Set up a fun sponge geometric art activity for kids experimenting with colour and pattern. This process art idea is similar to using pattern blocks only way more messy and fun!

Creating art from shapes is a good way for younger kids learn and practice shape recognition. Older kids will enjoy the creative process of designing patterns and combining the shapes to make pictures.

This art idea was originally published in 2014 and has been updated and reshared for today’s audience.

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My preschoolers adore making patterns using almost anything. They make them from blocks, paper rolls, plastic toys, pom poms, art materials – you name it.

They have always loved traditional pattern blocks so I thought I’d try creating my own from sponges which could be used to stamp pictures.

The girls really took ownership of this activity. When I set this up, I imagined they’d create pictures of ‘things’ like houses, flowers or simple people (like I would do myself), but they surprised me. The sponge stamps didn’t just get used to make patterns, but were smeared and used as paintbrushes as well.

This ‘shape village’ is a quick example I created myself, but you can see the girls had their own ideas.

Want to set up this activity at home or in the classroom? It’s easy!

How to create sponge geometric art

sponge geometric art

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Set up this fun process art activity for kids to experiment with pattern and colour

Prep Time 10 minutes

Active Time 15 minutes 10 seconds

Total Time 25 minutes 10 seconds

Difficulty very easy

Materials

• Kitchen sponges
• Poster or acrylic paint
• Paper
• Ice cream lids or similar to use as paint pallets
• Table cover and optional covering for clothing (this activity can get messy)

Tools

• scissors

Instructions

1. Cut the kitchen sponge into a selection of basic geometric shapes. Ours consisted of:
   - Two circles, one large and one small
   - One square
   - Two rectangles, one long and one short
   - One diamond
   - Two different triangles
   
   You could experiment with other shapes and incorporate different sizes, don’t feel limited to these ones.
   
2. Place each sponge stamp in a different colour paint.
   
3. Stamp away!

More ways to learn using shapes

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