String It Up Art

My students and I just completed what I think is probably the coolest art project we've done this year - String Art!  I've been wanting to do a string art project for about the past 6 years now and finally decided this was the year.  Instead of doing my usual Mother's Day gift that I do every year, I planned ahead and order the supplies to complete this totally awesome project.  The results are awesome and I'm so glad I did it.  I think the students' mothers are going to love them!  I will definitely do this again each year with my class.

In order to do this project, you will need the following items:

• Unfinished Wooden Painting Panels - I did 12 x 12 x 1 inch boards.  The BEST price I found was on Consumer Crafts for only $5.97
• Paint and paint brushes
• Wire Nails - I used 8 Gauge 5/8 inch Galvanized Wire Nails because they have the head so string doesn't slip off
• Hammer - I sent home a request for families to send in a hammer and the students shared them
• String Art Pattern - I created my own and copied it for students
• Tape

Painted boards

Once you have your supplies, the first thing you do is have the students paint their wooden panel in a color they choose.  After the paint has dried, they should tape on the pattern.  I told the students to do this carefully to ensure that the pattern was not off-centered.  After they have decided where to place it, they should use a piece of tape to keep it in place.  

Now comes the LOUD part - hammering in the nails. I was a bit nervous about having students do this at first, but no injuries happened. They should put a nail on each of the dots.  We talked about how deep the nails should go in - not too deep or they won't be able to put string around them.  

Once the nails are in, they should carefully pull the pattern off.  When they do this, they make discover they didn't hammer in a nail deep enough and may have to redo a few.  

Pull off the pattern

Outline the pattern with string first

Now comes time for the string.  First, I had my students do the outline of the shape by looping around each nail.  After they have completed that, they can begin to create their design.  The best part about this project, is each will look different depending on how they string it together.  I would cut my students off pieces of string, and when they would run out, they would get another piece and knot them together.  Have them cut off the excess string and keep going.  Once they are finished, tie off the final end and trim up any excess.

You can end the project there, or you can allow them to add decorative elements or words to their panel with paint. Regardless, they will each have a unique final wall piece to hang up at home!  

How fun are some of these that my kids did?

Have you ever done a string art project?  How'd it turn out?

Enjoy!

Katie

DIY Gifts

Okay - so I know this is a teaching blog and perhaps this post will "teach" someone to do what I did.  I was so VERY EXCITED about the Christmas gifts I made for my girls this year and just have to share them.  I'm all about consignment sales and go the LA Kids Consignment sale twice a year.  I stock up on puzzles, clothes, and any other things I think we need or I want. :-)  I love it!  Finding a deal is a thrill for me.  If I don't win an early entry pass, I will buy one. That way I know I'll be the first to find these deals.

This year I knew I wanted to create my older daughter a tool workbench.  I had been looking online and found some that were in the hundreds of dollars!!  Uh - I don't think so.  And the cheaper ones seemed to be just that - cheap.  So I decided to make my own.  When I went to the consignment sale, I knew I wanted to find the play tools as to buy them at regular price could get expensive.  I ended up finding the power tool play set and the hand tools for only $15.  If I was to buy all the tools I got there new, I would have ended up paying over $75!  So after I had my tools, the next step was the bench itself.  My husband had an old nightstand that we stored in our garage and I determined it was the perfect size for what I wanted to do.  I spray painted it a glossy black and extended the table top of it with Home Depot yard sticks.  I topped those off with a clear coat to prevent the kids from getting any splinters. 

For the back side, I wanted to get peg board but the Home Depot by me didn't have the size I wanted. I could have bought an extremely large piece for $16 and had it cut down but instead decided to go with a piece of chalkboard backing I found for $6.  This turned out to be a good thing because I didn't have to worry about the hooks falling off onto the ground where the baby could get them.  I used Command Brand removable hooks to hang the tools on the board.  This also allowed me to give a space for my daughter to write on the board with chalk.  Here is the finished product - I love it!

 

The other gift I repurposed was an old jeep I found at the consignment sale as well.  I picked it up for $26 and bought three cans of spray paint (that works on plastic) to repaint it.  This is my daughter's new favorite outdoor toy!  She loves to load up the back and drive off. 

 

What are some of your favorite DIY gifts you've done?

 

Freebie Friday: Free Greeting Cards

It's time for another Freebie Friday!  Today, I was dismayed when I realized I had forgotten a greeting card I had bought for a colleague at home.  Unable to run to the store to get another one and not at all interested in paying another $3.95 for it, I turned to the internet.

Multiple greeting card options

Editing abilities

I was overjoyed when I came across a website called Greetings Island.  This website allows you to choose from a wide variety of greeting cards and customize them with personalized messages.

