Gingerbread Houses

First week back from maternity leave this week! It's been great getting back in the groove! To ease back in, I've started a few of my 'go-to' holiday lessons, they can be found here. Newer things will have to come next year, being gone for 6 weeks throws a ringer in starting everything from scratch!

I found pictures of the gingerbread project 5th graders did a few years back. We used cardboard, hot glue and lots of paint. Students worked in groups since it was such a big project -6X6 square. A great way for kids to work in teams which doesn't always happen in art. If you prefer individual work try making smaller homes-(4X4 or 3x3). I assisted with the hot glue and you could even have them pre-made for student use. Students looked at several examples, painting all with brown and then added windows, doors...ect. This took about 3 classes. We finished with clear glitter for the roof top.

3-D Block Letters

This is always a great lesson for the 5th graders, especially during the end of the school year! They were to choose the first letter of their first or last name, then I helped them draw it into a block letter on a piece of 12X18 tag board folded in half. Once they cut the letter they came out with two, had to build & measure 2 inch walls, stuff it will paper towels so it won't cave in and finally cover it with any paint color of their choice....whew! Now for the fun part, the clips! Student browsed through magazines looking for clips of interest to them, cutting and collecting. Once they had 30 clips they were able to glue them on and then finally a coat of Mod Podge was applied. The students always take pride in their own letter and I've been told by the younger brothers & sisters that their older sibling still has their letter hanging in their room...cool! I love keepsake projects!

Crazy Print Birds

This was what I decided to do with printmaking this year in first grade. We also used the primary colors. I found various junk items around the room, some paper plates and let the kids print on two 9x12 sheets. This week when they come in we will assemble the birds. Drawing an arch across the first 9x12 turned horizontally. Fold the 2ND piece in half, draw a 'U' shape with a cloud-like line over the top for the wings. Make sure the kids keep the paper folded in order to get two wings. We will finish with some eyes, a beak and little legs. I'm anxious to see these hanging around the school!