Kindergarten Bee Unit-Duct Tape Honeybees

We use the the Gems unit Buzzing a Hive in our kindergarten.  I really like it and the kids learn a lot.  This year, I decided to add 3-d duct tape honeybees.  The kids have been going bonkers over them.  The hive was unexpected and totally came from the kids.  Duct tape makes anything possible.  Now they want to make a huge duct tape tree and hang the hive.  Oy.  I have my work cut out for me.

How to make the bees

Materials-black and yellow duct tape, scotch tape, transparency paper or recycled water bottles, newspaper, googly eyes, black pipe cleaners, a straw, a black sharpie and a stapler

1.  Make a ball shape from newspaper for the head.  Cover with yellow duct tape.

2.  Make a slightly larger ball shape from newspaper for the thorax.  Cover with yellow duct tape.

3.  Make a longer shape from newspaper for the abdomen.  Cover with yellow duct tape.

4.  Attach all three shapes with yellow duct tape.  Make strips of black duct tape to use as stripes.  Tape as many stripes as desired onto the thorax and abdomen.

5.  Duct tape the eyes onto the head.  Add three more eyes with a black sharpie.  Honeybees have 5 eyes!

6.  Cut two black pipe cleaners in half.  Use three crisscrossed pipe cleaners for the legs.  Attach them to the thorax with duct tape.  Bend as desired.

7.  Use the fourth pipe cleaner length for the antennae.  Duct tape to the head and bend as desired.

8.  Cut four wings from the transparency paper or water bottle and staple together.  Scotch tape the wings to the top side of the thorax.  Then duct tape the scotch tape down to the thorax to keep the wings secure.

9.  Duct tape a black straw to the abdomen for the stinger.  If you don’t have a black one just duct tape it in black and then add.

10.  The hive is one big wad of newspaper covered in gold duct tape.  I cut a little door at the bottom and covered the inside flap with more duct tape.

One of the kids added a proboscis to theirs with yellow duct tape and a red straw.  Great idea!

Birthday Party Centerpeices

I volunteered to make the centerpieces for my good friend Lisa’s, daughter’s birthday.  I’m sure there is a grammar mistake somewhere in that sentence.  Anyway, today was Saige’s first birthday.  I searched around on pinterest for some centerpiece ideas and then came up with my own rendition.  I got the jars for 1.99 at Michaels, along with the cotton candy for filling.  I had to go to Ralph’s for the skewers which I found kind of annoying.  Why doesn’t Michaels carry a package of long sticks?  Seems kind of necessary.  I made flags from different patterned paper and then cut out hearts and decorated them.  Really simple.  The best part was sticking the flags in the cotton candy.  It made this very satisfying kind of silent sound when I stuck them in.  Try it!  I’m telling you.

 

Kindergarten is a Hoot Bulletin Board

Toilet Paper Roll Owls

These totally rock.  The kids LOVE playing with them, putting them in size order, making their prey, etc.  They just love them and so easy to make.  I got this idea by Rebecca Mikami on pinterest also.  Have I mentioned that pinterest is the best thing since sliced bread?  FOLLOW ME HERE!

Anyway, just collect toilet paper rolls, fold in the sides at one end and tape.  Then paint and embellish.  Voila!  So much fun.

Kindergarten is a Hoot Owl Project

I wish this idea was mine but I got it on pinterest via Splish Splash Splatter-awesome art blog!  I could stare at these owls all day.  So freakin cool.  We have them hanging on our class tree, which I’ll take pics of Monday.  I pre-cut all the triangles with the kids as a morning center.  This would definitely not have worked with kindergarteners if they had to cut and paste as they went.  With everything prepped and a clear demonstration things went really well.  I had to go around and show some kids where to add triangles but overall they worked independently.  Cutting them out made a really nice effect, perfect to place on our tree.

I love knowing THIS…

Became THIS.  So cool.

Kindergarten in Winter (almost)

Thanks for the ideas Deep Space Sparkle!

Thanksgiving Paper Turkeys

We made little turkeys from construction paper, popsicle sticks, googly eyes and feathers today.  They were the perfect packaging touch for our Thanksgiving family gifts.  We filled the tissue paper bowls we made yesterday with tissue paper to prop up the turkey and then just covered with cellophane.  Cellophane makes everything feel so festive.  I love that stuff. The kids were so excited with their packages.  They felt so proud.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  Three days off of work.  WOO HOO!!!

Textured Turkey Paper Craft

A fellow art teacher at school made these fab textured turkeys with her pre-k students.  I just love them and bet the kids had so much fun making them.  Well done Sara!  I hope Gigi is in your class someday!

Kindergarten Picasso Inspired Guitar Collages

We’re learning about Spain in Kindergarten right now and the kids are totally fascinated by Picasso.  I am too.  I didn’t know there was a battle over who invented collage, Pablo Picasso or Georges Braque.  We did these fabulous Picasso inspired guitar collages in two parts.  First we made the guitars in four steps.  1. Cut the corners off a brown rectangle.  2.  Cut small bowls on either side.  3.  Add the neck of the guitar with glue.  4.  Add three skinny rectangle strips along the neck of the guitar for the tuners.  Everyone was successful! The next day we did the backgrounds by adding cut out bits of assorted papers.  One student even got into some confetti, which was really fun with out being too crazy.   The kids truly enjoyed the entire process.  I think they were especially impressed with their guitars, which some were strumming around the room.  They also really got that Picasso was all about his unique creativity.  I heard kids talking about how each of their guitars looked different and Picasso would have liked that.  It was pretty cool.

Getting Ready for Chanukah – One Chanukah Craft Complete

My friend, writer and photographer Malina Saval, recently asked me to come up with some chanukah art projects for a piece she was writing. I came up with 5 ideas. Some better than others. But overall, I like them. I made the first one today. This was actually inspired by something I saw on pinterest by Bring Chesed Home.  Here are the other ideas I will hopefully get to over the next month.  The oversized gelt is my favorite.  I think the kids will really like it.

1.  A little bunting goes a long way.  Cut out dreidels and candles from cool paper or felt and hang on a string or ribbon.

2.  Oversized Chanukah gelt.  Cut out big circles in cardboard.  Cover with gold foil or tin foil and decorate with gold or silver puffy paint.  Use them for a scavenger hunt.

3. Make different chanukah symbols from sculpey and hang from a mobile.  Dreidle, Jewish Star, candles, gelt.

4.  Save up some recyclables from around the house, bottle caps, long rectangular box, toilet paper rolls, etc. and make a chanukiah.  Spray paint gold or silver to make it look really special.

4.  Make Chanukah cards from card stock and tissue paper.  Fold the card stock in half.  Draw a dreidel in pencil or marker.  squish small squares of tissue paper and glue along the lines of the dreidel.

5.  Make a Chanukah pop up book for each night of Chanukah.  Kids can make it before chanukah and each pop up can be a gift they are hoping for!

What are your your ideas???