Teachers Pay Teachers Sale

SALE!!! 20% off my whole store beginning tomorrow February 24- February 26th- TPT takes an extra 10% off on Wednesday February 25th!
www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Snowy Day Art

February is full of things to celebrate. We have Presidents’ Day and Valentine’s Day and it is also Black History Month! The weather has been quite snowy in the north! It all reminds me of a favorite children’s book- “A Snowy Day” by Ezra Zack Keats. It won a Caldecott award in 1963 and it is the first full color picture book about a small black boy. The illustrations are wonderful simple shapes with little details, made from cutouts, watercolor, and collage. The lack of distinct details and the use of organic and geometric shapes adds to the tranquil, calm story line about a boy waking up to find snow has fallen during the night and the rest is about his day and discoveries in the snow.

The book can be found on Amazon the kindle version, a hard back copy, and a paperback copy.

There have been winter days when it would snow enough to close the schools for a day here in Macon, Ga. When the school would be open back up, I would ask my young students to tell me about their day and what they did in the snow. What colors did they see? What shapes did they use to make their snowmen? Did they add a scarf? Did the snowman have any facial expressions? Did anybody make a snow angel? I would then have them create their own Day in the Snow. They could draw in pencil on light blue or gray construction paper but they could color with oil pastels, cut out snowflakes and use scrap construction paper to collage their artwork.

Here is an example:

Reading “A Snowy Day” to children and discussing their own experiences in the snow is a fun way to help children recall and create art from their own experiences. Mizz Mac

Cool Snowflakes for Inside Fun!

Good morning! Did you have happy holidays? I know mine was hectic. The weather here is about to turn cold and frightful. Remember the ice storms last year and the frozen pipes?

So what to do with the children when they are stuck inside for days at a time? It’s time for art!!

There is a cool children’s book about the man who photographed snowflakes, “Snowflake Bentley”. Google Snowflake Bentley and you can find out about the museum in his name in Maine, the camera he invented to photograph the snowflakes, and see the actual photographs he made.

Now if you want to cut out paper snowflakes, you can follow these directions or you can buy my product: (it’s only $1.50 and you can download it and have the directions readily available) http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowflakes-and-Symmetry-1007433.

Supplies needed:

 1 round lid any size  to fit paper– I collected various sizes of plastic lids

                                 1 pencil

                                 Several sheets of white copy paper

                                  1 pair of scissors

Directions:

1.       Place the lid on the paper and trace around the lid with the pencil.

2.       Cut the circle out.

3.       Fold the circle in half, taco shape.

4.       Fold in half again, pie shape.

5.       Fold a third time, pizza shape.

6.       Cut out triangles and half circles on the sides. Don’t cut the point if you are a beginner.

7.       Unfold to see the snowflake.

8.       After much practice, deeper cuts can be made on the curved side to create radial arms and the point can be cut to make a hole in the center of the flake.

Stay warm and have fun! Cutting snowflakes is fun but messy! Mizz Mac

An Easy Holiday Craft

Are you through decorating your house for Christmas or are you like me and wait until a little closer to Christmas? My waiting all started when my son was born 30 years ago in December after the Georgia-Auburn game. (Molly was born after the Georgia- Florida game when Herschel was playing.) I decided not to let Christmas come before his birthday. Our family tradition eventually became going out to the tree farm, picking out a huge Leyland cypress (10’-12’), cutting it down and bringing it home. One year my husband decided to hang the tree (not upside down, Gary Ross) from the ceiling and wired a connection so we wouldn’t have any wires on the floor. We have been hanging our trees ever since.

My decorations aren’t out yet. The grandchildren will be here for one weekend soon. They are already bonkers! My art project with them will be gluing tissue paper squares on wax paper, letting them dry ( or use a hair dryer if they’re impatient), then drawing a Christmas tree shape on the wax paper with a Sharpie, cutting it out, and taping the tree on the windows.

