Preschool Project: Jj is for Jellyfish

I love how technology is continually changing the way I teach. A few years ago our classrooms were equipped with SMART Boards and now I'm not sure how I taught without one. And now that everyone is sharing and pinning amazing ideas online, I'm not sure how I planned lessons and projects without Pinterest!

Last summer, I found these adorable jellyfish on Pinterest.

Source: scrapbooksetc.com via Anika on Pinterest

I knew I had to make them with my preschoolers during our Letter Jj week, BUT everyone knows a teacher's budget is small; there was no way I could afford to buy enough ric rac and fancy ribbon for 37 jellyfish. Time to brainstorm a cheap alternative...

Enter the plastic bag!

I flattened the bag and cut off the bottom seam.

Then I re-flattened the bag and folded it in half, then in half again. 

I cut the folded bag into 3 squares.

I cut the squares into circles.

Then I held the layers together tightly and cut a spiral all the way to the middle.  If you have a good sharp scissors, the layers hold together better making it easier to hold onto and cut.

Separate the layers and Ta-da! Awesome jellyfish "guts" for free!  

This is everything I was able to cut from one bag.  It would be enough for 2-3 jellyfish, depending on how full you want the guts.  And here is the final product...

To complete the jellyfish, I was lucky enough to have a pretty decent stash of ribbon, and some great parents who donated some as well, to use for the ribbons around the outside of the jellyfish. And the bowls were only a few dollars at Target. So we were able to make our jellyfish for super cheap! I think they are adorable with the white Target bags, but I'm planning to save up colored plastic bags for when we do this next year!

We followed the rest of the directions as stated here on the scrapbooks etc. blog.  The preschoolers were able to paint their own bowl, glue the ribbon along the rim of the bowl and add the googly eyes.  Then I threaded the fishing line and they helped me add the strands of plastic bag.  They look so fun hanging in our hallway and classroom!

Have you come across any projects that you have been able to modify so they were cheaper to make?  

Thanks for stopping by!
~Anika

Preschool Project: Elmer Elephants

We have been in Christmas Project Making Mode at school, but I have a non-Christmas project to share with you today.

Have you read the book Elmer?  If not, Elmer the Elephant is not "ordinary elephant color", he is patchwork.  After reading the story that went along with our "Letter Ee Week", we used paper plates to make brightly colored and patterned elephants.  

First the students colored designs on their plates (each student needed 2) then they used watercolor paints over the top of the crayon for a fun effect!  They also followed these steps for the elephants trunk.  (I found the pattern in an old activity book, but you could draw your own or look online for a picture that would work.)

Once they were dry, we cut one paper plate in half and stapled it on either side of the other plate as ears.  Then we glued the trunk and eyes on.

I thought they turned out great and we got lots of comments on them from parents and other people who visited our school.  Definitely a project we will do again next year for Letter Ee!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~Anika

Preschool Project: Marble Painted Jack-o-Lanterns

Wow!  After 7 weeks, I finally feel like things are settling down just a tiny bit at school.  Most of my crafting happens at school these days and it's of the "preschool project" variety, I've decided that I might as well start blogging about those things, or I probably won't get to blog at all!

So today, I want to share a fun and quick Halloween project we made at school this month.  

Marble Painted Jack-o-Lanterns

Have you marble painted before?  If not, you are totally missing out!  I took pictures of the process, but they all have students in them so I can't use them on my blog.  However, it's fairly simple.  

Here's what you need:

Shallow box or lid big enough to hold your paper (I used the lid from a box of paper, it had about 3" sides.)

8-15 Marbles

Orange Tempera Paint

Plastic Cup

Plastic Spoon

Construction Paper (White, Black and Tan)

Masking Tape

Scissors

Glue

Here's what you do:

Make a small ring of masking tape, attach it to the center of a piece of white construction paper and then stick it down inside the box

Put some orange paint in the plastic cup and add the marbles to the cup

Stir them with the spoon until they are coated well

Dump them out into the corner of the box with the paper

Gently tilt and shake the box to make the marbles roll across the paper

When you like the design, dump the marbles back into the cup and pull the paper out

Once the paint is dry, cut the paper into a pumpkin shape

Cut Jack-o-Lantern features and a stem from the black and tan paper

Attach with glue and you're done!

If you are making a classroom bulletin board, a title such as "We've just rolled in from the Pumpkin Patch" ties in with the rolling marbles. (Clever, huh?! Ha! If you think of something better leave me a comment.)

My students loved making these and keep asking when they can marble paint again.  So I guess I've have to figure out a few more marble painting projects this year!  Hope you have been making some fun Halloween projects of your own!

And, since I haven't posted a picture of my boys lately, here they are!  18 months old and enjoying a beautiful fall evening on their new John Deere tractors that Grandpa Steve got them!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika