2013. make + take: for the birds.

materials: acrylic craft paint, paintbrushes, small wooden birdhouses (found at craft stores), newspaper

one of our neighbors has a tree filled with real birdhouses; real meaning birds visit, go inside, eat, build a nest, etc. i have a tree with fake birdhouses; fake meaning if a bird landed on it, it would fall down. maybe i should call them anthouses.

i bought the miniature abodes from the craft store and painted them in cheerful colors. they’re inexpensive outdoor decorations, and they’re cute gifts. don’t forget to spread newspaper on the table because acrylic is permanent, and wrap yourself in newspaper if you’re clumsy like me. or just wear a smock!

2013. make + take: skills spinner.

materials: zoo pals paper plates, pushpin, bobby pins, plastic straws, multicolor dot stickers, permanent marker

do you use flashcards for your kids? mix it up with a skills spinner— i attended a workshop two years ago and another teacher shared the idea for older students. i modified the spinner and made it kindergarten-friendly with sight words.

i used zoo pals plates because they’re stinkin’ cute. punch a hole in the center of the plate with a pushpin. insert a small bobby pin and “clip” it to the plate. cut a small piece of straw for the top half of the pin, creating a “hand” similar to a clock. the straw helps little ones move the hand around the plate (older kids won’t need a straw).

use colored dots on the outer edge of the plate for specific skills like letters, numbers, words, addition facts, etc. the child holds the plate and reads or recites whatever the hand points towards.

think of the spinner as a compact collection of flash cards. plus, they’re easy and inexpensive to create for your students. take one for a whirl!

p.s. my heart goes out to anyone affected by the terrorist attacks in boston. beantown is the home of our beloved baseball team and michael’s alma mater. i’m still processing it all. love (and watch out for) each other.

2013. make + take: giant washi style flags.

materials: wooden skewers, white con-tact paper, permanent markers, scissors

last summer i discovered white con-tact paper and never looked back. i keep a roll in my classroom to label cubbies and create signs. my little ones refer to it as “giant sticker paper” and they’re right: it’s giant sticker paper.

i used con-tact paper to make oversized washi style flags. i cut a long strip of adhesive (about 3X10 inches) and placed a wooden skewer in the center. then i folded the paper and it stuck to itself. you can trim the flag into a pennant or banner and draw anything from designs to dinosaurs.

my flags say PUGS RULE + DROOL. they’re for pug day which is celebrated everyday at our house.

use your personalized flags for cakes, parades, and cocktails. cheers!

2013. make + take: pom-pom-pillar.

materials: pom-poms, embroidery thread, embroidery needle, wiggle eyes, super glue

who invented pom-poms? i looked it up on wikipedia, but i learned nothing about the pom pom creator. however, i discovered that pom-poms can be spelled in many ways: pompon (1961), pom-pom (2010), and pompom (2011). i must love 2010 because i prefer it with the hyphen.

pom-pom creatures came into existence around the same time as crafty moms and teachers. usually they’re glued together, but smart people thread them on a string. duh! then the animal never falls apart.

i made pom-pom caterpillars for my kids to sort from longest to shortest. i used small pom-poms and embroidery thread. tie a big knot in the thread and string together pom-poms with a big needle to a desired length. then tie another knot and add wiggle eyes.

isn’t my little red friend cute? he’s twenty and single.

2013. make + take: shabby chalkboard.

materials: small chalkboard, washi tape, chalkboard paint, cotton loops, felt, fabri-tac glue, tiny hanging screws, wire

at school, many teachers hang adorable signs outside of their doors with names or quotes on them. i’ve always wanted a cute little chalkboard of my own so i made one!

i bought the chalkboard from joann’s (it’s also available at other craft stores). the slate was grey, and i used chalkboard paint to transform it into a classic black. when the paint dried, i decorated the frame with washi tape and made flowers out of cotton loops and felt.

to create a flower, snip a loop in half and roll it like a cinnamon bun. then glue it onto the frame with a little leaf. carefully screw two frame hangers into the top of the chalkboard and attach wire or ribbon.

as my kids would say, easy peezy, nacho cheesy, lemon squeezy! make one for your favorite teacher or friend this weekend.

