A House That Once Was

“A House That Once Was” by Julie Fogliano and Lane Smith

When you see old or abandoned properties do you ever wonder what there history is?  Every home has a story to tell and abandoned ones are sure to carry some fascinating ones.  This is the story of some children who explore an old and empty home that is deep in the woods.  It is overgrown with wildflowers and has forgotten items inside such as the occasional photograph not the wall.  The children spend some time imagining what story the house has to tell and wondering who might have lived there.

The text to this book is so lovely and seemingly poetic in nature.  The illustrations are captivating with their splotches of bright color across the pages.  It is a beauty in every way, plus it feels refreshingly different and unique.

Click here to purchase “A House That Once Was” *affiliate link

 

Sponge Paint Craft

One of the elements that you can’t help but notice, and love, in this book is the splatters of color that densely cover many of the illustrations in this book.  I don’t think I have ever seen a picture book quite like it and I find it stunning.  We deiced to play around with a similar effect by doing a little sponge painting on “houses” of our own.  My kids had so much fun with the process and were intrigued with the results.  It is also a big bonus that it is such a simply and easy craft to put together.  Plus, I mad a printable (free for personal and educational use) for you to make it even simpler!  You can find it below.

Supplies:

• sponge
• scissors
• acrylic paints
• white cardstock
• house printable

Process:

1. We chose a sponge that was very pours to create more of an abstract look when we painted.  This one we found at our local dollar store.
2. We cut the sponge into long sections so we had multiple pieces to paint with.
3. Next we printed out the house printable on some card stock and put dollops of acrylic  paint on a paper plate.
4. Lastly, we dabbed the sponge in the paint and then on the house printable to create the sponge painting effect.  Once the paint had dried we cut out the house.

If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram and tag me! (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.