Zoey & Sassafras: Create Your Own Dragon

As a teacher, I strove to better assure that everyone in the class saw themselves in the literature in the class in positive and powerful ways.  The Zoey & Sassafras series ties science and imagination together with a curious girl and her pet!  The first book is about dragons, which definitely had our kids engaged, deciding to create their own!

Materials

• Cardboard
• Corrugated paper*
• Pencil/eraser
• Paintbrushes
• Paint
• Scissors
• Glue gun or craft glue
• Plastic netting
• Additional supplies (Cupcake liners, beads, gems, use what you have!)

* A simple DIY for creating coloured corrugated paper is to take a coffee cup sleeve and cut it, revealing a corrugated interior.  Then paint it to your desired colour!*

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Sketch out your idea.  This is just a basic plan that might guide you as a starting spot, however, you can change your actual creation as you work with the materials.  You could also cut up your plan and use it like a sewing pattern, taping it to your different types of paper if that makes it easier for you.  I know I had some students who found this technique helped them.

• Don your smock. Lay your cardboard in your trays and paint it the various colours you might like for your dragon.  Allow to dry overnight.  We used scrap pieces of cardboard we had from other projects.

• If you would like to create scale-like texture, cut your netting open (it is often used to contain vegetables etc.) and lay it over your surface (with younger children, I usually have them tape it in place) and paint over it in a contrasting colour.  Allow to dry overnight.

• Sketch out your pieces on your various types of paper lightly in pencil.  Cut them out, going slightly inside the line so as to eliminate it.

• Arrange your pieces together entirely before gluing them together.  I think that this planning step assures more success in projects as you can manipulate your pieces until you reach a desired look.

• Glue your pieces together, allowing them to dry and display your finished dragon!

Want to read this book or others in the series? 

Canadians can order it here:

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=asia%20citro&suggest=1

https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Asia+Citro&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AAsia+Citro

American readers can order it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Asia-Citro/e/B00KODFI6E/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1492485894&sr=8-2-ent

Purpose

• Using literature as a jumping off point for creating.
• Working with and mixing different types of papers, materials 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 adult supervision.
• Small parts such as gems and 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.