Crafty, Yet Corny!

In my humble opinion, Indian corn is the most under-represented decoration for Fall. Its natural beatuy and color combinations are a reminder that Mother nature is one smart cookie! To celebrate the a-maize-ingness (har har!) of this natural wonder, here is a simple, Indian corn craft for kiddos...

Materials:

-yellow, construction paper

-glue

-tissue paper squares in fall colors

-green tissue paper squares

-scissors

-pencil

Instructions:

1. Using the yellow construction paper, cut out one large petal shape and two petals slightly smaller

2. Glue smaller petals to the sides of the large petal for the open husks of the corn.

3. Crumple fall-colored tissue papers and glue onto the large petal (aka-the corn cob) to form the "kernels."

4. Glue the green tissue paper squares onto the husks, covering them completely.

5. Cut the yellow construction paper into narrow strips and curl them by rolling them around pencil.

6. Glue 2-3 curls onto the corn cob.

Cupcake Liner Owl

Whooooo loves a cute, kid's craft??? If you're as obsessed with owls as much as I (and the rest of America) am, this is the perfect craft to help feed the addiction! These owls are made using a toilet paper roll, cupcake liners, and construction paper and take very little time to complete.

Here are the best instructions I've found to explain how to make these adorable, little creatures:

The Yellow School Bus book and Traffic Light Craft

This week's book and craft was based on the book The Yellow School Bus. While it is primarily meant for young students, I liked the counting concepts and the hands-on experience the book provided for my students. Because my class is so focused this school year on functional words and safety signs in the community, I thought I would support this book and what we are learning with a traffic light craft. I found a super cute idea for a traffic light color match activity and craft at No Time for Flashcards Blog and adapted it slightly to make it POP on our classroom walls.

Here's how:

Materials:

-large, white construction paper

-circular lid (to trace circles)

-black marker

-red, yellow, and green construction paper (ripping the paper is an excellent fine motor skill for students, not to mention stress-relieving!)

-black, construction paper

-glue stick

-scissors
 

Instructions:

 

1. Trace one, large rectangle on a piece of large, white construction paper

 

2. Use the circular lid to trace three circles, one on top of the other. If your students or kiddos are good tracers, have them do it or help them in doing so.

 

3. Tear red, green, and yellow construction paper into small pieces and glue them to the corresponding circles. We put all of the ripped pieces together and had the students sort them by color before gluing, for extra learning funsies!

 

4. Cut black, construction paper into a rectangle the same size as the rectangle drawn on the white paper

 

6. Using the same, circular lids, trace three, vertical circles onto the black paper

 

7. Cut out the circles drawn, beginning in the middle of the paper and remaining inside of the drawn lines slightly

 

8. Glue the black construction paper onto the white paper, matching up circles.

 

9. Trim excess white paper

 

 

That's it!!! As always, please send me pics when you complete this project with your own children or students. Have fun!!!

 

Growing Apples and Pumpkins Book and Apple Timeline Craft

In my classroom this year, I have decided to plan my weekly craft project (and trust me, if I could do it more than once per week, I would) around the book we have read. Each week, my plan is to post our book and project weekly for you to try at home or in your classrooms! Please keep in mind that the focus of our crafting is to work on fine motor skills and following directions, not on submitting them to museums based on quality of work, haha! I will also be posting the Pinterest project that inspired our craft each week, to give you an idea of modifications that can be made. This week, we read the book Growing Apples and Pumpkins, to celebrate the awesomeness that is Fall, and created Apple Timelines to demonstrate out understanding of how apples are grown.

If you haven't read this book, its great for fall and shows children the process of growing apples and pumpkins using photos.

How cute are these apple timelines, originally posted by A Mommy's Adeventure blog. They are made of construction paper and marker. I love the poem written across the timeline, "Eat an apple. Save the core. Plant the seeds. And grow some more."

 

While our classroom versions are not nearly as spectacular as the original version, students benefitted from learning fine motor skills by cutting and pasting and following directions, in order to complete the project. 

Learning + Crafting = 1 Very Happy Teacher!!!

Not-So-Lame Vocabulary Review-Definition Necklace

Remember Fridays in high school, where all you wanted to do was get through the school day so that you could hang out with friends at the football game later that evening or go see the newest movie at the local theatre, and the only thing standing in your way was the dreaded, weekly vocab test? Gah, I hated those things! Who can say they have ever used the words "nonchalant" or "rebuke" in a conversation?

As a matter of fact, I also can't recall the last time I used a dictionary (sorry, Mr. Webster!)...until now! Using some simple and inexpensive materials, and vintage dictionaries, I have been able to make these awesome, definition necklaces and give them out as gifts!

Here are some of the materials used to create this awesome jewelry!

Definition of "hope" necklace for a very special friend

I did a variation on this necklace for this gift to my sweet mama!

The possibilities are endless with these necklaces! Using vintage, sheet music, I made this music note necklace for Claire's Kindermusik teacher.

Multiple definitions can be incorporated, as well! This necklace was made as a giveaway item for my sister's blog.

Please contact me at hoybycrafts@gmail.com if you are interested in a custom, definition necklace.