My “tiny baby girl”
…has started preschool. (gulp!)
After a NUTTY search process, unique to San Francisco, we have found a perfect place for both of us. It is a co-op school. And I will have the great good fortune of teaching one day a week.
I would like to share the projects that we do here, but with the understanding that there is an emphasis on the process more than the product itself. That idea is very hard for a crafty blogger to wrap her mind around. Having a blog like this, it is hard to “let go” and think about the process “only”. I normally think about the photos, producing a great project, and sharing my success or challenges along the way. Doing something with the little people requires one to be much more “in the moment” and renders the real time photo shoots nearly impossible. Glue, scissors, and little people moving quickly, low to the ground do not make for an ideal photo shoot setting. But I feel like there are many of you who also have little people around, and we are always looking for a good project to do with them, whether it is in a formal school setting or just at home.
My first day, I was set to make “dancing streamer sticks”.
The plan was to have the kids decorate crape paper streamers, and then attach them to the end of a chop stick.
I got the table all ready. And cut some lengths of crape paper.
Glue stick does not work. (it rips the paper) Markers work pretty well, but if there is a lot of marker in one space, the paper does not hold up. Paint does not work very well. We tried paint ‘dots’ and even those were quite wet.
The magic product is gel glue. It comes out in little dollups, it is not too wet. The kids can control it. And it sticks immediately.
Here is a layering in progress!
Here is some cutting
Lots and lots of cutting…
As we made our first Dancing Streamer Sticks, and took them on a test dance, they didn’t hold up. I used one stick, and wrapped the paper tightly around the small end, and then used colored masking tape to tape the paper. It pulled right off the end of the stick.
The revision was to use two sticks, and not pull them apart first.
Wedge the paper in between the two sticks. That was the trick! The kids could wave them around, and the paper stayed put.
This project was FUN. The kids had a good time and I could have spent all day trying different things with the paper. I had not worked with crape paper very much before, and it has some really neat characteristics. It is no wonder that there are a bajillion tutorials on flowers and other projects flooding the interwebs. (Like these on Pinterest)
Good times. Happy Crafting. And happy new school year to you all.
© 2005 – 2012 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
I totally understand the process vs product approach, and applaud you for doing this. I like to think this is the antithesis of the paint by number/follow my directions approach that is most often the case. Love the look of intense concentration of your young artist. That’s what it’s all about. And the tiny sweetness…aaaahhhh.
Jusa, thank you. It is hard to “let go” sometimes. We love our little artist. And she does love a little chop with the scissors. Stay tuned! The next project went really well!