Birds Nests

I saw this idea on someones blog, and though I thought I saved it, I can't find it now =/
You just need yarn, lots of Elmer's glue, and some sort of bowl that you can use to create the shape of the birds nest, and for best results, use a ceramic, plastic, or glass bowl, something that the glue will not stick to.


-First step is to cut strips of yarn [i cut them about my arms length], and then soak them in glue. 

 I thought I would use only a bottle or so of glue for this much yarn [5 nests] but used over 2 bottles! thank goodness my classroom has lots of that stuff. Also, I was thinking that if you have an older child with better fine motor skills, or just want to experiment making a pretty nests on your own, I bet embroidery floss would, and look real cool!

-Next drape the glue soaked yarn over an upside down bowl so they dry in a nest shape.

I have alot to say about this step! 

*As you see I used paper bowls. BAD choice. It takes a couple of days to dry, and I didn't want to bring and leave my bowls at school, so I made the wrong decision to just use the paper ones at school.

* I gave my kids one piece of yarn at  a time to work with and let them play with them. The glue soaked yarn is a fun new experience and you can't just give a kid something like that, make them put it on the bowl and not let them keep touching and manipulating it. So this step takes alot of time with younger kids.Oh ya and just handing them the bowls took a little because they wanted to turn them, slide them, wear them on their heads... lots of time + patience.

*You can see in the picture one smashed bowl and a few sad pieces of yarn on top. This is the product of the youngest in my class room, Bri. She was so interested in experimenting with the yarn that I couldn't get her to leave it on the bowl. I eventually gave up and just let her play with her two pieces which included tasting, dropping, putting on her head... it took a little scrubbing to get the dried glue off her later, but she was so happy I didn't mind. The smashed bowl is because at one point she wanted to see what would happen if she stomped on it, and well you can see the results to that experiment. 

*The two oldest in the class had fun playing with it too, but figured out to arrange the yarn on top of their bowls.Unfortunately when I announced that their art project was all done, one of them decided that meant to dump all the yarn off their bowl...she was able to rearrange it again quickly. I guess I need to be more clear with my instructions.

*The two middle kids [about 20-22months] needed help putting the yarn on the bowl, and not in one small clump, or spread out half across the table. 

After all those adventures, here are the results of 5 little hands!

 I told myself I wouldn't go behind them and rearrange their projects...but it had to be done.

 I tried to keep them as close to how the kids had actually left them [except bri's her's was done again from scratch] but I also wanted them to be able to hold things inside. Does that make me a bad art teacher?

-After you let them dry for at least 2 days, maybe a little more because some of the thicker spots were still a little wet, remove them from the bowl.

 

 Because I had made the mistake of using paper bowls, the yarn had stuck to the bowl. I was able after much effort seperate the yarn nests from the bowls, but it took it's toll on some of the nests. So I took them home and hot glued the yarn that had been misshapen from my tugging and ripping.

-I tied another piece of yarn with a label of the kid's name strung on around the edges of the nest and stapled them to one of our display boards. I think they look just grand hanging there. I placed Easter eggs inside and the Thursday before Good Friday, I'll send each kid home with their nest, and some candy and a peep inside! 

This project might have gone smoother had I worked with one child at a time, and sacrificed my ceramic bowls for a couple of days. Despite that, they had fun with the gooey yarn, and they love looking at their finished project. I can't wait to see their reactions when they leave with it and discover the peep inside =]


Linking up to:

Birds

Since I started exploring the blogging community, my mind has been filled to the brim with inspiration. Images of rainbow collages, and rosette headbands dance through my head! It has definitely encouraged me to break through my neat and tidy comfort zone with my kids at work. I know art is a great learning tool for young children, by letting them experience various textures, learning how to hold crayons - which later translates into holding pencils and pens - learning properties of glue, paint, etc... BUT even knowing this I was still intimidated giving my 6 kids a messy art project.I did simple activities with them, but I have been slowly working my courage up to more involved projects. It isn't the easiest, with a classroom of 6 kids ranging from 18 to 24 months; there are different levels of motor skills, attention spans, energy, and language abilities. However I decided to stop making excuses not to do more art, and just accept that it would get a little messy, and a little glue might get swallowed, but that is why Elmer's is non-toxic!

This unit has been about how God gave us Springtime [I work at a faith based facility] and all the things that come with it such as flowers, ducks, butterflies. This project was actually impromptu because the morning teacher and I failed to coordinate what our art projects were going to be. I was planning on doing a paint+butterfly wings project, but when I came in one day the morning teacher had done a very similar project with butterflies. Opps. Because I didn't want to have the kids do basically the same project twice, and have 50 butterflies hanging around the room [now that I say it like that it sounds kinda pretty..] I wanted to come up with a new idea. We had this big bag full of colorful feathers just begging to be used so I decided to make birds instead!

