20+ Cool Plastic Bottle Recycling Projects For Kids

I love these, especially the penguins! Check out the link for more ideas and specifics!





Some great ideas here!


Source: http://notedlist.com/plastic-bottle-recycling-projects/

50 Earth Day Activities

Next week is Earth Day... Here are 50 Earth Day Activities that work with natural materials, recycled materials, indoor crafts, outdoor activities and more....

Fun Holiday ideas...

The 'melted snowman' water bottle made me literally laugh out loud....

Source

Hand Print Tree Ornaments

My friends and colleagues know my obsession with handprint art, so this idea looks amazing to me!

Art Journals....

Has anyone tried art journaling?

Pinterest had some cool pins: http://www.pinterest.com/source/artjournaling.tumblr.com/





Some really amazing stuff out there. I am intrigued. I want to learn more.....

Celery Flower Art

Finally, a use for that leftover celery.

VIA : http://bit.ly/19CKm0l

Texture Art: Out at Sea

I love the texture of this art project. I've always had a love for the ocean, so this really appeals to me, but I could see students doing it with mountains or hills or desert dunes or the sky....

http://pinterest.com/pin/61431982390432660/

Father's Day in a Two mother home....

This is such a great article that has me thinking about the stereotypical "gifts" that are often made as crafts in school.

Who here has ever received a Mother’s Day gift that did not feature flowers in some way? Who has ever received a Father’s Day gift that did not feature tools or neckties? It is in the nature of these gifts to be hopelessly generic and stereotypical.

This post talks about one family with two moms and how they approached Fathers Day recently... awesome read:

My first thought was to ask if the kid could be given a pass on Father’s Day this year, having just finished working twice as hard as the other kids for Mother’s Day, making two beautiful scrapbooked cards for his two mums. But, judging by this note, sitting out the activity was not an option. 

The teacher’s instructions to parents did note, with heartening sensitivity: “If for any reason a picture of Dad is not possible or … he is not present in your child’s life, feel free to have your child bring pictures of a favourite uncle, family friend or grandfather that they wish to make a gift for.” 

There was a time that we would have been grateful for this inclusiveness, but let’s face it, the kid is in Grade 4 now and he was in daycare from the age of 1, so we’ve been dealing with this awkward annual moment for at least eight years now. 

When our son was little, we would sit him down every spring and ask whom he would like to make a gift for – Gramps? Uncle Rod? Uncle Jim? – and then run interference with the teachers, making sure that they knew the situation and presenting a ready-made solution.

 My father has been the recipient of many Popsicle-stick masterpieces over the years, not just from the boy, but from his older sister. Frankly, Gramps already has more than enough receptacles for pens and his pennies gathering dust on his dresser. And while the boy does have other adult males in his life, we don’t necessarily have multiple pictures of them. 

More important, this whole business is starting to feel like a sham. Why should he have to come up with a fake father figure just so that he can kind of conform to what all the other kids are doing?

 

Read the rest here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/fathers-day/what-happens-on-fathers-day-in-a-two-mother-home/article12493198/

Mosaic Math

I love reading about PBL in various classes. Here is a post about mosaic math:



He writes:

Here's what my students did....they were given a piece of large chart paper. Then they were given a ruler and had to decide if they were going to make their squares 1 in by 1 in, 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch, or 2 in by 2 in.

After they made that decision they went and got construction paper to begin cutting their squares to make a mosaic self portrait of themselves. This took QUITE a while because I was continually going around making sure they were actually measuring and making squares instead of a bunch of rectangles. It took two class days for each class to finish (which totals to about 2 hours); and some students had to have a working lunch or take it home to finish it.

So after everyone was done, on Thursday we did the math with it! First they had to write a fraction displaying how much of each color they used. Then they had to simplify those fractions....yes some of them had VERY large denominators (that we normally don't work with in 5th grade) so I let them use calculators when simplifying the fractions (hey, we use calculators as adults!).

After they wrote and simplified their fractions, then they had to determine the perimeter of their shape (depending on what measurement they chose to use at the beginning).

And after they determined the perimeter of their picture they had to determine the area of their shape (not counting the eyes, hair, or neck).

It was a lot of math, but it was really fun! And afterwards we got to display them in the hallway. Since my kids are now Minecraft addict they were all commenting about how much their people look like Minecraft characters, which I found pretty funny.

Via: http://nesloneyflipped.blogspot.ca/2013/04/archery-mosaics-and-xc-oh-my-week-27.html

Holy Onomatopoeia Batman!

Loved this lesson idea and had to share. Would be great for teachers doing figurative langauge or if a TTOC wanted to do a mini-lesson that was fun and creative.

 

 

Open with an introduction on onomatopoeia's by showing an old clip of Batman. Here is one from youtube:

 

 

Next show them the art project, some examples can be found at Splish Splash Splatter Art  

 

 Then students can pick out 3 different colors of construction paper. (one for their background, one for their "zig zag" design, and one for the onomatopoeia word) You will also need newspaper.

 

Here is a close up of one of the examples:

 

 

 There are a lot of different ways to create these, students will be able to use the paper to create their own onomatopoeia word designs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Via: http://crouseallstars.blogspot.ca/2013/03/holy-onomatopoeia-batman.html

Stain Glass Window Craft

Source: 2me4art.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Sharpie marker on wax paper looks like stained glass.

Lace Art

Source: dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

lace resist painting: lay lace on paper, spray with clear gloss spray paint, remove lace, paint with watercolors.

Classroom Flower Project

What I like about this art project, is that as a TTOC/Substitute, you could easily do this as a nice surprise when the classroom teacher returns.....

Source: beckermiddleart.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Each student can design a flower, fast finishers, creative types may do more than one while other students finish their first one. (or you can have a fast finisher design a vase for the flowers)

Fun, Easy Andry Warhol Hand print Art

Source: anartteachersfairyteal.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest