Pompom easter bunny

You need:

1. cardboard


2. scraps of construction paper


3. wobbling eyes


4. yarn


5. scissors and glue

These easter bunny is made of several colours yarn. Search for an online lesson on 'how to make a pompom'. Cut ears and feet out of brown construction paper, paste them on the pompom. Paste also two wobbling eyes.

Henhouse

Made by students from kindergarten

You need:

1. box


2. brown tempera paint


3. brush


4. paper plate


5. white paper 


6. red paper


7. black marker


8. straw

Paint the outside of the box with brown tempera paint. Fold the plate. Outline your hand and cut it twice out of a white sheet. Paste the hands on both sides of the chicken. Cut a comb and a beak out of red paper and paste them. Paste some feathers for the tail. 

Put the box on its side. Put some straw in the box and put the chicken in it. Stack the boxes of several students for a big hen house!

Three owls of clay

Artworks are made by students of grade 5

You need:

1. clay


2. two beer coasters stapled together


3. clay plate


4. clay knife

In this lesson students will sculpt three massive forms together and then decorate them.

View pictures of owls and talk about the basic shapes: an oval for the body, round eye shapes, conical beak and plumes (note, these are not ears, because they are on the side of the head).

Students make three egg shapes in different sizes. The pointed end is the bottom of the owl. Modell these shapes together. Work out the shapes by attaching wings, beaks, plumes, eyes etc. The wings are made from flattened clay balls. To attach the wings, roughen the bonding side and press the wing firmly on the body.

Do the same with beak and plume using a conical shape. Make eyes by pressing the finger in the head. Apply texture to the wings, the body and around the eyes using a clay knife or little sticks.

Place the work on two stapled beer coasters. Let it dry for a few weeks before baking.

Gnomes

You need:

1. some sturdy branches


2. saw


3. scraps of wool


4. felt


5. scissors


6. markers

Saw before the lesson starts for all students from a piece of the branche in different lengths, between 5 and 10 cm. Saw one side bevel and the other right.

The bevel side is the head of the gnome. Cut threads from the wool for the hair De schuine kant is het hoofd van de kabouter. Cut strands of wool for hair and beards, and paste them on the branch. Cut a triangle out of felt and shape into a pointed hat. Paste the hat on the head. Draw a face with markers.

Plaster mask

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. bandage plaster


2. vaseline


3. towel


4. jar with water


5. scissors


6. canvas


7. cloth tape


8. tempera paint


9. brush


10. stuff to decorate, like feathers, stones, shells, ribbons


11. glue

Work in groups of two students.

Show a You tube movie about making masks or read Wiki how manual. In brief students have to:

1. Put a towel around the shoulders and pull the hair off the face.

2. Coat the face well with vaseline, especially hair line, eyebrows and eyelashes.

 

3. Cut the bandage plaster in strips. Make the strips one by one wet and cover the face. Be sure the strips overlap a little. Leave the nose open.

4. Provide three layers plaster for a solid mask.

5. Remove the mask after 15 minutes.



6. Close the hole of the nose with a last plaster strip.

Outline the mask with a pencil on a canvas. Cut a hole in the canvas about 1 centimeter smaller than the mask. Push the mask through the hole from the back of the canvas and stick it to the front and back with cloth tape.

Paint the canvas and face with tempera. Decorate the artwork with feathers, ribbons, shells or strass stones.

Students of grade 6 with their masks

Wavy weaving

Made by students of grade 3

You need:

1. paper strips in two colours, 4 x about 50 cm


2. black cardbaord


3. scissors


4. glue


5. printed grid of 5 by 5 squares, each square is 4 by 4 cm

1. Give all students the printed grid. Cut it along the outside and paste it on black cardboard.

2. Cut 10 stripes in two colours, 4 x 50 cm. Fold the ends of the strips about one cm.

3. Paste the fold edges exactly along the lines of the squares. Use two different colours alternately. Paste the arcs from bottom to top and from left to right, alternately. Cut a piece of the strip if it's too long. You may paste small squares to the ends of the rows as a finishing touch.

 

5. Press the strips gently and your weaving will look great!

Chicken of towel fabric

In the Netherlands we have washcloths where you can put your hand in. I've never seen them in the USA, so for this lesson you'll have to sew them first! They look like this.

