Thursday, December 13, 2012

A very Zentangle holiday project




So, I was looking for a way to channel the holiday energy of my 4th graders, and came up with this- we drew the basic outline of a holiday shape- I recommended pine tree, but due to some of my students beliefs, we also did snowman shapes and gingerbread people shapes.  Then, I had them section their shape off, and draw a line design or pattern in each section.  We looked at some Zentangle patterns for ideas.  After they drew these, we added a little pop of color by using watercolors.  I gotta say- there is something magical about the Zentangle.  My 4th graders were so peaceful and quiet during this- and the results are pretty good if you ask me.  After they dried, I cut them out and put them on green paper for display in the hallway.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Radial Designs

This started out as a sub lesson, because I was out for a couple of sessions, and I didn't want the kiddos using needles without me. I had them work on a circular design as a fun way to re-enforce the idea of radial symmetry that was introduced with weaving.  They traced a place, and could make any designs they chose, as long as they started in the center, and grew out. They traced with sharpie and colored with marker.  I enjoyed the results. I have uploaded all of them to Artsonia if you'd like to see more. They turned out to be addictive, and we carried them on much past the sub plans.




Monday, December 3, 2012

Snowflakes

I am gearing up to do snow banners with my 1st graders.  We are busy assembling needed pieces.  We've cut snowflakes, and made snowman prints.  All of which are safely in envelopes with each student's name on them.  Today, our last piece was snowflake stamping.  I gave each student two long strips of paper, white paint, and cardboard chunks.  I demonstrated how to stamp lines with the wavy side of the cardboard, and criss cross them to make snowflake shapes.  Students were allowed to use the eraser side of pencils to stamp round edges on the flakes.  The only think I asked was that they create some sort of repeated pattern.  I think they turned out great, and can't wait to put these banners together. 



Saturday, December 1, 2012

CD Weaving- the warping

Start by looping the string through the center hole, and tying a snug knot.

Slide the knot to the center hole.

While holding the knot/CD with one hand, start passing the end of the string through the center hole, and pulling tight each time.

An odd number is necessary.  When students had their CD strung, I tied the two ends together in the center, and they clipped the tails. 

Tie the weft, or the weaving string to a center string, consider it "over", and start weaving. 
Voila!
I have had a couple of requests to show/give more detail in how to get the CD warped and ready for weaving.  Understand, I did not think of this idea, I found it on pinterest, so there may be other ways- this is the way I figured out, and it works... mostly.  As in anything, there are always a couple of kiddos who need me to rescue them.  But, the success rate is higher than with the paper plates- and the weavings stay centered, which does not always happen with plates.  The one problem this group had was counting their warp strings and stopping at odd- I think they were losing track of where they started.  My "fix" for the ones I didn't catch was to take 2 strings and tie them together, and have the students consider them one string. Using the CDs is a manageable size, easy to store, and sturdy for the "determined" weavers. Also, lots of embellishing potential.  I used feathers and sequins, but there are a wealth of things you could use to finish off the edges.
Here is another tutorial