Paper Lei

This was simple and very fun for young children.  We cut out many flowers from colored construction paper and then threaded them onto a colored string, interspersed with short colored straws.  My favorite flowers were the ones that we painted ourselves with our water colors.

Learning about the Hawaiian Lei Day was a great incorporation of culture and historical education.  Perhaps many different cultural activities could be studies beside Hawaiian. This could also be used in science as a way to review the different kinds of flower pedals.

3-D town

This was a very simple project to explain.  Everyone was supposed to use either the cool colors or the warm colors and create a scene or town.  We were then instructed on how to make spirals, stairs, and tunnels and given free rein to employ them in any way we could think of.  I had the idea of creating a "main street".  Starting on the far side of the picture is the "Welcome to The Town of Dreams" sign and arched entrance.  The orange twist on the ground is the street and the origami shapes on each side were my "houses."  Each house has an unusual way to climb the "stairs" to the front door.  The easiest to see in this picture is the fish with a spiral stairway and the boat has a fireman's pole to gain entrance.

The teachers of this project read "Oh the Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss to the class and encouraged great creativity in our projects.  With an older group you could study the physics of roller-coasters and the students could create amusement parks.  As I did you could learn origami and focus on the history of this paper art.  The students could be encouraged to each find their own book to make a scene from as a literature project.

Coil Pot

The target age for this activity was 4th grade.  We used an air dry clay which made it a much quicker and less likely that someone loses a pot because of exploding air bubbles.  It was painted with acrylic paint, which again saves time and hassle from glazing.  I finished mine by adding a high gloss medium to give it a secure seal and to make it look more like a glaze would.  

Extension projects for clay would include a history study of the use of clay.  You could even do a science experiment with carbon dating of clay objects.

Railroad Printmaking

This project was an introduction to printmaking.  We first etched a pattern of our own creation into a rectangle of thin Styrofoam.  We then rolled paint onto our "stamp" and attempt to get a nice clear print.  I choice to take three very different prints to create my poster.  The background was supposed to be a scene that a South Dakota railroad train could pass through and the cars were to be loaded with a South Dakota export.  I chose to export sunflowers, disfigured cows, and wheat.

The idea of studying South Dakota exports is particularly fun and definitely covered in the 5th grade year.  This form of printmaking and pasting it on a scene could be done at any age and would be fun for K-3 to draw their family or yard.

Marbled Sightseeing

My partner and I did our activity with 2-D paper.  Our project included sketching the assigned place of interest  using a permanent black marker.  We then used shaving cream and tempera paint to create a marbled texture and dipped our completed sketches into the paint.  They turned out really well although a few students learned that too much texture mixes the paints too much and they got one sour color instead of marbled streaks of color. We displayed our finished projects in generally correct geographical positions on a bulletin.

The extension project we intended to teach was geography and tourism.  A teacher could also include a mathematical comparison of sizes or a historical timeline of the dates these were created.

Cool Colors Frog

This project was a combination of drawing, identifying cool and warm colors, and using lines, patterns, or shapes.  Each person was assigned a specific puzzle piece,color palette, and background and were then given the freedom to draw whatever they wished.  After we turned in the finished piece they were connected in the puzzles and displayed.  I choose to color a green frog.  I did most of the coloring with an oil pastel against the texture of the sole of my shoe.  The lines are mostly black with a few green to give them a pop.

The intended extension activity was to learn about the difference between cold and warm blooded animals. Unfortunately, there are many warm blooded animals with blue or green coats and many cold blooded animals with bright, warm colors.  The puzzle was a great way to expand the idea of the pattern and could be used with many activities.

Macrame

The target age for this particular lesson was 6th grade.  It think that is a great level for the interest but many students will already be familiar with Macrame by that time.  I think this could be done as early as 3rd or 4th grade.  Project requirements were to have a spiral shape, at least 3 beads, and be at least 3 inches long.  I am experienced with macrame and quickly made one long enough for a bracelet.  The final bead at the end was a way to hook the bracelet around my wrist.

Extending macrame into other subjects is particularly difficult.  Again a historical study of macrame could be employed (S.S.).  My mother made a macrame bracelet with industrial strength cord and wears it as an emergency preparation (FACS).  You could also discuss the making and history of beads (science).