You need:

1. towel fabric


2. cotton wool balls


3. cotton thread


4. piece of cardboard


5. glue


6. wobbling eyes


7. small piece of felt


8. scissors


9. hay

Fill the two corners of the washcloth with cotton wool balls. Tie a cotton thread around the edges so the cotton does not fall out. Cut a cardboard strip with a length of 2 times the width of the washcloth and 6 cm high.

Fold this strip round and paste or staple the ends together. The circle should be slightly smaller than the opening of the washcloth.

Push the circle in the bottom of the washcloth. Push the two filled corners - the heads of the chickens -down so they are just above the rim. Paste wobbling eyes on the head and a beak of felt. Fill the space around the heads with hay or Easter eggs.

Chicken on a stick

You need:

1. cardboard box


2. tempera paint


3. brush


4. coloured paper


5. wooden skewer


6. scissors


7. glue

Draw a chicken on cardboard. Cut it. Paint the chicken and colour the beak. Cut two wings out of cardboard and cover them with coloured paper. Paste the wings with double sided tape on the chicken to make them look 3D. Cut a comb and wattle out of coloured paper and paste them on the chicken. Use a marker to draw an eye.

Cut three pieces cardboard of 8 by 5 cm and stick them together. Paste coloured paper around it. Insert a skewer into the stand and plug the other end in the chicken.

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Mirror mirror on the wall ... made by a student of grade 4

You need:

1. piece of wood


2. mirror


3. bathroom tiles (ask a DIY market)


4. hammer


5. newspapers


6. silicone glue


7. painters tape


8. grout


9. plastic bags


10. cotton cloth


11. sponge


12. security glasses of old sunglasses

The fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm is the basis for this lesson mosaics.

Snow White tells the story about a wicked stepmother who is jealous of the beauty of the daughter of her husband. The stepmother tells a hunter to kill Snow White, but he feels sorry for her and let her escape. Snow White ends up with the seven dwarfs in the forest.

The stepmother finds out through her magical mirror that Snow White is still alive, and poisons her with an apple. The sad dwarfs  put her in a glass coffin assuming she's dead.

Time passes and a prince traveling through the land sees Snow White. He is enchanted by her beauty and falls in love with her. He begs the dwarfs to let him have the coffin. The prince's servants carry the coffin away. While doing so, they stumble on some bushes and the movement causes the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The prince then declares his love and a wedding is planned.



In this lesson students are going to make the magic mirror of the fairy tale of Snow White. They learn the several steps to create their own mosaic.



Step 1

Determine the place for the mirror and paste it on the piece of wood. Draw a design on the shelf of leave it empty to create a free design later on.



Step 2

Breaking the tiles

Go outside. Choose the tiles you like and put them on a newspaper. Put on glasses to protect your eyes. Hit the tiles with a hammer gently into pieces. Choose the pieces you like and put them in a plastic bag. Put pieces you don't need in a container (they can still be used by other children).

Clear the table for the following student. 



Step 3

Go back in the classroom with your plastic bag. Paste the pieces of the tiles on the shelf, using silicon glue.  Plak de stukjes tegel met siliconenlijm op de plank. Leave 3 to 5 mm space between the different pieces. If the pieces have different heights, then use more or less glue. Remove excess glue and leave the work to dry for 48 hours.

Pasting the pieces

Step 4

Go outside if this is possible. Make grout according to the instructions on the package; it should be as thick as yogurt. Use a disposable container. Put newspapers on the table. Mask the mirror with painters tape. Apply grout with a sponge. Rinse the sponge regularly in a bucket of water and then wring out well. When ready, leave the work to dry for half an hour and remove excess grout away.

Sponging the grout

Step 5

Polish the stones and the mirror the next day with a cotton cloth.

Paper mache figure on a bottle

You need:

1. wine bottle
2. newspapers torn in strips
3. paper tape
4. wallpaper paste
5. tempera paint
6. brushes
7. varnish
8. fabrics
9. wool, cotton, feathers etc.

Students make a ball of newspaper and tape it on the bottle with paper tape. Tear newspapers in strips and paste them with wallpaper paste on the ball far over the bottle so that the tape is not visible anymore. Be sure to use a lot of wallpaper paste.
If the ball on the bottle is smooth, students make eyes, nose, ears and paste them on the head. Fix them with paper strips and paste. Let dry for at least 24 hours.

