Candy Pumpkin Stamping

Here's a quick activity we did the other day. I put some candy pumpkins in paint,

and the kids stamped with them.

Here's the problem, though. Once in paint, the candy started to dissolve. (Remember the problem with our wreaths?) So after a few minutes, this is what the prints looked like:

I kept adding new ones to the paint so each child could have a chance with a fresh pumpkin. But they had to do it fast! And the orange from the pumpkin turned the white paint orange as well.

But this activity was more about the process than the end product. They really enjoyed it! Most kids just stamped a bunch of circles, but one boy made a bat, a pumpkin and a ghost.

We also used the candy to practice making patterns.

And then, of course, they each got to pick out one to eat. (A clean one, not one from the activity!)

Porcupine Ball Prints

I found these fun balls at Target (near the halloween stuff) and I planned on putting them in my prize bucket.

They are kind of like mini koosh balls, but thicker. But after looking at them for awhile I decided to use them for art instead of as prizes. So I put them in paint.

They made a very cool design when stamped onto the paper!

The kids had a blast using these for art. I'll definitely have to remember these come Fourth of July. They look like fireworks!

One boy used the balls to smear the paint around on his paper.

In the afternoon, when the balls were clean and dry, I made an impromptu game. As I was getting supplies for my room, I noticed the box that holds our paper towels has a piece of cardboard with holes in it. I immediately thought of the little porcupine balls. So I set it up against the wall, put down some tape for the kids to stand behind, and they threw the balls into the holes!

It would be fun to decorate the cardboard or put numbers under the holes so the kids could score points. I'll keep you posted if I decide to do something like that! We also got out different sized buckets and a cup and threw the balls in them.

It was a fun afternoon and the kids have already been asking to play it again some time!

Mini Autumn Wreaths

The project I'm sharing with you today came about because of another project, and it has become one of my favorites!

I bought some bleeding tissue paper and cut it into small squares. The kids drew tree trunks, arranged the tissue squares on top and sprayed them with water.

When it dried, we peeled off the tissue paper. The project didn't turn out as I had hoped.

Kind of blah. I heard it works better with watercolor paper (we used construction paper) so maybe that was the problem. But I happened to glance over at the pile of tissue paper we peeled off.

I loved the muted colors! And when I scrunched them up, they reminded me of fall leaves.

Beautiful, right? Some of them were very cool.

Anyway, I knew we had to use these for a project instead of just throwing them away. So I got out some small paper plates and had the kids paint the rim.

You could cut the middle out before painting, but this gave the kids a place to hold onto their plate while they painted.

When the paint was dry, I cut out the middles. Then the kids dipped the tissue paper into glue and stuck it on their wreath.

To make it even more fun, we also added some candy corn!

I added the little tag for the name, and our autumn wreaths were done.

Or so I thought. Even though I let them dry for two days, when I hung them on our door some of the candy corn fell off. And some kind of "melted" down the wreath. I was worried that I would come in the next day and all the candy would be on the floor and I'd have sticky trails of syrup all over the door. So I peeled off the ones that were starting to slide and replaced them with tissue paper. I don't know if it was the Elmer's glue that caused it, or if the kids just used too much glue. (Mine were still intact and so were a couple others.) So if you decide to make these, either skip the candy corn or use different glue. Hot glue might work better. I still like how they turned out and they add the perfect touch of Fall to my room!

Seasonal Trees

We discussed the four seasons this week and did a little project every day to go along with each season.

We used large white construction paper and I divided it into four sections. In the top left box, I wrote "Fall" in dotted lines so the kids could trace it.

Then they drew a tree and used Q-tips dipped in paint to add colorful leaves.

The next day they made a winter tree by gluing on cotton balls to the branches and on the ground for snow.

When we discussed spring, they again drew a tree and added scrunched up pink tissue squares dipped in glue to the branches to make flower buds.

And finally they made a summer tree by using corks dipped in green paint.

I love how they turned out. I was originally thinking of using a template to make the trees and just have the kids color them in. But by having them each draw their own trees made the project more personalized and special.

One boy made really small trees and they reminded me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. So cute!

Apple Tree Class Display

Yay! Another class display! I love these things and I hope you enjoy them, too, even if you don't have a class. I started by hanging up some big white paper. I squirted green paint into the kids' hands (one child at a time), they rubbed their hands together and then made a bunch of prints on the paper.

I did use a pencil to lightly draw a tree shape just as a guideline for the kids. But it was also to prevent them from getting their hand prints on the wall, which didn't work completely as you can tell by those two hand prints way up top, which left little fingertip prints on the wall! When all the kids were done, I made a few prints myself to fill in any big gaps. Then I traced over the pencil lines with a green marker and painted a trunk.

When the paint was dry, I cut out the tree. Then it was time to add the apples. I took pictures of the kids, printed them out in black and white and taped them to apples I had cut from card stock. I added a stem and laminated them, then I taped them to the tree. I hung it in the hall with the words, "The Apples of my Eye."

The reason I printed the pictures in black and white was because my colored ink wasn't working so well. But I really like the black and white against the red of the apple!

Cute, right? And so easy to make!

Hand Washing Activity

Last week when we were discussing all the rules of the classroom, one of the big ones was washing your hands as soon as you get in the room in the morning. This is a very important rule, to start the day with clean hands, but one that too often gets forgotten. I decided to make a little chart to get the kids more excited about washing their hands. I made a sign that says, "Did you wash your hands this morning?"

I used my Cricut to cut it out all fancy, just for fun. Then I found bubble paper at Jo-Ann's. I couldn't believe my luck! It was exactly what I was hoping to find! I again used my Cricut to cut out the words "Yes" and "No." I put YES on one piece and NO on the other. (I ended up cutting the paper so it would fit in my laminator.) I also found round tags at Jo-Ann's, and although I had envisioned using little hand prints, I thought these looked like bubbles so I bought them. They came in a pack of 20. I wrote the children's names on them in shades of blue. I even made myself a bubble because I need to wash, too! Then I laminated those. This was important because they will be handled often and near the sink. In the future I think I will laminate the circles first and use a Sharpie to write the child's name. Then when I need to switch the names for a new class, I'll just scribble over them with a dry erase marker and erase them! I hung everything on the wall next to the sink. The bubbles have blue poster putty on the back so they are easy to move around.

So far it's working great. The kids are excited to wash in the morning and move their bubbles to the YES side. (I just have to remember to move them all back to NO at the end of the day.) They even remind others as they come in the door in the morning. It's cute.
We also did a little fingerpainting project to go along with handwashing. It was more of a sensory activity than an art project, though. I brought in some dishwashing soap from home (yes, handwashing soap would have been more appropriate, but the kids didn't notice) and got out primary paint colors.

The kids could pick two colors and squirt small globs of paint onto their paper.

These are the germs. Then I put some soap on their fingers.

They rubbed it together a bit and then started "killing the germs!"

It was extra smooth and the kids enjoyed it. They also commented on how easy it was to wash the paint off their hands when they were done! Ah, the power of soap.
UPDATE 11/21/2013: First of all, the hand washing chart is great! Not only do the kids remember to wash their hands every morning, but they learned how to read each other's names! Secondly, I won the contest I linked up to. (see below) Yay!!

Linking up to:

Hosted by A Cupcake For the Teacher, Miss Kindergarten, and A Modern Teacher.