Here are the supplies, directions, and illustrations:

Supplies needed:

Tissue paper squares (I bought mine from Oriental Trading)

Elmer’s Washable clear glue (I bought mine at Walmart but have seen another brand at the dollar store on Forsyth)

1 black Sharpie ( Walmart or Dollar Store)

Wax paper

1 container for glue

1 container for water to have a dot or two of liquid dish detergent added

1 paint brush per child

Cover your work area. Lay out the sheet of wax paper. Put some water in the water container and add a little dish detergent to it. Stir to mix. Pour some glue into the glue container; add some soapy water, and mix to make the glue easy to brush. Brush the glue on the wax paper in random sections. Place the tissue paper squares on the glue. Glue on top of the squares if they are not sticking well. Allow to dry.

When dry, turn the wax paper over. Draw Christmas trees with the sharpie. Cut out. Tape the trees with clear tape on your windows.

I hope you will have as much fun with this art project as I plan on having with my grandchildren!

I have a fun beading free product that’s being downloaded a lot from my store on teacherpayteachers:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-Holiday-Candy-Canes-1007350

Thank you again! Mizz Mac

My whole store is on sale including Holiday products 20% off plus TPT's 10%! Mizz Mac

Easy Holiday Art and Crafts Projects

Are you ready yet for the holidays? Are the children excited? I just love the holiday crafts! I love creating new crafts and making them. I will be sharing some of my ideas that I have created here at my home with you and some that I created while teaching. If you miss any directions, most of these projects can be found in my store on www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams.

Today’s craft is quite simple and requires very few supplies. I will call it Mosaic Paper Candle Holder.

Supplies needed:

Tissue paper squares (I ordered mine from Oriental Trading)

Clear gel Elmer’s washable glue (I bought mine at Walmart)

Clear glass flower pot just right for a votive candle (I bought mine at Michaels)

1 paint brush (I used a flat soft watercolor brush)

1 container for glue ( I used a small clean mason jar)

Directions:

1. Cover your work area. I used a paper towel.

2. Pour some glue into the container. Add a bit with some water. Stir the water into the glue to thin the glue so it won’t tear the tissue paper.

3. Paint the glue on side of the glass flower pot. Paint a little larger than the tissue paper square.

4. Place a tissue paper square on the glue. Paint over the square with more glue.

5. Repeat steps #3 and #4 until you have covered the pot. I left some glass showing on mine and overlapped some squares to make additional colors.

6. When finished with the tissue paper, allow to dry.

7. Optional step- if there is any craft paint available, decorative lines and patterned shapes can be painted on the tissue paper to embellish the candle holder.

Now you can add an electric votive candle to the candle holder.

Another idea- I found a glass Christmas tree candy dish that I may get my grandchildren to decorate with the tissue paper this holiday! Hmmm! Mizz Mac

Mizz Mac’s Easy Holiday Art Projects can be found in her store at www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams.

Easy Thanksgiving Art project

Thanksgiving- a time to be with family and friends, watch parades, and football!!

What to do with the children while waiting to eat??

My suggestion is to give them cut up vegetables to print! If there is a teenager around who could help, that would be even more fun!

The supplies needed:

A variety of cut up vegetables and fruit

9”x12” construction paper (an easy find at dollar stores or Walmart or Kmart in the kids craft sections)

Crayola kids washable tempera paint and Crayola plastic smocks (I found mine at Kmart)

1 styrofoam  or paper plate for each color of paint (I used the smaller size)

1 sponge for each paper plate

Directions:

Cover the work area.

Place one sponge on each plate and cover with paint. Sponges should be soaked in paint to act like an ink pad.

Place one cut up fruit or vegetable on each plate.

Give the children a sheet of paper. Tell the children to stamp the fruit or vegetable on the sponge first and then on the paper. They can stamp the fruit or vegetable several times or once to make a pattern.

Have them take turns stamping with each color. The fruit or vegetables stamping can be overlapped and one on top of the other.

When dry the art work can be embellished with crayons by coloring in the blank spaces.

Have a great Thanksgiving with your family! Mizz Mac