 I drew an outline of a bird on a piece of construction paper, and since I was just eyeballing it it wasn't perfect. I trimmed it out to be more symmetrical then retraced it and fixed it until I was happy with the results. This waste a couple pieces of construction paper, but I'm sure if you prepare in advance you can find a stencil or pattern to use.

Then I added glue to the wings and tails, because this is where I wanted the concentration of feathers to be.

 After using a paintbrush to spread the glue out nicely, I let the kids at them and the feathers. They instinctively knew what to do with very little instruction from me.

 Look at that fine motor skill in action! I was pleasantly surprised that they pinched one feather on at a time, and did not try to throw handfuls on and around. I hate when I underestimate my kids =/

 I had to add a little more glue so they could layer more feathers, they loved it so much!
A little messy, but not that bad. I just swept the floor AND table with a broom afterward to get the feathers, and dried glue isn't hard to clean up.

 As I set them out to try, I couldn't help but notice that the shape of the bird was completely overwhelmed by overlapping feathers running off the sides. After a small debate with myself, I decided it would not compromise the kids work if I just trimmed the feathers a little along the edges. Just enough to make the wing and tail shapes clear.

 Here is the final result!!! I'm so happy with them, and how simple it turned out to be.

 Above is Bri's bird. She is the newest kid in my class, and just had a ball layering all the pretty feathers on top of each other. Although in my head I had wanted the feathers to only be on the wings and tail, her creativity took over mine, and I think it looks great!

 This one is Talen's, my oldest kid, almost 2 years and leaving my class soon =(. I had noticed she was being a little particular with the feathers she choose, and wouldn't just take any feather I handed to her, but shifted through the piles. I did not notice until after wards, however, that she choose green, blue, and white colors mostly [a couple of warmer colors snuck on there] and I'm amazed at her discrepancy in specifically choosing what she thought looked pretty.

 I think they all turned at wonderful, and look great against the window!

   

I learned arts and crafts don't have to be nightmarish just because you're working with young children. I just have to let them be creative, have fun, and not be afraid of a little mess! I really had to remember this when we made birds nests...

Until next time! =]

UPDATE: For the first time since entering blogland... I am linking up to my first linky party!!! WOO-HOO
I always check out Delicate Construction's Made by Little Hands Monday for inspiration, and finally I am contributing. I hope this inspires some people out there =]

The sad life of a poor college student.

I thought my paint editing was clever, until I uploaded it and realized the picture would be too small to read, so you have to enlarge the picture to enjoy my cleverness.

You see, I am a poor college student, living in a small apartment with 3 other girls, so I don't have much space for hobbies. Life is not that sad, but I like being a little melodramatic. Is that an oxymoron, being a LITTLE melodramatic? I found that those thick Elmers Glue boards - can't think of the word for them right now - are an excellent, portable, easily storeable solution to a lack of craft desk/space. Unfortunately that is not what I was thinking of when I bought the Elmers Glue board. It is actually one of the art projects I'm prepping for my class next week. So though it has served me well, I have to say good bye to it soon, and since I'm such an utterly poor college student, I do not know if I'll be able to afford another one for a couple of weeks. One of the hardest things about living away from home is my complete lack of crafting supplies! I took for granted having paint brushes, stencils, and glitter at my disposal. Now I have to be frugal in my spending, forcing me to be more creative with how I come up with art supplies. Hence the old sponge becoming my paint brush!

It'll make a pretty crafting area for the next few days at least. You can see where I had to experiment a little with the cool texture of the sponge and paint before I started the rainbow. Stay tuned to see what that messy looking rainbow turns into!

Changes cont...

So the my last post was about changes I made to my blog, but this one is about some life changes. When you... make the transition from being engaged to being single [I don't want to say the B word] it inevitable changes, well your life. Because my previous future plans were around the idea of being married to someone, I now must form new plans. So this post is about some of the changes I've made for me!

Some of the smaller changes I am making are superficial, and just to get me over the hump of the...relationship paradigm shift that just occurred. One of them being, I'm dyeing my my hair blond! yay I've always wanted to try it, and blonds have more fun, right???? I'm going to do it gradually, lighten my hair, then lighten it a little more, throw in some highlights... etc till I get to the shade I want. I will also be lightening my eyebrows because they are pretty much black and I don't want it to be obvious from a mile away that I am not a natural blond. Second is my diet. I'm hopping on this vegan movement. good-bye animal bi-products, and hello tofu and yest =] Ok maybe not the yeast, BUT I have been studying up alot on the health benefits of veganism, and really think I could adjust to that lifestyle. When I was engaged, I really had no hope of being vegan with carnivorous fiancee, but now it is attainable, and I'm super excited! Hardest part will be cows milk, but I love soy milk and almond milk, and when I consider how hard on the digestive system cows milk is, it makes the choice a little easier [only a little]. and the final superficial change I am making is...underwear, as in I'm no longer going to be wearing it. Sports bras, yes. push-up, under wire, demi, etc... NO WAY. and as for panties...well it is awful freeing not to wear them so we'll see how that goes.

