Creating a super hero standout figure

With this week's theme of super heroes I thought we'd do something a bit different and create a 3D superhero launching itself out of a comic book page. We did not get real comics to cut up although I considered it. With this week's theme of super heroes I thought we'd do something a bit different and create a 3D superhero launching itself out of a comic book page. We did not get real comics to cut up although I considered it.

I found a coloring page with comic panes that we used as a base and colored it using markers and crayons. The kids then chose a super hero or two or three to color and cut out. I showed them how to make stands to make it look like the figure was popping out of the page.

One of the kids kept saying "it makes it come to life" and it really does. The photos do not do the projects justice.

Lots of batgirl and hackman figures, a couple  of batman too. One of the kids did 4 then did not want to tape them down.

Or take a look at our video/slideshow of the figures coming to life~

Thanksgiving turkeys and pilgrims

This time of year is so much fun to find things to make to decorate the tables with. We saved up our fat bottles from lemonade for a second go at turkeys and had enough leftover supplies to make it a total recycle project even the styrofoam balls for heads. 

This week we pulled out a bag of TP tubes and leftover construction paper and linen writing paper to create pilgrims to decorate our Thanksgiving tables, except the kids decided the pilgrims were puppets and added sticks to them from the glue pots. Nothing goes to waste with this group. I precut some of the paper and taught them how to make the circle hat brims for the guys. These are pretty detailed and had great faces on them. Lots of parental help on some of these but that makes it so much more fun. 

Squashed paper flags for Memorial day @WBCL

I keep trying to do something a little different to stretch the kids' (and parents) imaginations and skills while using the wonderful donated materials I continue to receive. For this project we used an A5 envelope and red & blue streamers. First they drew the American flag--yes it has 13 stripes and a square on the LEFT. they tore the streamers into pieces about 1 1/2" long and made piles of paper wads. They then dabbed on glue and squashed the paper wads into place. They were supposed to leave spaces in the blue are to represent stars--that was hard for some of them as they just would rather have had white to squash up. In all though it was a great time doing this one.

Creating critters from paper egg cartons @WBCL

We started off our month of recycled projects with an egg carton project making bunnies and chicks. I did cut and preprint the cartons so the kids could just create instead of dealing with paint at the class. Some of the chicks are in eggs, some of the bunnies have egg carton ears and some don't. Fun to do this one.

Making a Valentine's Day basket at WBCL

I was given a sack full of Valentine's Day cards last spring break and wrestled with how to best use them in a project for this class. We have made and decorated Valentines cards several times out of a variety of materials and I know we could've done that again. Instead we chose to tear the cards in half separating the back from the front and converting the back into a basket by folding its edges of up and in and stapling it together. We used fun foam hearts for the ends and decorated them with artwork from the cards. Lastly we punched holes in the hearts and used a pipe cleaner to form the handle. This project took on a lot of participation from the parents and everyone seemed to be having a good time with it.

I have a dream hands project @ WBCL

We started out with a bit of a history lesson about who Martin Luther King was and then I read part of his speech to the kids. I had made up a sample with the circle in the middle, printing I have a dream, three faces to color, and then a few of the colored hands in a circle around The edges. Some of the kids got very very detailed in their drawings and their colorings. We were fortunate to have a donation of people colored crayon to use for this project.

Cute horse/dog marionettes from TP tubes @WBCL

 This was such a fun project for us to do and was the sample for my group doing it at camp. The kids had to thread ribbons through holes that I drilled in toilet paper tubes to make the legs for their marionette complete with bead feet. They also had to thread strings through a sample cup and the tube in order to attach the head and let it move. We added self stick eyes, yarn manes for the horses and tails for both horses and dogs. The strings were attached to rings from the wedding department so that the animals could prance and run. This was such a fun project to do and easy enough for all the participants.

Making TP tube animals @WBCL

 It is fun to look for ways to use household items more creatively and TP tubes have has no end of uses. I did up some examples to start the project and pulled up a couple of bags of scrap fun foam and tiny pompoms. I purposely left mine uncolored or decorated to get them to use their imaginations and they really did. Parents hot glue parts for the kids or with the kids and sometimes did cutting. A great group project.

Tissue flowers for Cinco de Mayo

This is a fun class in old fashioned paper folding and cultures. the kids and parents always like the flowers and seems like it brings out memories for many of us. We talked a little about Spanish type festivals and paper flowers then got down to it. 

Making Monster boxes @WBCL

Monster boxes

This is one of the most fun and versatile of the recycled projects we have done lately. Kleenex boxes are easy to come by and sturdy so are easy for everyone to work with. The idea of a not very scary monster works well too. This project uses a large kleenex box (square ones would work too), styrofoam egg carton cups, construction paper, glue, and chenille stems. They covered the boxes, cut out sharp teeth and added eyes and tongues. We made the tongues curl by wrapping the paper on a pencil. Some got very "far out" on the antennae and eye locations. The younger kids and their parents are really getting into it sometimes. Lots of glue on fingers this week. Next week spiders.

Tissue paper stained glass is a hit @ WBCL

I have tried this project a couple of times before with kind of mixed results but thought if I could just get the right idea out there it would work and it did! I used tracing paper for the background of the design and had the kids select a design from 4 patterns I supplied: a lighthouse, a turtle, a fish, and a rising sun. They traced the design using dark crayons then selected colored tissue paper and traced the segments of the design onto it, cut out the sections, and pasted them onto the tracing paper. The finished project was placed into a vinyl scrapbook sleeve. Not only were all the kids able to do most of it but the parents seemed as engaged as their kids building this window. We tested them out to see how they would look with the light shining through them--spectacular!

