Posts Tagged ‘arts and crafts’
Garbage Day Craft Creations
Ever have one of those days when you are not sure what to teach? You are tired or not feeling well, have nothing prepared? Well why not have a Garbage Craft Day.
For this activity you need glue, tape, crayons and a recycling bin full of plastics, boxboard and paper. (avoid any dangerous items like metal cans). Make a pile of these recyclables in the middle of the room and give the kids a theme like – space ships or insects – then let them at it. Kids will spend hours sifting, creating and having fun building a garbage day creation. They will be learning engineering concepts as well as stretching their creativity. You can also follow up with lesson on recycling.
Smaller kids would love to use a cardboard box and turn it into a car, or rocket by adding wheels (pie plates, margarine tub lids etc), antenna, steering wheels and more!!
It is great to allow students to have self-directed activities, and very helpful on days when you need something to fill-in to your lesson!
Homemade gifts – love and learning in one package
The holiday season can sometimes get over commercial, and focused on buying. Encourage your children to make gifts this year.
A homemade gift is not only appreciated by the person who received it but is a learning experience for the giver. Crafted tree ornaments, knitted mittens, wooden plaque and more not only allow children to give something that they created but also lets them learn in the process. A calendar of photos taken by your child is a useful, visually pleasing gift, and your child as learned photography skills, fancily decorated cookies makes a great gift and involves your child in a cooking class (math and science involved there!) Even just a homemade card can lend for a pleasant smile and a lesson in art. So have a creative class, and let your kids create!
In high school, I took drama class. We acted out plays in front of audiences, memorized soliloquies and learned lighting techniques. As a home schooled student, your child doesn’t have to miss out on drama class!
Of course, a group of kids can get together, dress up and play act, many times they do that anyway. But stories can also be acted out by using puppets. Children can make their own puppets or you can use bought ones. A great way to check for reading comprehension is to have them act out the last part of the story they read using puppets! It is also a great creative source for them to tell their own made up stories.
Puppets are great manipulatives too. For those kinesthetic learners puppets can help with reading, history and more because they can have movement with puppets!
Giving the gift of learning
For many homeschoolers, learning is an integral part of their life, their everyday routine. Every day there is learning whether it be in the classroom, on a field trip or running errands.
It is important to encourage learning. An easy way to do this is giving educational gifts. A book, a game, a science kit or even a craft kit all have the potential to inspire learning in children. Don’t forget educational video games too – fun and learning together! Inspire learning not only in your own children, but other children to whom you give gifts.
Arts and Crafts – Educational and fun!
Many of us have done arts and crafts with our preschool child. It helps them learn coordination skills, cutting skills and more. But it is not just for the little ones, arts and crafts can be incorporated into lessons for older children, helping them have fun while they learn!
Many websites offer craft ideas for children of all ages. These can be utilized in a theme unit or lesson plan for a specific subject. For example, a study on Egypt could lead to a diorama of King Tut’s tomb. Also, there are many arts and crafts ideas that can complement a learning skill. For example a colour wheel can show how colours blend together to form other colours. Math concepts can become clearer with pictures or models. The student can make a paper pizza and then use it to learn about fractions. Art does not have to be just one class, it can be carried through each subject and add fun and education to your child’s day!