Creative Classroom: Kaleidoscope

To end our unit on colors and rainbows, we made our own kaleidoscopes. While this is fun to do and looks cool, the kids informed me that it was not a "real kaleidoscope." So, take it for what it is and have fun looking at the world through a new lens.

OK, let's get started!
Materials needed: plastic wrap (we used purple because that is all I had for some reason), seed beads, toilet paper roll, rubber band, scissors

Step 1: Tear off a rectangle of plastic wrap. Carefully put several pinches of seed beads in a little pile on the plastic wrap.
Step 2: Gather all the beads together. Fold the plastic wrap over the beads so you have a bead sandwich. Put the toilet paper roll over the beads.
Step 3: Gather the plastic wrap up over the toilet paper roll.
Step 4: Secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band.
Step 5: Trim excess plastic wrap. Some kids opted to just fold it down or leave it as is.
Step 6. Hold a little away from your eye, look up, and turn your kaleidoscope. You won't see any real patterns, but when you take them outside and look up, the beads look cool in the sky.

You might want to check out these instructions from National Geographic Kids which takes the project a step further. Thanks to Mrs. Howie for giving us the idea!

Shorts Weather...Almost

This week is Spring Break and I'm wishing for sunny skies as I sew up some little shorts for Frankie & Phoebe. I let Phoebe pick out her fabrics from my stash.

While I don't think I would ever attempt to sew shorts for myself, it's easy to make them for kids. There are tons of short patterns out there, but I used Simplicity 9786. It has a simple elastic waist and easy-to-follow directions.

Rainbow Tapestry - Week 3

Here we are at the end of Week 3. The kids have continued to use little stitches to fill in the color bands, but it's slow going. At the end of the week, we had a group discussion of where to go next. Me: Do we stop here? Kids: No, we want to finish it. Me: Ok, but how? When? Kids: How about we sew after snack? And after journal time. And after we finish a center. And can we sew during rest time? Me: Yes. I will give you lots of free time to sew.

We will see how it goes. I'm excited that they want to finish it. So many things in the kids' lives are rushed and immediate. It's nice to take our time and to have time to do that.

In case you were wondering, this is a "Mexican Slip Stitch." Holden requests that you please do not sew over it. It is hard to make.

This Could Be Yours!

Although I probably shouldn't share this, because I want to win, The Long Thread has a great giveaway - a custom softie made from your child's drawing! Phoebe has just started drawing "real" things. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll win. However, if I don't, it does give me some good ideas on making my own.

Welcome Baby!

A few people I know are welcoming new lives into theirs. I love making baby gifts!
My standard is the bib/burp cloth combo. I swear by good burp cloths and since you end up practically living in them, they should be cute, too! I make mine with double-folded cloth diapers with a rectangle of fabric top stitched across one end and a line of ric-rac on the other. Not too bulky, but still has style. For bibs, I use a modified version of the pattern in Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing book. I like to use velcro to fasten them. I decided to add the little circles with Heat-n-Bond.
This combo is ready for the baby shower. I glue sticked a bit of the fabric onto a tag for a quick card. I am loving the way it turned out. Hope the new family does, too.

Quilt Family Day Report

Phoebe and I had a great time at the Brooks Museum Family Day. The exhibit was great and the activities just perfect. I'm looking forward to using them in my classroom in the coming weeks. All of my pictures turned out blurry, because Phoebe was having too much fun to pose, but I'll give you a quick idea of what we did.

One activity was a paper quilt. They supplied paper rectangles, hole punchers, and plastic needles threaded with yarn. I had to punch the paper for Phoebe, but she loved sewing the squares together. This would be a cute idea for the Q Quilt as well, where kids could draw Q pictures on the paper then sew them together. I may have to try this next year.
I think the activity below was our favorite. The table was covered with buckets of fabric scraps, glue sticks, foam shapes, and card stock. We glued fabric scraps to the card stock. I had to make one too! It was fun to "piece" together a mini quilt. We are planning on making these in class and then turning them into journals. Another idea is to make a picture frame. The next day, Phoebe was in my scrap box wanting to make another "glue quilt." Try this at home!
The other highlight of the morning was dancing to Last Chance Jug Band who played at my wedding nearly 9 years ago. I also couldn't resist and purchased a few things in the gift shop including this amazing Pattern Play set. I got it for my classroom, but Phoebe and I had lots of fun making quilts on Sunday.

Could you sew a house?

Image from Modish; houses are purchasable via Etsy shop Wunderlust.

Could you sew a portrait?

Check out Collin, an English bloke, who I found over at Modish.

Brush Your Eggs!

Ok, so I know that it's now March and National Dental Health Awareness Month is over, but I had to share this fun experiment we did in class. I also know that this is not about sewing, but it was so fun, I had to share! This is the Kindergarten teacher in me coming out...

To illustrate the importance of brushing teeth, we brushed hard boiled eggs soaked in Coke overnight.

They got all brown, spotted, and yucky. The kids were amazed at how dirty the eggs got from Coke!

Next, we brushed the eggs. We talked about how to brush our teeth, the importance of toothpaste, and how long to brush. I had the kids in groups of 3 and 4.

While the eggs weren't gleaming white at the end of about 8 minutes of brushing, you could see a difference!

Typing this up, it does seem a little silly, but I have to say, the kids loved it and it made a big impact! I think I may have to try it at home too.
We also sang this great song to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" -
Brush, brush, brush your teeth til they're clean and white. Brush them, brush them, brush them, brush them, morning, noon, and night.

Rainbow Tapestry - Week 2

This week was all about filling in the color bands. There was a lot of collaboration going on and sewing during free-choice time. I suggested using buttons or other materials to fill in the bands, but they decided that the rainbow should be "soft" and maybe fill in the background with buttons.

The kids really concentrated on making tiny stitches to fill up the bands. By the end of the week, the violet and indigo band were nearly filled.

I can't wait to see what happens in Week 3.