The Could Be Adapted So Easily For the Classroom

3 Ideas for When You're at a Loss for an Art Project (Using Paper Collages)

Whenever you're at a loss for an idea for an art project, here are three ideas for what you can do using torn construction paper or tissue paper to make collages.

* use coloring book pages
* trace (or draw) the letter you're studying, then fill in

* going a step further, take the letter (or number) and fill it in with pictures from catalogs that match the letter (ex: snake, snail, suit, sun for the letter S), or cut and paste 9 pictures and place on the number 9.

15 Ways Kids Can Upcycle Old CDs

Link here.

Painting With Coffee

This was shared by a fellow teacher. Painting with coffee, including the grounds! Not only is it an unusual medium, but it also makes the room smell terrific!

Here she did a tree, but you could use a coloring page (something dealing with the letter C?).

It's April Fools Day!

You can get all the information you need, including the template, to make these great glasses, at this site.

Have a Great April Fools Day!

There's Something Fishy Going On In Our Classroom!

These past two weeks we've been studying the ocean and marine life, and did two art projects with paper plates. As you can see from the top picture, we cut out a large triangular wedge, which we glued on the back for the tail. Color, don't forget the gills, and you have a fish! (I usually add googly eyes, but I was fresh out.)

For the second project, we colored our plates to resemble aquariums. We free-hand cut strips of green for plants, colored in our sand/rocks, then added our fish. The template fish I found on Google, and shrunk it to fit the plate. (I specifically searched for a shark, since it's our school mascot, but I also found lots of other cute designs.)

Another Set of Texas Activities

Remember that flag from my post of March 5th? I put that flag on tagboard, then each child had to tear red, white, and blue strips into "finger tip size pieces" and glue them to the template. This "mosaic" idea has always been among the best ideas for strengthening fine motor skills. To finish, we wrote the state pledge on the back.

Additional activities included:
* playing Texas bingo
* watching a short video about the Battle of the Alamo
* learning to dance the Cotton-Eyed Joe and Chicken Dance

Happy Valentine's Day!

After we made a Valentine card for our mother...

We played a game of "Racing Hearts" where teams blew their paper hearts across the tables using a straw...

Passed out our Valentines, then finished off with pizza, cupcakes, and punch.

It was an awesome day!

Quick and Easy Christmas Ornaments

We made these this year for our classroom tree, and to ultimately give to the parents. I would have loved to have put each child's photo in the middle of the trees (after glueing a backing on them), but the photos didn't come in on time.  Also, I used red ribbon to hang the trees after putting a gold star at the top. 

Q is for "Quilt"

Using old wallpaper books, each child made a "quilt square".
We'll "stitch" them together tomorrow to hang out in the hallway.

A Useful Art Project - Sun Visors!

I got the visors at the dollar store (packaged 3 to a bag). Then I pulled out all my self-gluing decals, letters, and gemstones, and let them have a field day decorating their own visors. They keep them inside their cubbies and wear them when it's time for recess.

Artwork Counts, Too!

Don't forget to include artwork in those portfolios. Sometimes a child who has difficulty reading may be more artistically inclined. And a child who has problems expressing himself creatively may have other problems as well.

Note: Never "grade" papers and place ALL of them up where everyone can see everyone else's grade. Either give no grade, or give everyone the same grade (like a check mark or a happy face).

Make Your Own Memory Game

Let them make their own memory game. You can use tag board, stickers, index cards, or even cut out pictures from a catalog. I've also taken a deck of cards and separated the red from the black (red diamond/heart and black club/spade), which gives you two full sets, with two of each suite.

Give Them a Bulletin Board They Can Use Without Pins

Let them make their own bulletin boards they can use without having to worry about stick pins or thumb tacks.

You need a large piece of heavy cardboard, like the kind packing cartons are made of.

You can find inexpensive wrapping paper at any store. Just make sure the sheet will fit over the cardboard. Glue the paper onto the cardboard, and tack back the corners well.

Criss-cross several large, colorful rubber bands on the board. These bands help keep in place whatever your child wants to save.

Voila! Your child's own bulletin board that's inexpensive, lightweight, and "owwie" safe!

Cool Shades!

Take some inexpensive sunglasses from the dollar store and let your kids decorate them! You can use paints, markers, stickers, glitter, foam appliques, rhinestones, or just about anything that suits your fancy!

Design a T-shirt

Have your child design and create their own t-shirt.

This activity really works well with inexpensive white t-shirts you can buy pre-packaged. Just make sure they're 100% cotton.

If you use markers, be sure they're the permanent kind. If you choose those, the child will draw directly on the shirt.

Note: Be sure you place a piece of cardboard or some plastic directly inside the shirt to prevent bleeding to the back of the shirt.

Another idea is to have your child use fabric crayons. This way, your child draws directly onto a piece of white paper. Laying the t-shirt on an ironing board or flat surface, and placing the finished drawing face-down on top of the front of the t-shirt, you would use a hot iron to press the picture into the fabric.

Note: Be careful. If you use this method, and the picture includes words or numbers, the drawing will be backwards from the original.

Paint a Rock

 Here's another neat idea.  Gather up some neat looking rocks - smooth or flat, it doesn't matter.  Open up some old watercolor paints, or get an inexpensive set of colors from the dollar store.  And let the children paint their rocks.

Or... they can do like this picture on the right and take several small rocks or pebbles and color them one color, then arrange them in a display.

Washable Artwork

You can get a bucket of sidewalk chalk very cheaply at the local dollar store.  Open your sidewalks and driveway to your child's imagination!  And don't worry - it comes right off with a spritz from the garden hose.



We're Studying Fish

So we made our own aquariums. 

You need:
- a paper plate
- green or brown construction paper
- a picture of a fish
- crayons
- glue

*To begin, they color their plate blue. 
*Next, color in "pebbles" at the bottom.
*I run off sheets of the fish (from clipart, I put 8 to a page), which they color and glue.
*Finish with "aquarium plants" they can cut free-hand from the construction paper and glue onto the plate.

They're very easy and fun to make!

Butterflies!

 We're currently studying spring, which means the study of insects.  After singing our Insect Song (forthcoming), we took the time to make butterflies.

You'll need:
paints (we use watercolors)
coffee filters
pipe cleaners

Have each child paint their coffee filter.  The porous nature of the filter, along with the watercolors, gives a nice pastel effect.

Once the filter dries, take a pipe cleaner and shape into  U.  Twist a couple of time to make the "abdomen".


Scrunch the filter, pinching the center.

Put that center in the middle of the pipe cleaner and twist another couple of times.

"Bend" the remaining ends of the pipe cleaner to be the antenna.  Then unfold/straighten out the "wings" of the butterfly.

Voila!