After drying the figures can be painted. Start with the brightest colour. Paint several times to be sure the ink of the newspaper is not visible anymore. Varnish the dolls to make them shine.

After drying the doll has to be dressed and beautified. Use fabrics, wool, cotton, feathers, beads, lace etc. Paste them on the bottle and head with strong glue.

All artworks are made by students of grade 3

Thanks to Ruth Megens

Making masks

You need:

1. white cardboard
2. rectangular aluminum containers
3. paint
4. brushes
5. scissors
6. glue
7. cutting knife
8. oil pastels

We look at masks from Venice, masks from Africa and the culture of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs through photos on the internet. We discuss the form of the masks and look for the differences between the African, Venetian and those of the Incas. We look at the position of the eyes, nose and mouth.

Let students choose the style and material they want to use. The aluminium containers are meant for students who want to make an Inca mask, since Incas often used silver or gold.
Draw with pencil the shape of the mask and cut it out. Mark the spot where the eyes should be (at half or slightly above or below the half) and cut them out. Draw a nose and cut it partly in order to create some relief. Colour the mask with oil pastels.
For an Inca mask: cut the aluminum container, cut the eyes, cut a nose and paste it on, cut a mouth. Paint the mask with tempera, making sure there will be some shiny material to be seen.

Look at each others masks at the end of this lesson and discuss what style or influence you recognize.

Artworks made by students of grade 3

Thanks to Ann de Naegel (Belgium) and her students

Weaving a pencil box

Pencil boxes, made by students of grade 3

You need:

1. coffee cups
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. scissors
5. yarn
6. weaving needle or stir stick with a whole

Begin by cutting a cup from top to bottom in an uneven amount of vertical strips. We used paper cups, because these won't tear so fast. Place the other cup inside of the cup with the cuts to hold its shape. This will allow the cup to hold its shape. Tie a piece of yarn around one of the vertical cup pieces. This will hold the yarn in place. Then begin weaving, by placing the yarn over one piece of cup and under the next.
Continue weaving all the way up the cup. Use your fingers to push the yarn down. When you get to the end, tie the yarn around the final piece of cup.

Woven key chain

You need:

1. piece of cardboard 8 by 12 cm
2. key chain
3. pencil
4. ruler
5. scissors
6. cotton
7. wool
8. needle or stir stick with a hole in it
9. coloured beads

Weaving is fun and should be learned, but what to do with all those little patches? Our students made a nice key chain of them! The local grocery store delivered us 50 key chains for free! Unfortunately my students already took their key chains home before I could photograph them. So, I had to take the one above!

Mark the middle of the two small sides of the cardboard. Draw 5 little stripes on both sides of the middle, every half centimeter. Cut into the cardboard at each mark. Wrap cotton thread around the cardboard tabs and make sure it runs right.
Take a weaving needle or a stir stick (see picture) and weave threads through the cotton. Use one or several colours. Weave until 2/3 part of the cardboard is covered.

When the weaving is done, thread the tails onto a needle and pass it under the block of weaving. Then cut the end close to the block.

Remove the weaving from the loom by bending the cardboard tabs and pulling off the loops. Pull the loops through the ring of the keychain.
Cut the threads below and thread some beads on them.

Winter trees glimpse

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. cardboard in three colours, 15 by 20 cm
2. ruler
3. pencil
4. cutter
5. cutting mat
6. double sided foamtape
7. hook

Draw a rectangle on each sheet of cardboard 2 cm from the edges. Draw wintertrees in these rectangles. The trunk must be on the bottom, the branches must reach the left, right or upper edge. Make sure the three trunks slightly stagger.
Cut the parts between the branches/trunk and the frame using a cutter. Use double sided foam tape to paste the three windows together. The lightest colour in the front, the darkest colour on the back.

Attach a hook to the window to hang it.

Egg carton head

Made by Tristan, grade 4

You need:

1. cardboard A3 size, black or brown
2. egg cartons
3. scissors
4. glue

Bring some things with an obvious texture: a piece of wood, stone, glass, a knitted sweater, carpet etc. Let the children feel and express what they feel. Show them with a flashlight (shine directly or indirectly) that texture can be soon also.

Give each student two egg cartons and a piece of cardboard. Students have to make a head of the egg cartons, using the different textures of the material. The inside of the carton feels different as the outside.

