SEASONAL CAPSULE

Taken from Copycat Press 1992.  It is out-of-print - http://www.wix.com/allenheathers/copycat-magazine-fan-page#!about  If I was doing this at home, I would change the boxes to say bedroom instead of classroom.

REINDEER REMINDER

Keep on expecting Good Behavior even during this exciting season.  You need brown Kraft paper, red, white, and black construction paper, scissors, glue, black marker, a plant pot, dirt, a tree branch, and tape.  Place the plant pot in an area of the room where your reindeer mascot can observe the class.  Enlarge the reindeer patterns, trace them on brown Kraft paper, and cut them out.  Trace and cut out two eyes from white paper and add black eyeballs with the marker.  Next, trace and cut out a nose from red construction paper and reindeer hooves from black paper.  Glue the eyes and nose to the reindeer head, tape the reindeer body to the front of the pot, and attach the reindeer head above it.  Cut out two long strips of Kraft paper for the legs, accordion-fold the strips and glue a hoof to the bottom of each strip.  Attach the reindeer legs to the body, allowing them to dangle.  Use one large tree branch or two smaller ones to serve as the reindeer antlers and push the branches into the pot that has been filled with dirt.  Hang candy canes from the antlers and encourage children to name their new mascot.  Your reindeer is now ready to share its candy canes with all the "good little girls and boys" in your classroom.Some adadptations I made to the above directions:  movable eyes, a pom-pom nose, and planted the branch in cement to have less of a mess.

MONTHLY WINDOW DECORATIONS

See EASTER EGG COLORING DESIGN blog for additional ideas.

DOT STICKER ARTS AND CRAFTS

This is a neat art project for intermediate classrooms.  You need lots of different colored dot stickers, Ed Emberly Books, scissors, imagination, and patience.  Explain and demonstrate a variety of these items and then let the students go.  OR, at the end of a unit on ocean, try an ocean scene.  Can you think of other ways to use these items?

POINTILLISM PROJECTS

Pointillism is a great artistic technique for children to use.  Several different ways will allow students to experience this technique.  The paper at the left suggests you have students punch out various colors of paper with a hole punch and then create a picture by gluing the colored circles.  You can help limit the glue by giving students glue in plastic gallon milk jug LIDS.  Add to the lid a toothpick for students to get the glue and you have less of a mess.  ANOTHER way to experience pointillism is with a pencil eraser or ear swab dipped in paint.  Students love this option.  For younger students you might wish to give them simple outlined coloring pictures.  They can then concentrate on painting the points with various colors instead of the actual picture.

BEARY NICE WORK

Want a cute way to show off student work with a piece of art that they created?  Take a pattern that reflects your topic or the season.  Clipart does well for this.  Look at Carson Dellosa books if you want cute clipart for elementary age students.  Blow up the clipart.  Copy onto appropriate paper and have students decorate.  Photo shows bears with the title BEARY NICE WORK!

PULL APART SHAMROCK

                                                                                                         

Can be used for any seasonal shape.  http://okscribbler.blogspot.com/2009/09/pumpkin-smasher.html

FOLD AND SNIP FAN OR WHEEL

PAPER QUILLED ANIMALS

This is very hard, but comes out as a striking completed project.