Have I mentioned lately how much I love working in a reggio inspired preschool?  It’s just so incredible to watch the children learn and grow and share their creativity in such an organic way.  This project in particular makes me so happy.  We have our silent auction coming up and this 100% Kid Made Neon Lampshade is going to raise some serious cash.  It’s just so awesome.  I can’t believe it was made by 2, 3, and 4 year olds.  All the kids participated and all it cost was the cost of paint.  Somebody donated the lampshade.  We did it in three easy steps too.  Read on for the details.

Materials

a lamp shade, neon craft paint (here’s a whole set of great colors)  paint brushes, and masking tape

3 Easy Steps

1. Tape

Get a lamp shade and cover it with masking tape.  The 2 and 3 year olds did this part.  They cut the tape and placed it on the lampshade themselves too.  One student figured out that you can stick the tape to the table from the role, making it easy to cut independently.  So clever! Other kids quickly followed suit and we had a lampshade covered in tape in no time.

2.  Paint 

Paint all the white spaces with paint.  We went with a neon theme to match the incredible plate sets we painted.  (post coming soon)  The colors look super exciting on the white lampshade.  We’re also working on a black lampshade in addition to this one and the neon colors look fantastic.

3.  Peel

Once the paint is completely dry, it’s time to peel off the tape.  This part was really fun.  Kids love to peel things.  Their little nails worked hard to get under each piece.

That’s it!!  Easy peasy right?  Now just find a lamp and plug that baby in.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

I really want to win it in the silent auction.  This would look so great in both my girls rooms or our future playroom.  I just love it so much.  Stay tuned for more silent auction projects we’ve been working on.  Thanks for reading along! xo Meri