2013. make + take: wrapper bangle.

materials: plastic bangle, embroidery floss, super glue

on sunday, i made two bracelets at the kollabora DIY craft camp: a skinny wrapped bangle and a painted wooden bracelet in bold, neon colors for spring. the instructions were simple (wrap it or paint it), and most of our attendees created more than one!

kollabora is an online crafting community, and it has grown to over 10,000 members. you can join kollabora to share ideas or to master a project. in addition to tutorials by regular folks, the site features crafts by a talented team of editors (like lindsey). last but not least, you can purchase supplies directly from them— it’s a one-stop craft and create shop.

check out how to make our TxSC bracelets here. thank you kollabora for making sunday a fun-day. :o)

p.s. did you hear? google reader will disappear in july. follow me through tumblr or bloglovin’.

2013. make + take: hint of spring mitten clips.

materials: felt, garter clips, scissors, needle, and thread

as a child, i misplaced a number of gloves and mittens every winter. sure, my coat had pockets, but they rarely held those kind of belongings. interesting rocks, yes. scraps of paper, yes. two or three markers in my favorite colors, yes.

i made these mitten clips as a birthday present for a friend’s little girl— aren’t they sweet? they’re very easy to assemble with inexpensive materials.

mitten clips are essentially garter clips. sometimes stores sell the metal clips separately, but for a few extra cents, you’ll get the clips and a piece of fabric or elastic. i swapped out the original fabric on the clips with pink elastic.

i created a flower by cutting different size petals and layering them together. felt flowers can be any color or combination of colors. when you “cinch” the center with thread, it creates a puffy effect. i sewed the flower on a leaf directly on the elastic.

now in the middle of winter, a little girl can have a hint of spring… while holding onto both of her gloves.

2013. make + take: sounds all around.

materials: alphabet mat, scrabble tiles

in kindergarten, we practice our letters, sounds, and words everyday. we work as a whole group, in small groups, pairs, or individually depending on the activity.

letter sounds play an important role in reading and writing. each letter has a sound and sounds work together to create words. words make sentences and sentences make stories.

“sounds all around” is a phonics game for children who identify their letters. it features doodles for all 26 letters and 4 blends (sh, ch, th, ph). students match scrabble letters to the correct pictures. you can also use magnetic letters or plastic letter beads and substitute capital letters with lowercase ones.

i am selling the alphabet mat in my etsy shop— all proceeds go towards buying books for my classroom. if you don’t want to purchase the mat, the game can be recreated using magazine pictures, clip art, or your own drawings for each letter. either way, i hope you find the game fun (and useful) for your little ones.

2013. make + take: sweet treat.

materials: cellophane bags, ribbon, cool soda

tomorrow is valentine’s day! i plan on handing out rainforest valentines and heart-shaped fruit snacks to my kids. today for our writing assignment, they defined love. some of their responses to “love is…” were “love is giving hugs”, “love is giving kisses”, and the perennial favorite “love is my mommy.”

i also give valentines to my coworkers, but grown-ups need something a bit more sophisticated than gummy strawberries. this year i found a cute package of red and white cream soda at central market. i wrapped the bottles in valentine bags and tied them with bright ribbon.

i would love to receive a cheerful bottle of soda. hopefully my friends feel the same way. happy heart day!

2013. make + take: 100th day portrait.

materials: assorted construction paper, scissors, glue, cotton balls

this week we celebrated the 100th day of school with a variety of activities. one of my favorite crafts involves a little imagination and a lot of foresight— what will you look like when you’re one hundred years old?

i model how to make a face and body by cutting scraps of paper, and i encourage the class to try their best (i.e. it doesn’t have to look like the teacher’s picture). they always crack up in the middle of the lesson when i add cotton balls to my head; it’s hilarious to be “old” when you’re five.

when our portraits dry, we use clean sheets of paper and write about the future. what will i be doing when i’m a hundred years old? i’ll be blogging on my wrist watch computer.

p.s. the featured portrait is by one of my girls. i couldn’t get over her long grey hair.