Slide the pieces (torn or cut) on the cardboard until you have a good composition. Paste everything securely, taking care to minimize the black or brown carton shown in the face.

Wooden Christmas tree

Made by a student of 7 years old

You need:

1. plywood 14 by 18 cm
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. jigsaw
5. nails
6. hammer
7. tempera paint
8. brush
9. block of wood 6 by 3 by 1 cm
10. 2 blocks of wood 5 bij 2 bij 1 cm
11. small Christmas decorations
12. silver cardboard
13. glue

Draw on the narrow side of the plywood a dot on 9 cm. Draw two lines from the corners below at this dot so you get a triangle. Saw this triangle. Paint it green with tempera paint. Spike at different spots on the front and back of the tree little nails for the Christmas decorations.

Create a standard of three blocks of wood by pasting the smaller blocks with a half cm space between them on the largest block. Paint the standard. Hang the balls and garlands on the nails. Cut a double peak out of silv and paste the two pieces together. Paste the peak on the tree.
Decorate the tree with little clocks, balls, socks, garlands etc.

Christmas gift paper bag

You need:

1. brown paper bag
2. markers
3. scissors
4. ruler
5. glue
6. pattern gift bag
7. piece of rope of 25 cm
8. punch

Pattern: click and print.

Print the pattern. Let students copy the pattern on a paper bag. Cut it.
Make a Christmas drawing on one or both sides of the bag and colour it with markers. The snow in the example is made with correction fluid. Or make a drawing on a white sheet and paste this one on the bag.
Fold the lines. Paste the bag, starting with the side and finishing with the bottom.
Use a punch to make holes in the bag. Pull a rope through the holes to get two rods and tie it.

Cool web, big spider

You need:

1. white drawing paper 20 by 20 cm
2. left overs of white drawing paper
3. yellow crayons
4. liquid watercolour
5. thick brush
6. jar with water
7. scissors
8. glue
9. black construction paper

Students draw a web with a yellow crayon. The easiest way is to first draw diagonal lines from the corners of the paper. Then draw more lines from top to bottom, left to right. The lines must all go through the center. After this draw circles around the center, until the sheet is full.

Paint the sheet using liquid watercolour ink in cold colours. Take two colours. Leave the work to dry.

Draw some leaves with a warm colour crayon on a white sheet. Draw the veins. Paint the leaves with warm colours liquid watercolour. Let the leaves dry.

Make a spider of black construction paper. In the example above, the spider is made of a circle with a diameter of about 4 cm. Cut the circle in to the center and stick the cutting edges on each other so the center rises. Draw a cross on the back if you want to. Cut a smaller circle for the head, draw eyes on it and paste it on the body of the spider. Cut the feet: 8 strips of 8 cm by 1/2 cm. Glue the legs on the underside of the body. Make a fold inwards on the mid of the strip, and 1 cm from the end a fold outwards.

When the work is completely dry, cut the leaves and paste them on the web. Put the spider in the web by pasting the lower parts of the legs and the head.

Paste the artwork on a black background. You may draw the spider web lines on the background too.

Make your own book

You need:

1. two pieces of plywood measuring 16 cm by 12 cm
2. little stack of white sheets measuring 14 cm by 11 cm
3. hand drill
4. perforator
5. markers or paint/brushes
6. bit of rope

Make a drawing on one of the shelves and colour it with markers or paint or a combination of those. Write a title, and/or put your name on it. Use a perforator to make two holes in the small side of the white sheets.

Place one of the sheets on the painted shelf and mark off where the holes should be. Keep away about 1 cm from the (short) side. Do the same with the second shelf. Drill holes with a hand drill. Place the sheets on the lower shelf and then put the painted shelf on top of it. String a piece of rope through all the layers and bind them together.

Wavy waves

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. markers
3. coloured paper for background
4. glue
5. scissors

Draw on a white sheet with pencil four wavy lines from left to right.

Then draw five wavy lines from top to bottom.

Draw a cross of slightly wavy lines in each square.

Choose three colours and colour the triangles: one colour for the bottom triangles of the squares, another colour for the left triangles and a third colour for the triangles on the right. The upper triangle in a square is always white. This is the foamy head of the wave!

Cut a slightly wavy line on the left, right and bottom of the drawing. Cut a strip of the upper triangles away. Paste the work 'wavy' on a coloured sheet.