Dazzling Dragonflies

I am very excited to tell you how we made our beautiful dragonflies! I just made it up as we went along and it actually worked! I made my "example" at the same time the kids made theirs. I started by tracing dragonfly wings onto laminating sheets. (I used a coloring sheet from here as my template, but I moved it a bit while tracing to make sure my wings all touched each other to make it easier to cut out.) I was able to fit three sets of wings on one page. As the children came to make their project, I wrote their name next to the set of wings they chose. We rubbed a glue stick onto the wings and then applied cut-up tissue paper.

When I had all three wings filled up, I laminated them.

You could probably use contact paper, but it wouldn't be as clear or shiny. After they were laminated I cut them apart and we painted them with watered-down glue.

This is where I got worried that the beautiful wings would be ruined. I had no idea if the glue would dry completely clear or not. After the glue, we used my salt-n-pepper-turned-glitter shakers to add a little bit of sparkle.

The shakers were key because if we just sprinkled glitter from a spoon or the big bottles or even with our fingers, it would have been too much and would've covered our tissue paper completely. The little shakers let out the perfect amount.

Then we let them dry and I crossed my fingers that they would dry clear. I've used watered-down Elmer's glue for lots of things before, but it was always on paper, not something transparent. But it worked! I was excited! I cut out all the wings.
Next, we went on to the body. We used colored popsicle sticks (regular size) and used a mini glue dot to add a sparkly pom pom to one end. (I had them left over from my Horton Hears a Who craft). We also used mini glue dots to attach wiggle eyes to the pom pom. Those glue dots were a lifesaver because I don't think regular glue would've worked. Although a glue gun would probably work if you wanted to go that route.

Then we put a drop of glue on our stick behind the head to attach the wings.

And here's how they turned out:

Dazzling, I tell you! I love them! I decided to attach them to the water lilies we made earlier in the week.

For another dragonfly craft, you can see how we made them with a clothespin here.

Fun Fact: No other creature is better at hunting in the air than the dragonfly.

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Dragonflies

This week I will show you some of the crafts from my Summer Creatures theme. I am not doing this unit this year (my co-teacher did her bug theme instead), but I thought I could still show you my projects.
This dragonfly craft uses another clothespin, but this time it's the round slotted one. The first thing the kids do is draw great big eyes on the top of the clothespin. We used a Sharpie last year.

Then they paint the rest of the clothespin any way they wish. Once that dries, they add the wings. I found this shimmery material on clearance at Michael's many years ago. It came in pink shimmer and kind of a greenish shimmer.

It's for gift bags, but I really liked it because it reminded me of real dragonfly wings -- kind of iridescent. So anyway, I cut out some wing shapes (keeping them long and skinny to prevent them from looking like butterfly wings) and then taped the middle to squish them together more.

Then the kids put a little bit of glue where the tape is and slide it into their clothespin, completing the dragonfly craft.

Ain't she pretty?

Fun Fact: During the time of the dinosaurs, dragonflies were huge, having a wingspan of 28-32 inches! Can you even imagine?