Creating lighthouses brings in a crowd

This project never fails to please the participants and let them learn a bit about lighthouses too. We took a look at pictures of a number of lighthouses and talked about their purpose. The lighthouses are pretty easy to create but one of the essential pieces is getting in really short supply--glass baby food jars. We had just enough for this time though. It needs 1/2 of a paper towel tube, a jar, a cupcake liner, construction paper for stripes and windows, aluminum foil and a light to test it out. 


We wrapped the tube in light colored paper then cut stripes out of red and black and glued them onto the paper. Many also cut little windows from black paper and added those. A piece of foil folded to fit inside the side of the jar makes a great reflector and is easy to tape into place. We have cut cones for the top in the past but this time we used white cupcake liners and made great tops for the lighthouse. Last we used flashlights and battery candle lights to check out the function and found out they do light up and reflect light. Great learning project and it works for lots of ages.

Fantasy & whimsy art mini-camp 3 wands, gardens, exploring

Our final day for the week week was just a jam packed as the other two. We made our wands and decorated them with paint and ribbons then drew and painted a fantasy garden after reading a couple of books on flower gardens and the secrets they hold. It is fun to use the metallic tempera paints and the kids did well integrating painting and stamping to create the garden they wanted. Such a variety! Last we made our own Dora the Explorer board games with hand colored game pieces and a map of where to go designed by each participant.

Fantasy & whimsy art mini-camp 1 unicorns, knights, castles

 
We started the week with the book "No one rides the unicorn" and a painting project making a unicorn magnet. Each student got to pick their own color scheme and then painted the unicorn face adding sand for texture for the mane and horn. Some of them added stars or rainbows in the background and glued the picture to magnet squares--great reuse of old magnet pieces. We read "Castle and Knight" and made our own castles complete with turrets, drawbridges, torches, flags, and some interesting signage using tissue boxes, tp tubes, straws, and construction paper. Some got a bit of paint but most used the boxes and papers to accomplish their castles. Last project of the day was over-sized finger puppets made from paper plate wedges. We read "the Princess Knight" and fashioned our best fantasy princesses and knights. The day went so fast that we ran out of time. 

Wild & Wacky Science art camp day 2

 we started our second day with a parks project to help understand a little about landforms. We used more of the salt clay and added sand, rocks, paper shred and gravel to give the project its 3D form. The kids were able to add a bit of paint to the clay to make the water areas blue and the grass or tree areas green. Lots of other structures appear in some of the parks including tables and bridges. Fun.
We reviewed some of the lighthouses around the world then made our own and checked them out to see if they would reflect light. We started with a 1/2 paper towel tube a a baby food jar. Each jar got a folded piece of foil inserted into it as the reflector. we then decorated the tubes with construction paper and made a conical roof for the top of the jar. The tube was then inserted into the jar and taped in place. Lastly we used flashlights to check and see if the lighthouses worked.
We switched to fimo clay for our last project of the day and used it to construct robots from spare computer parts, clamps, connectors and wire. Once the robots were completed I took them home and baked them to finish the projects. There was such a range of ideas and uses for the parts.

Paper flowers and frames for Cinco de Mayo

 we decided to do a little different project for Cinco de Mayo this year. we took paper board frames and decorated them with confetti then made a picture to fit in the frame of paper roses.

Making Mardi Gras masks @WBCL

 So I got my dates a little wrong this year but most of the kids do not understand Mardi Gras as it is not really celebrated here so we had fun creating masks. 
We started with 2 basic shapes, a butterfly and a bird's head half mask then gave them sequins, mardi gras beads, gems and feathers to use to create their own masks. Last we punched holes in the sides and added chenille stems for ties.  Each one is a unique creation. 

Twisty paper trees @WBCL

I have tried the paper bag trees before at school and love the look and the adaptability but sometimes they do not stand very well which frustrates the kids. This makes a great 3D project and used up paper that we might throw out otherwise so fits well into the recycled art category too.

 For this group we tried something new and it really worked well. We used the brown wrapping paper instead of bags and folded it a couple of times before cutting it into strips. We also used a sheet of black paper as a background to mount the tree onto when finished.

Everyone seemed to have fun twisting and shaping the limbs then adding the bits of tissue paper for leaves. Some had a few fallen leaves, some had a lot, a couple even put them onto the trunk so we could see they were falling but not down.

A flotilla of ships for Columbus Day @WBCL

What is Columbus Day? What better way to discuss a bit of history than to create all 3 of the ships famous for the voyage to the Americas. We used recycled materials to create the ships using ideas I found on-line as a guide. We used 3 cardboard egg cups, S-shaped styrofoam peanuts, a bit of home made clay, brown paper bags, and BBQ skewers.


The sample was painted but it seemed a better idea to wrap brown paper around the cup to create the "wood" then thread the styrofoam peanuts onto the wood masts and settle them into clay in the base of the cups. Most of the kids added flags to the tops of the masts. One of the kids decided that it was best to keep the 3 boats together by never seperating the cups. Guess they won't get lost that way!

paper hats for Diez & Seis @ WBCL

What fun! We used heavy colored paper for these hats instead of brown crafts paper as we had it on the shelf from a donation. I cut the squares about 24" on a side and handed them out to everyone. We used a disposable bowl as a form instead of the kids' heads so they could make the crown of the hat. Once the paper is crimped around the bowl just add masking tape or scotch tape to keep it in shape.


We then used markers and crayons to decorate the hats and tried them on. They were offered yarn but it just didn't appeal tonight. Most of them altered the outer edge of the hats--sometimes smaller or fringed.