2013. make + take: gumball math.

materials: purple, red, tan, and white felt, fabri-tac glue, puffy paint, foam circles (or pom poms), dice

math is probably my favorite subject to teach because it provides many opportunities for hands-on activities. i prefer tactile games over any kind of worksheet and my kiddos feel the same way.

in kindergarten, we do a lot of counting and a lot of one-to-one correspondence. students learn numerical digits as well as quantities. to practice those skills, we often play dice games in our math stations. the trick to a good dice game is how interesting it appears to a five or six-year-old. counting lima beans on a sheet of paper gets boring quickly.

i made the gumball machine game using felt and fabri-tac glue. i cut out the white globe and red base and glued them on a purple sheet. then i trimmed around the edges to create an outline. i added the red button and gumball dispenser with extra felt, and i used puffy paint to accent the machine and create a “slot” for the quarter.

because i have four students in each math station, i made four gumball machines. the children each get a mat, but they share a dice. before we play, the children “fill” their machines with twenty “gumballs” (foam circles). they take turns rolling the dice and taking gumballs out. the game ends when someone’s machine is empty. then they play again.

as an extended activity, you can ask the students to sort or graph their gumballs by color or size. hope you have a poppin’ time.

2012. make + take: fantastic fox headband.

materials: orange felt, ivory felt, brown felt (optional), cardboard tube, poly-fill fiber, needle and thread, fabri-tac glue, wire or elastic

one of my favorite book characters is the fox from fantastic mr. fox, but one of my students’ favorite book characters is the fox from the gingerbread man. on tuesday, we had a parade for literacy week, and i dressed as a fox to my own (and their) content.

the costume consisted of a headband and snout, and i sewed it in under an hour. learn how to make a fox of your own (or any animal with ears) below.

fold a piece of orange felt in half. cutting upward from the fold, make leaf-shaped ears. repeat for the second set of ears.

cut two pieces of ivory felt for the inner ears, making sure they are slightly smaller than the orange pieces.

wrap the ears under the headband and secure them with a dab of glue. begin sewing each ear “closed” but stuff them with poly-fill before going all the way around. the fiber will make the ears stand up on your head and give them a puffy, realistic look. sew or glue the inner ears to the front.

to create the snout, trim a cardboard tube to the desired length and pinch the tube at the front. you’ll use the smaller end for the nose.

measure the tube’s length and cut a piece of orange felt the same size. dab glue around the tube and “roll” the felt around until it covers the cardboard.

sew the smaller end closed and affix a nose. i used a black button, but you could add a black pom-pom or a circle cut out of dark felt. snip a piece of hair elastic for the whiskers and glue to the underside of the button.

poke some holes in the larger side of the tube for elastic or wire so the snout doesn’t fall off your face.

presto! you’re done. if you like foxes as much as me, raise your hand. if not… make a panda.

p.s. check me out in foxy disguise on instagram.

2012. make + take: summer love necklace.

materials: one yard of embroidered tassel trim (found in finer fabric stores), two pieces of thick wool felt, assorted beads, needle and thread, cord or chain

caution: this make + take requires sewing skills. even though i told M, “it’s really easy”, he wasn’t convinced. i hope you try it.

we’ve had two rainy days in texas, a rare event that brings joy to the yard and frustration to the blog. the words cute pictures and thunderstorm just don’t go together.

i’m not one to complain for severe amounts of time. with optimism and a pug by my side, i made a necklace for a sunnier day. many magazines and catalogs have featured pom-pom necklaces; here’s my spin on them!

using felt, cut a shape for the “bib” area of the necklace. you’ll use the shape as the foundation of the necklace. i cut a “U” shape; you can use a circle, triangle, or something similar. after you cut it, make another copy for two total pieces.

i found the tassel and pom-pom trim at my local fabric store. it’s considered an interior decorating item; check in the home decor section if you can’t find it with traditional ribbons. buy a yard of it.

line up and sew the trim onto the bib. fold the raw edges at the ends under like i did. if you don’t fold the edges under, the fibers will unravel. cut, repeat, and layer as needed. i used two rows of trim for a fuller necklace.

thread your choice of beads on string or wire and sew onto the necklace for a 3-D effect. secure cord or chain to the underside of the necklace (so you don’t see the cord or chain from the front). don’t worry about any knots or weird stitches. you’ll fix them in a minute.

the underside of the bib looks messy, right? use your extra “bib” to cover up the back of the necklace. you can glue it or sew it. if you choose to glue, i recommend fabri-tac, an adhesive that works very well with felt.

happy summer! if you take on this DIY, please share your finished product!