Pop over to Let’s Lasso The Moon for the full tutorial.

http://letslassothemoon.com/2016/10/20/clay-family-portrait-ornaments/

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/GIANT-SCARECROW-BODY-TRACING-WITH-KIDS

(Something quite magical happened in the process of finding the supplies for this project:  Our daughter found one maple seed and declared it perfect for the wings of her fairies, but wanted several to make a family.  On my walks I searched almost every block in our neighbourhood, but couldn’t find a tree baring the same type of seeds.  A few days later, after playing in the park, one of the moms pulled something from her pocket and asked if we knew what type of maple tree it had come from- it was the exact type of seed that my daughter was looking for!  So she and her son lead us to the tree and it was just one of those small coincidences that makes one happy!)

Materials

*Put out materials you have on hand, here are a few suggestions:

• Fabric
• Scissors
• Straw ribbon
• Gold cord
• Golf tees
• Painter’s tape
• Glue gun
• Nature items (Maple seeds, acorn caps etc.)
• Sequins
• Artificial stamen
• Gems
• Paint brushes
• Peg dolls
• Acrylic paints
• Twigs

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Small World

• Storage Box (we like these ones that can go under a bed as they are shallow)

*Go with whatever you have on hand to “flesh out” your small world.  Here are a few ideas:

• Paper tube trees (see here directions here: http://make-it-your-own.com/tree-napkin-rings/)
• Wood pieces
• Moss
• Playdough
• Wooden door
• Large marble, crystals, rocks etc.
• Fairy door (https://brickbubble.ca/store/fairy-door-kit/)

Directions

• Go out into nature and collect supplies that you might like to use- our daughter collected maple seeds and acorn caps.

• Don your smock.  Wrap the portions of your peg people that you don’t want painted with painter’s tape.

• Paint away!

• Allow to dry overnight!

• Once dry, carefully remove your tape.

• Now is the time to embellish your fairy.  Whether that be with fabric, sequins, jewels etc.

• Here is trick for the eyes- dip the pointy end of your golf peg into your acrylic paint and then carefully touch it to the face to make an eye!

• Create a world for your fairies!  (Pop it into a shallow bin for storage or to play within.)

Like creating peg dolls?  Here is an idea to make your family in a snow globe:

http://make-it-your-own.com/silvery-snow-peg-doll-family-snow-globe/

Purpose

• Getting out into nature.
• Developing one’s fine motor skills (cutting, gluing etc.)

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct and adult supervision.  Be sure to unplug after use.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Small craft items (e.g., gems) can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Easel (ours came with a clip for the paper, but you could use binder clips or clothes pins)
• Paper (we used watercolour)
• Pencil/ eraser (we recommend a white one)
• Fine black pen
• Paint (we used liquid watercolours, tempera pucks & glitter paint.  The kids already had the lion in mind, but put out an array to choose from)
• Painter’s tape
• Salt
• Paint tray
• Paint brushes

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

* Our children enjoy drawing on the easel, but find it frustrating to paint on, so we painted on a flat surface.  However, if your child(ren) or students like painting on the easel, simply just use a thicker type of paint than the ones suggested to prevent drips.*

• Have your model dress up in their chosen costume.  You could do this activity for Halloween or any day using costumes from the dress up area of your classroom/ playroom.  If you think sitting or standing might be hard for your model, you could also take a photo and draw from there.

• Sketch out your costumed friend.  Our daughter drew our youngest son as the lion, whereas our older son drew his siblings as people within the costumes.

• Don your smock.  Paint your portrait. (You could use whichever medium you like instead- pencil crayons, pastels, markers etc.)  Here’s a few little tips that might prevent frustration for the painter.  When there were two colours that were close together (in our case the yellow of the lion’s fur and the blue of the eyes), we painted the yellow and then waited for it to dry to then paint the blue.  (This prevented green.)  We went around the exterior of the eye with the blue forming an oval and then filling in with the colour so that then it holds the colour in, preventing bleeding.  Waiting overnight for a thoroughly dry page to paint the background also prevents bleeding if this is something that your painter wants to avoid.  Our daughter wanted to add some ” Halloween magic” to the portrait so we added glitter paint to the yellow watercolour and created a special effect with the background.  So on to the background…

• We taped the edges off of our portrait with painter’s tape (with it half on the paper and half off) to form a simple border.  While our watercolour paint was wet, we sprinkled on some salt for a starburst effect.  While damp, carefully pull off your tape (you don’t want to let it adhere as it may cause rips).

• Once your piece is completely dry, go over your pencil lines with a thin, black marker/pen.

• Sign and mount your work, hanging it up to share!

Purpose

• Drawing using a model.
• Working with various types of tools and equipment.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.

The kids watched a documentary about Monarch butterflies on Netflix called “Flight of the Butterflies” which coincides with their southern migration.  They were fascinated with this process and the intricate wing patterns of this species and butterflies in general after finding a deceased butterfly.  Extending their interest, we decided to create our own wing designs using loose parts and thought you might like it too!

For the full tutorial (and TEMPLATES ), please check out the link below:

http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/DESIGN-BUTTERFLY-WINGS-WITH-LOOSE-PARTS—CRAFT-FOR-KIDS

Purpose

• Manipulating objects.
• Discovering mathematical properties such symmetry, patterning etc.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Beads and small parts can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Book holders (these can be purchased at school supply shops, office supply shops etc.)
• Flash cards
• Pencils/erasers
• Paper (we used cardstock as it is a bit thicker and we wanted to use watercolour)

Optional

• Watercolour pencil crayons
• Water
• Paintbrushes
• Sentence strips

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Set out your book holders and place the flash cards on each of them.  Providing a few options allows for choice.  Sketch out what you see in the photograph, looking at some of the shapes within the composition.  Will you add a background?  One pointer that was always helpful in teaching art was using a light line that allows for easy erasing.  This is the perfect time to point out that creating is an act of perseverance- keep trying until you achieve what you intended and are proud of.  Art takes adjustments and requires a slow and careful approach.

