint.
4. Draw and cut out a simple design—like a snowflake—from the scrap paper. Make sure this stencil is smaller than the embroidery hoop.
5. Place the stencil on the printing paper.
6. Put the fabric in the embroidery hoop flat on top of the stencil, pressing down firmly.
7. Pour about 1 tablespoon of tempera into the hoop.
8. Spread the paint by pulling the squeegee across the paint several times.
9. The paint holds the stencil to the fabric in the embroidery hoop; a negative of the stencil is left on the printing paper. Lift the hoop (with the stencil) and repeat to make another print.
10. Discard the stencil, wash and dry the fabric, and repeat the activity.

Printing fabric
A table runner, class wall hanging, or curtains could permanently document a study of printing techniques. Modify these instructions to the skills and supervision needs of the children in the group. For example, if you can provide supervision for a group of three or four children, making stamps with craft foam and craft knives may be appropriate. If the group is larger and you can’t give the work your full attention, pre-made stamps may be more suitable.
Here’s what you need:
sheets of scrap paper
scissors
pencil
glue
heavy cardboard or mat board
scrap mat board
heavy muslin cloth, sized to your project
liquid fabric paint
paint brayers
clean brayers or rollers
craft foam sheets
fine-tipped markers
craft knifes
inking slabs

1. Invite children to draw folded paper designs. Fold a sheet of paper in fourths, draw and cut out shapes through all four layers, open the paper to see symmetrical designs.
2. Prepare rectangles of mat board to fit the sizes of the designs.
3. Show children how to trace the design onto a sheet of craft foam.
4. Place the foam on a scrap piece of mat board. Cut out the design with a craft knife—always working away from the body.
5. Spread glue on one side of the foam and center the design on a prepared mat board backing. Allow the glue to dry thoroughly.
6. Determine the placement of the designs on the fabric. For example, a table runner could have designs printed up the center; curtains might look best with a stamped border.
7. Prepare inking slabs with one or more colors of liquid fabric paint. Spread the paint with the brayer.
8. Ink the working side of the foam stamp and transfer the design to the fabric.
9. Repeat with other stamps and paint colors, aligning the designs appropriately. If the paint gets too sticky to work with, wipe it all off the stamp with a dampened cloth and start again.
10. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly. Follow the directions on the paint bottle for setting the color—pressing with a hot iron or spinning in a clothes dryer. Heat will make the design permanent.

Resources
Althours, Rosemary; M. Johnson; and S. Mitchell. 2003. The Colors of Learning: Integrating the Visual Arts into the Early Childhood Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.
Lasky, Lila and Rose Mukerji. 1980. Art: Basic for Young Children. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Schirrmacher, Robert. 1988. Art and Creative Development for Young Children. Albany, N.Y.: Delmar.