One of our best recycled projects yet if smiles and creativity are any measure. We converted tissue boxes, cardboard egg cups, OJ cans, large tape rolls, and tp tubes into some pretty fantastic creations. We cut the draw-bridges on the front before class which several of the kids made operational using ribbon or cord on the corners. We added flags from toothpicks and ribbon. A few of the castles even sport extra battlements. Several of the kids grabbed up extra papertowel tubes to make swords to defend their castles at the park. One of the kids made tiny people out of wire.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.
you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.
The creativity just never stopped. we even gave an encore performance for a mom who was late after we finished the first show. We completed the paper bag puppets and created a few more to fill the gaps in our show scheduled for the end of the day, then we added an extra show to our slate created by a group of the campers and led by Kate Lee. We managed enough puppets to do 4 "shows" 2 longer ones by XX, the original rainforest bird one, and the old favorite 3 little pigs.
Our second set of puppets today were sock puppets. I was able to get cast off socks from friends and my husband to give a good selection of colors to choose from. Cats and unicorns, dragons and horses, lambs and some unnamed creations appeared. The detail the kids put into the puppets was amazing from forked tongues on the dragons or snakes to fangs to pink inner ears, to feathered birds to the wings on the dragon. It was really hard to get them to quit adding so we could do the show!
The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.
What a crowd!! I hear the tickets ran out by 5:30--sorry about that. This was a more popular project than even I anticipated.
With glittery sequins, little jewels, strands of beads and just plain imagination over 30 kids and their families decorated woven bags to carry their things.
We tried out a new glue that I found specifically for jewels and glitter with hopes that it will really hold. A couple of the boys found buttons they likes and got out the needles and thread and sewed them down.
I think the pictures really say it all.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.
you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.
It was another busy day for the campers making new puppets and learning about shadow puppets and puppet shows from Bill Woodburn from Random Acts Puppets. Bill actually performed 2 stories and gave us some information about puppet boxes in history and the kinds of shows he does. The campers got to handle some of his puppets and ask lots of questions. As he began Rapunzel, campers slipped to their boxes and got out their Rapunzel's to act along with the story. Every where I looked puppets were creeping out into the audience!
We tried a new finger puppet using a rubber dish glove to make rain forest birds. A bit of fun foam for beaks, a handful of feathers, googly eyes and fun foam hearts for faces and we had an instant puppet.
Our last project of the day was making puppets from paper bags using one of the books from the library "Look What you can make with paper bags" as our guide. We'll finish them the last day and use some of them in our puppet show as the finale. One of the students has created the entire 3 pigs story to perform complete with props. Others are chatting up their mermaids and other people all the time. It is really hard to leave any of the puppets in the boxes for long. I heard plans of "play dates with my friends to use my puppets." How is that for art that shares?
The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.
Goodness this was fun! The mess got a bit out of hand at times but the originality and creativity it engenerded was well worth it. I thought I'd have to encourage interactive play when the kids got some of the puppets done but immediately the puppets started talking to each other and interacting. I made a demonstration small theater over the weekend which some of the kids used before they created their own personal stages out of shoe boxes complete with scenery and a few props. The kids had me cutting slits in the tops and bottoms so the puppets could be inserted to perform.
We used plastic spoons, mini records and wooden disks as the basis of the stick puppets. The campers were then able to add hair, pompoms, google eyes, and different fabrics, ribbons and foams to customize the puppets. Some of the donated yarn was gold and glitzy and became manes. Several Rapunzels appeared as very long braided yarn was located in the bags. I saw a snake and a tiger as well as a wolf at one of the tables. A mom who showed up a bit early was mobbed by all the kids showing off their puppets and what they could do with them.
Our last puppet activity was making finger puppets out of stretchy gloves and other donated gloves. Some of the kids wanted to use the whole glove and make a grouping of the puppets, most went with single fingers but used all the fingers on the glove. We'll finish this up Wednesday and add rubber gloves and test tubes as bases to use.
The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.
We used one of my favorite crafts books last night Look what I did with a shell. The room was full, we ran out of tickets but those who got in really got into it. We had a large box of shells from the discount stores and donations to pick from and create butterflies, unicorns, and lots of other critters that I am not sure exist. A few of the kids branched out creating necklaces, bracelets, and what looked to me like an entire undersea village. I had a supply of short wood straws that we put to use as legs and stabilizers of one type or another. We incorporated bottle caps as bases so the shells that open up don't fall over.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.
you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.
One of our best recycled projects yet if smiles and creativity are any measure. We converted tissue boxes, cardboard egg cups, OJ cans, large tape rolls, and tp tubes into some pretty fantastic creations. We cut the draw-bridges on the front before class which several of the kids made operational using ribbon or cord on the corners. We added flags from toothpicks and ribbon. A few of the castles even sport extra battlements. Several of the kids grabbed up extra papertowel tubes to make swords to defend their castles at the park. One of the kids made tiny people out of wire.