The card I chose.

I was able to quickly create a new card, actually personalize it and print it out all in under three minutes!  No more running to the store for me.  These cards are cute and exactly what one would need.

Go check them out today!

Post Father's Day Gift

Okay - I am well aware the Father's Day is over and done with. However, I never shared my project that I did with my students. So despite the holiday being almost a full year away, I present you my project.

 Let me start by saying in my head when I first planned this project, it was SUPER cool! Seriously. Super. Cool. Then we actually started the project and I thought maybe not so super cool after all. However, my students loved it and in the end, I was back to thinking super cool. So all is well. Okay, now I really will present the project.

My original idea was to have students imprint their feet into the stepping stone. Which is why I bought the 12x12 stepping stone molds. In the end, I went with just hands. The molds worked perfectly. I was a bit scared that the cement would dry and the mold wouldn't come off but my husband (who was a big contributor to this project) just had my students grease the molds with olive oil. No problem. The molds came off. Since I had only 16 students, I bought 8 molds and completed this project over two days. Half the class one day and the other half the next day.

 

My husband came and mixed together quick cement in a bucket and filled the greased molds to the brim. He smoothed it off and we had them set for about 25 minutes. After they set for a little, the students stuck their hand prints into the cement. They had to press down fairly hard. This is also when they would have used the letter stamps but I decided not to do that. I had the molds stay outside for 2 hours before having the students carefully carry them up the stairs to dry on the back table. The next day, the stones were completely dry.

My amazing husband, who facilitated this project.

 Now that the stones were dry, I let the students use acrylic paints to color their hand print. This was a last minute idea.....originally we weren't going to paint them at all, but I felt they needed something.

Pre-paint

The painting was a big hit - the kids loved it and even added messages, initials and dates to their stones. Once that acrylic paint dried, I used a clear coat and covered the stone a few times to give it a shiny appearance. I'm really glad I stuck with the project. I heard positive reviews from not only the kids (which I expected - they love to get dirty) but also from the parents. I even had one student who went out and purchased a mold and is going to make more for his family's garden. So this is not only a great Father's Day project but also an anytime project!

What type of Father's Day projects did you do?

End of Year Memory Books

School yearbooks are great souvenirs for the end of the school year, however, I also like creating classroom memory books with my students.  And for those students who were unable to purchase the school yearbook for some reason, the book we create in class may just be their only memento of their school year.

I've created a quick and easy book that you can make with your class.  Each students fills out a sheet with all their favorites from the year and fills out a few questions or open ended statements.  When finished, I collect them all and make a copy for each student in my class along with a copy of the About My Class page.  And of course, no memory book would be complete without an autograph page or two. 

Quick, easy and in most cases a cheaper alternative for a memory book for ALL your students.  Check out my End of Year Memory Book template at my TpT store!

Enjoy!

Honoring Thy Mother

A colleague and I were just talking the other day and I mentioned that Mother's Day is coming up.....and fast!  You know what that means, time to start working on Mother's Day gifts with my class.  Thankfully, a few years ago I started doing a project and have done it ever since.  It's simple, thoughtful, cheap cost efficient, and there has never been a mother who hasn't LOVED it!  So I know you can't take the suspense anymore..................right?


Okay, here's what I do with my 5th graders.  First I give them an assignment to write a poem for their mother.  It can be an acrostic poem spelling out MOTHER or their mother's first name.  Or it can be a cinquain.  To be honest, it can really be whatever moves the student. I don't require that they rhyme but many of my students end up doing so anyway.  After they are done writing their poems, next I proofread them and have the kids make any corrections. Once they are perfect, they type the poems up on the computer and format it with the font and text color of their choice.

After the poem is complete, I take a picture of each of my students.  These pictures are printed along with the poem and placed in a frame which I purchase.  What I love about these frames is they are a heavy glass and give a feeling of expensive. However, I will let you in on a little secret.......they are NOT expensive at all!!!  I get all my Mother's Day frames at the 99 cent store or the Dollar Tree.  I'm not kidding!  These frames are really a buck or less.  I just add it to my growing list of things I already spend out of pocket. But in my opinion, these are so worth it. The students are so proud to take them home and like I said before - the moms love them.  I wrap the frames up in tissue paper for my students with a bow and they take them home.

Moms cry and weep......and send me emails about how much they love them. :-)  What do you do for Mother's Day gifts?  Share below.


Be sure to check back in a few weeks for my idea for a fabulous Father's Day gift.

After writing this post, Maria from Kinder-Craze told me about the Linky Party she is having for Mother's Day. Be sure to check it out for more Mother's Day ideas!