Monster Mediums: Yarn

A couple more monsters... 

This is Hannah and she is a Veterinarian.  She has always loved animals and now as an adult, she get's to work with them all day long. She will come to visit animals on the farm and at the circus.  She has a business where people bring their animals to her as well. She has some pets at home too, two cats and a dog named Nipper (don't get to close to him, he nips) and a bird named Petey.  Hannah also has a large vegetable garden in the backyard where she grows tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and sweet corn.  She also grows some beautiful flowers, just because she loves to stop in smell them right away in the morning.  

Can you guess what medium Hannah is?

This is how Hannah was made...

I cut a foam ball in half and cover it with glue.  I wrapped the yarn around and around the ball.  I did the same thing for Hannah's face.  I placed a knot at the end of the yarn and glued it down.  I then wrapped the yarn around and around using glue to keep it in place.

I tried to use a lot of different textures for the yarn.  It makes you want to look at it really close.  I love fibers for this reason.

 I wrapped cardboard for the teeth and placed them and the mouth on with glue as well.

Finally, I cut long stands and placed them on the board and gave it a little braid.  She is upside down because Hannah's a little silly. If you look really close at the bottom of this picture below you will see some preplanning for my monsters.  Even Mrs. Hahn has to pre plan her projects!

FREE Digital Station- Yarn Braiding

I have been sharing about some of my self-paced lessons recently and I want to give you a clear picture of how I use this method of teaching in my classroom.  I posted about a one-point perspective unit that I did with my older elementary, but this one is for the littles.  I have used QR codes and self-paced learning with all grade levels and find it highly motivating and obtainable for all students.

 

I created a video explaining how to create a braid using yarn.  This video is geared to our early learners, using kid-friendly words. I created a QR code to guide my students to the flipped (recorded) lesson.  

This QR code is placed on the inside of a file folder and a supply list on the outside of the folder as you see in the images above.  The file folder is then laminated for durability.  After the lamination is completed, I use clear packaging tape to create a pocket with clear plastic such as a transparency paper. I placed a project sample in the pocket so students can touch and examine a final product. 

I provide one device per station (click here).  In my classroom, I provide all of the supplies students will need in a tub including the file folder for scanning.  Students get an iPad, scan the QR code and get to work.  We have practiced working as a team while learning, pausing the video, and helping one another once we have become 'an expert'. This cuts down on arguments. The more practice the students do, the more successful they are at learning this way. 

This is perfect for giving students choice and allowing them to learn on their own.  Teachers become the facilitator rather than the instructor in a classroom run with stations. This is a good solution for large group learning or even homeschool students. I want EVERYONE to give it a try in your classroom so I'm giving this lesson away for free on TpT (click here).  I will continuously be adding more digital stations onto TpT so you can add to your collection.

Click Here for your Free Lesson

Digital Station- Fiber Web

I'm continuing with my digital lessons, so far I'm really concentrating on fibers. I just think this is a medium that can be so overwhelming for teachers to maintain, however, is so engaging for young students. I also feel that many art teachers have these supplies in their classroom storage, and just need some reason to get them out and offer them to your students.

This will be my fiber lesson posted and with the last one, on Button Sewing, I got this message on Facebook from Ms. Compas.

So here we go, more to the series... This lesson I'm calling a 'Fiber Web'.  Most of us know this project as Ojo de Dios or God's Eye.  The best part about this lesson is that it has two learning levels.  There are two videos included in this lesson, one is for students just starting out and the second is for students who have already practiced level one with this skill.  This creates differentiation in your classroom and gives students multiple ways to use the same process.

Let's say you already do Gods Eyes in your classroom, here is a tip in the video that has saved me a lot of head ache that you might want to implement in your lesson.  I explain that you can use any kind of straight objects such as popsicle sticks, natural sticks, sturdy straws.  I also mention that there are many ways to get your Fiber Web started.  One way is to cross the two sticks and just start working.  This creates a lot of frustration for the students because the sticks are hard to hold together for these young artist hands. Another way is to pre-glue the sticks with hot glue for your students.  This works really good but with all my lessons, I try to create the most independence I can for my students.  This is the best chance you have to allow students the opportunity to create using these skills outside of class. So this has been my winning solution... baby rubber bands.  I have a bunch of these left over from when my daughter was little.  You can also use rainbow loom bands.  Simply cross your sticks in a 't' as shown below.  Place the rubber band on one stick and then over the opposite end. It works like a dream!  It holds the sticks together long enough for the students to start the fiber 'looping' or 'weaving'. 

As I have offered in the Braid Station and Button Station, this Fiber Web Digital Station comes with a QR code leading students to a 'how to' video.  In this lesson, however, there is a bonus lesson. Two QR codes to two lessons to create leveled learning. There is also a URL for both if the scanning is not successful or possible, a material list and several suggestions of how to set this up for your classroom.  In this lesson, I also have pictures of a finished product for each of the lessons. 

I ran this digital station last year and found it to be VERY successful! Students were very motivated by this lesson.  They loved making the Fiber Webs and it was reported that several of them created webs outside of class as well, that's when you know you have a winning lesson. 

Share with me your students take on this lesson if you implement it into your classroom. I know your students will love it!