HAMMER TIME

I wanted children to work on their hammering skills.  We used real hammers, yes real hammers, and goggles.  They hammered leaves onto foam core.  I used foam core because I wanted the children to work with something that was easier than wood.  I also found two large pieces of foam at our school.  Children worked by first going around our yard looking for leaves.  Once they found the leaves they came over and hammered them onto the foam.  They worked together helping each other find leaves and took turns waiting for a spot at the table.  The children's personalities shown through as they hammered the leaves on.  Some children hammered the leaves in a line, while others hammered them on in a scattered design.  

WOOD WORKING

We have been working wood in our class.  Children created wood sculptures on canvases and free standing.  They had previously colored on wood with markers, so they used some of the colored pieces.  Some worked together, while others worked on their own.  They had to problem solve as they created their designs.

Bringing Nature into The Classroom

Nature Through The Mirror  The class had been working with mirrors, so I put out mirrors with seed pods, sticks, leaves, and pokey balls.  The children placed the items onto the mirrors in different designs.

Hammering Flowers  We got many beautiful flowers from the children for Teacher Appreciation Week and as they were getting older we decided to use them for art.  The children placed the flowers onto the fabric and then folded it inhalf. they hammered the fabric and then opened it up to find that the flowers had left marks on the fabric.

Potion Making  We used some of the flowers to make what we called potions.  The children used flowers, water, and glitter.  They mashed, mixed, stirred, and said magical spells as they worked with the materials.

Flowers, Stems, and Glue  Children cut stems and flowers and placed them onto the canvas to create designs.

More Sewing

We decided to sew on canvas too.  The children used embroidery needles with embroidery floss on the canvases.  They even added on buttons.

This activity works on fine motor skills and patterning.