On to the more serious ones. I was planning on living in Tallahassee with my dear for a couple of more years while we finished school, but now everywhere I go is contaminated with memories. Thus I have concluded I need to move - more on that later. as for nursing school. I have not heard back from FSU yet, but regaurdless that is no longer the career path I wish to take. I am going to take flight lessons, and become a pilot instead. I always planned on doing that at some point in my life, but why not now? why not make it my first career? I eventually want to be a bush pilot, but I'll start out commercial. Friends, family, free tickets anyone? I know the reaction I'm getting from some of you, but this is not as sudden as it my seem. It has always been a dream of mine and well my other dreams have currently been pushed to the back burner, so now is the time to put these upfront. Now to where I am going to move. With my aspirations to become a bush pilot, the best place to train and get an impressive flight log to build up my resume is... Alaska! Yes, you read that correctly. I am moving to Alaska, the exact opposite part of this country. Yes it is cold and snowy, and I've always said I was a Florida girl, but I think I have just been scared of change. Well not now, and Alaska is the place for me right now in my life. I know this is a lot, but I am sure you noticed by now ---and if you haven't you're in for another shocker--- that this is April 1st. So if I had you going even for a second reading this blog, the joke is on you! I'm sure most noticed once I got to the sillier changes that this was a fool's day prank. Well I hope I elicited a few giggles, and happy pranking.

Until next time.

Changes

So I just finished changing up my blog a bit. I changed the URL, title, and description...mainly due to the fact that Camilo and I broke off our engagement. Sad? Yes. But life keeps trucking on, and I'm just getting the hang of the world of blogging so I think those changes did just the trick so I can keep on with this. Camilo and I ended amicably, as well as a year of dating and being engaged can. We're still friends, which is taking alot of adjusting, it's hard not to give him a hug and kiss when I see him. Time will eventually take the awkwardness and hurt away, and hopefully leave our old friendship intact.

Until then lots of junk food, funny sitcoms, and Disney movies! speaking of which...

Just wanted to introduce those changes and the reason behind them. Until next time.

Quick update.

So I recently bought my first car! I can't express how exciting this is, though anyone who too has gone through saving and scrimping and dreaming of owning their first car then FINALLY getting it can understand how happy i am. =D It is a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, has 150,000 miles on it, I payed 2,000 for it, dark blue where the pain is still there LOL. The hood is almost completely sun faded, and the top of the car is a little faded as well, that's what happens living in Florida without any sort of car port. The cheap tint they had is all peely and I'm going to make a project out of getting it all off cause I'd rather have no tint than crappy peely bubbly tint, and eventually get quality new tint put in. I should be able to cause recently Camilo got tints on his car, and I watched in amazement as he haggled the guy down to half the price. He got their highest quality tints with a lifetime warranty, which they first quoted to us for $220, and he only paid $99.99! He's amazing at bartering which is great cause I can't barter anything down 2 pennies. Back onto topic, Brenda [my car] isn't perfect looking, but she runs well, gets good gas, and gets an A++ in my book. My little sister said she really wanted to see some pictures so I'll post a few.

Yup, so I love my new car very much!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Or perhaps you prefer singles awareness day...either way hope you're enjoying this February 14th 2011. I actually haven't seen that dear fiancee of mine yet today, but I believe he his cooking me some fancy meal. YUMMY =P. We already had a pre-Valentines day celebration this last Thursday. In case you are wondering,  a pre-valentines celebration is what happens when someone procrastinates making reservations for the night of Valentines day too long, so you are forced to make a pre-valentines day reservation =]. So We went to Shula's Steakhouse Thursday night; it's a real fancy smancy place, we got valet parking and everything! Perhaps I sound silly and naive for being excited over valet parking, but it was an exciting new experience for me. Everything was great, especially the food. I was tempted to take pictures of how pretty the plates were, but I felt that would make me look real unclassy so i resisted and just ate it all up. Hands down, the best pre-Valentines dinner I've ever been treated to.


 On a less romantic note, I wanted to share some about the kids at my work, and the heart artwork we made today! In case you don't know, I work at Wee Care Child Care Center as the afternoon teacher for the 18months-24months classroom. I LOVE MY JOB. The morning teacher is always making artwork with the kids; I'm talking beautiful birds, bears, paintings, and she does this with 6 kids! I've been too intimidated to try anything beyond coloring with washable crayons =O But today, I was left with only 2 of my kids, and I figured now was the time to try. So I cut out various heart shapes, got some glue ready and helped them make a heart collage/card for their parents, then allowed them to add a more personal touch with a crayon. The parents liked them, and I think the kids had fun making them.