• Don your smock.  Colour or shade in the areas with your watercolour pencil crayons.
• Add water to create the paint.  Allow to dry overnight.

• On a sentence strip, add the label for your creation if you like and hang it up under your work when you display it.

Purpose

• Using different materials.
• Using labels (which creates an opportunity to expand one’s vocabulary) and understand the purpose of a label.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.

Materials

• Paper (cardstock)
• Printer
• Printouts scientific-birthday
• Workbooks (With half the page lined and the other blank)
• Pencil/eraser
• Glue stick
• Clear tape
• Gift components (suggestions of ideas below)

Directions

• Print out the labels.  Cut them out.  Glue the “Science Journal” cover onto your notebook.  A notebook which is half lined and half blank could lend to diagrams, labelling, recording, organizing and developing classification systems.  If you are giving the gift to a child with siblings, you could include several to get the children working together.  Your child could also design her/his own labels.

• We put the “Research Materials” label on a clear folder which we filled with books that the kids chose.

• Choose other items that might relate to being a scientist.  Below are are some potential ideas, but use your judgement as to what would be appropriate for the child’s age and interests.  Our children’s understanding of science right now is pretty broad so they included items that appealed to them and thought would intrigue the recipient.  Here are some of their suggestions:

1. Tools (magnifying glasses, microscopes, slides, cylinders, beakers, tongs, test tubes/ racks, funnels, petri dishes, eye droppers, pipettes, scale, thermometer, safety googles, magnets, ruler/measuring tape, clipboard, telescope, timer, binoculars etc.)
2. Models (human body, animals, life cycles etc.)
3. Kits (Circuit boards, rock types, K’nex, marble run, “Build a solar car”, root viewing apparatus etc.)
4. DIY (You could include various items that sink or float for for the recipient to test out, make a light table, include  the materials for various child-safe experiments etc.)
5. Specimens: Our kids were excited about giving the receipt specimens that they had found (A snake’s skin, the shell of a beetle, a deceased dragon fly) and including containers for him to find and study his own.  We provided labels for you to print out and include with the gift.
6. Creative exploration:  (Drawing books, modelling clay etc.)

• Print out the provided birthday card on cardstock and fold it in half, writing a personal message inside or do as our kids did and draw the recipient as a scientist!

Purpose

• Getting familiar with tcomponents of the scientific method, tools scientists use, vocabulary associated with various branches of science.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.

Materials

• Telephone book or newspaper (usually we decline the phone book, but we missed them this year and we found it on our door step.)
• Various types of paint (watercolour pucks, liquid watercolour paints, acrylic- use what you have!)
• Brushes
• Beads
• Pencil/eraser
• Containers
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Twine/cord
• Optional: cardstock, plastic needle, clear tape

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Tear pages out of your phone book.  We looked for ones that had more print and less ads. (Although the acrylic paint is thick enough to cover them up!)

• Don your smock.  Lay your newspaper or telephone pages into your craft tray and paint away.  You could either do all of the types of paint at once or if you like, try one each day over a period of time.  The kids really got into this on a rainy afternoon, painting quite a stack.  If you paint with all the different types, but sure to have each paint have its own paint brush to lead to less muddling.  Allow your pages to dry overnight.

• Go for a nature walk, finding fallen leaves for your template or inspiration point.

• Trace your leaf onto thicker paper such as cardstock and cut this out.  You can use the actual leaf as the template too or simply draw your own.  Our leaf was starting to get a bit crunchy, so we made the template.

• As newsprint is quite thin, we folded our paper into four, traced around the template and then cut it out.  To eliminate seeing the pencil line, just cut on the interior portion of the line.

• Once you have your leaves cut out, begin to make your garland.  Here are a few tips to make it easier:

1. Organize all the items that you need onto a tray- that way you can corral any run-away beads etc.

2.Use a cord that is a bit stiff- then it is easier to poke it through the holes.  Trim it every time it becomes a little bit frayed.

2. Use beads with large holes, particularly if your child is younger.

3. A plastic needle may help with the lacing process.

4. If the cord, gets stuck, use a pair of tweezers to help you!

5. Be gentle with the newsprint leaves as it is quite a thin material.  If you want, mount it on a thicker type of paper such as cardstock and cut around the leaf again, leaving a slight border so you can see the colour of the cardstock as well.

6. Use a tiny piece of tape to hold the leaf in position on the c0rd- that way it doesn’t flip.  If you have the time and particularly if you are hanging your garland in the window, paint the backside too!

7.  Knotting at a certain point is difficult, so to hold the beads in place where you want them, lace the bead and then go back through the hole a second time and voila- it holds its spot!

• Lacing is a good way to explore patterns.  We also include a bead at the end so you can attach it to a suction cup hook to hang it up.   Wouldn’t this nature inspired garland look nice over a fireplace, in your window or on a wall in your dining room?!  You have probably guessed- Fall is my favourite season!

Purpose

• Getting out into nature.
• Re-imagining items (in this case, telephone books)
• Exploring different types of painting surfaces and paint types.
• Developing fine motor skills.
• Exploring patterns.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.