3-D Design

This project was a little difficult. Using strips of yarn, dip them in a watered-down glue substance, and apply them to a balloon. Many pieces were needed to cover the balloon and the glue couldn't be too watered down. Once the glue dried, we went in and popped the balloons.

Lastly, we created a bulletin board using the 3-D Design eggs. It reads, "Our Students Are Eggcellent"

Fish!

Great idea for kids learning shapes! We had to create a pattern within using shapes. The pattern had to repeat within the squares and then we could color the outside. We glued on a tail and placed eyes and a fishing line in. Kids would love this!

Such a cute cute idea to incorporate a student's photo on the bulletin board. To  continue the idea of a patteron, I would encourage students to make a pattern on the boarder. Their choice could be unlimited to squiggly lines, diagonals, etc.

Scrapbook Quilt

This was a very sentimental activity that I very much enjoyed. We used different pieces of scrapbook paper to create a quilt.I tried to keep the plaid portions in the center and if folded diagonally it could be somewhat symmetrical. The scrap book pieces were glued onto a piece of white paper and a border was drawn on using makers.

Because students were to pick out scrapbook paper that meant something to them, I would have them write an additional story about why they chose those things. Or students could share a memory that was triggered.

Clay

Using Crayola clay, we were able to make our own clay pots like Native Americans had done. My pot is designed as a gift for my grandma. Like I said, my grandpa races so the inside of the pot has two flags and his car number, three. Outside the pot I created my own symbols. An "eye" for the word I, a heart for the word love, and BINGO denotes bingo. My grandma's favorite hobby next to her family is bingo. The white flag on the inside means 1 lap to go and the checkered flag means the race is over and there is a winner!

Definitely a time consuming project but another version would be to make whistles. I remember doing that in school and I actually still have it!

The Legend

Using oil pastels, I wrote the phrase "the Legend" repetitively going from left to right and top to bottom. The Legend is a nickname for my Grandpa who has been racing stock cars for 43 years now. He is very important to me along with the sport of racing. This was originally a piece of white paper and then the red squares were glued on to create a checkered board. Lastly, using different variations of orange, I painted the remaining white squares. Upon drying I glued the finished not-so-white piece onto a black piece of construction paper as a background. Can't wait for my Grandpa to see it!

Another way to do this, instead of using letters, is to draw pictures. Create a pattern or make it entirely random. I would do a school house because I'm going to be a teacher, a race car because it's a passion, things like hunting and fishing, etc. The list could go on!

Printmaking

I had a bast with this project and I know kids of all ages will, too! Using acrylic paint, find any old object to paint with onto construction paper. I used a toy truck with wheels, a golf ball, and a fork to create different paint strokes. I picked bright colors and cut it into the shape of a sun. Lots of fun!

I envision using this project to make a huge class collage! Each student would get one utensil that would be original to them. The collage could be personalized to the class giving each student their own place in the piece.

Crayon Melting

This project was super fun but a little tricky. You shave old crayons for small morsel pieces. Place the pieces within a folded (hamburger style) piece of wax paper. There should be quite a few pieces to fully cover the surface area. You then use super low settings on an iron and melt the crayon shavings together within the wax paper. My iron settings were too high and more or less burned them but there are still some neat colors. Using laminated shapes already cut out, you can trace them onto your melted crayon wax and cut them out. I chose a cute ant.

Story time! The theme for the project was Spring. Different spring bugs like ants and butterflies were available for tracing. To add to their project, students could write a story as if they were a bug. What would they do all winter? When would they emerge outside? Who's in charge?