Photography

This project was an absolute awesome way to teach children about photography. Cyanotypes are a good way to teach students how silver photography works. The best part about this art project is that it is fun and super simple!

Materials:
- Cyanotype photography kit
- Paper
- Overhead transperencies
- Leaves/sticks/flowers/bugs
- Water
- Black card stock paper

Procedure:


1. It would be best to pre-mix the chemicals for the cyanotypes. This is really easy if you just buy a kit with all of the ingredients.

2. Paint this chemical onto sheets of thick paper, and put in a black bag (the sun develops it). The chemical should look bright yellow (green means it's developed).

3. Have students go find different items in nature.

4. When they get back, MAKE SURE THE LIGHTS ARE OFF and the blinds are shut in order to ensure the photograph won't develop prematurely.

5. Place the items on your white paper, and cover with a black card sheet to hold the objects in place and to protect it from the sun. As soon as the white paper sees any light, it will start developing.

6. Once in the sun, put your project on a flat surface and remove the black card stock for about 45 seconds. Then, place the black card stock back on top and carry inside.

7. Once inside, you can remove the black card stock and all of the objects placed on top. Rinse it under cold water until all of the yellow tint is removed from the paper.

8. Dry with a paper towel, and you have your finished product!

You can also print a picture on an overhead transparency in negative, and follow the same steps!

Tie Dye

This is another fun project to do with kids. Almost everyone knows/sees tie dye in designs and clothing regularly. This would be a fun project for a history based unit about the 60's and 70's, or even the history and purpose behind tie dye.

Materials:
- Tye Dye kit
- 100% Cotton shirts
- Grocery sacks/garbage bags
- Rubber bands
- Wooden chopsticks
- Pie tins

Procedure:
1. Pre-mix the kit before class.

2. Lay the cotton shirt flat on a hard surface. Put the chopsticks vertically in the middle of the shirt, and begin to twist the chopsticks (so the shirt starts spiraling).

3. Remove chopsticks and place rubber bands along the outside to hold the shirt in this shape.

4. Place the shirt in a pie tin, and begin with the darkest color (of dye) following a spiral around from the center outwards. Flip the shirt over and apply to the other side as well

5. Add colors as desired, but don't drench too much. If the dye starts leaking out the bottom of the shirt in the pie tin, you are adding too much color.

6. Once completed, put in a small garbage bag or grocery sack.


7. Let the dye sit in the shirt for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove the rubber bands and wash on a cold cycle.

Henna

This was the best project that I did throughout the entire course. It was so interesting to see the process that the henna goes through, and would be extremely fun to incorporate into class. One of the reasons that I like this project so much is because it can easily be used to help teach another subject. Ideally, it would be great to use to show a physical artifact from a different culture. It would be useful for students to learn the purpose behind wearing it, what it is used for, etc. There are unlimited options to use henna in the classroom, and it's super fun! Because henna colors everything it touches, it would probably be smartest to use with older children, and not preschool children with lack of fine motor skills ;)

Materials:
- Henna kit
- Plastic bags/cellophane squares
- Tape
- Henna designs
- Paper
- Pencils
- Lemon juice
- Cotton balls
- Scissors

Procedure:
1. The best way to do henna is probably to mix it before class (like the night before, and store it in your refrigerator covered). That way, it won't take up too much class time.

2. Let the children either find traditional henna art to copy, or create a design of their own. Make sure you explain that henna colors whatever it touches and that it's important to be careful.

3. After practicing drawing, help the students to role the cellophane squares into a cone shape and tape it. You can also use a plastic baggie. You want the hole at the bottom (where the henna comes out) to be as small as possible!

4. Put a small scoop of henna into each bag. Fold over the top of the cellophane, so it's not left open, and tape that shut too.

5. If the hole at the bottom is too small (nothing is coming out when lightly squeezed), cut the bottom of the cone off (just a TINY bit).

6. Slowly squeeze the henna onto your skin to create the designs. Henna works best on your feet or hands.

7. Let the henna dry for 24 hours, applying some lemon juice with a cotton ball periodically.

8. Then henna will probably fall off naturally, or you can peel it after 1-2 days if you want. The remaining design looks great!

Diorama

This is a cute art project to use at the beginning of the year when you are trying to get to know your students. You can easily adapt this to fit other subject criteria, but the purpose of this particular project was to get to know the students on an individual level.

Materials:
- Box
- Paper
- Crayons/markers/colored pencils
- Glue
- Stickers
- Scissors

Procedure:
1. Help the students require all of the materials needed. Make sure you encourage them to bring their own box the day before the art project will be done in class.

2. Have the students draw themselves, and their own families. You should help children brainstorm by getting them to identify their own features, identify features of their families, choose extracurricular activities that they like to do.
    a. It might be a good idea to form a questionnaire for young children to fill out. Once they get their ideas down on paper, it might be easier for them to organize what they are going to do.

3. Have the students draw 1 picture of themselves, their family, and choose something they like to do.

4. Once students have completed all of their drawings, help them cut them out.

5. Fold over the bottom edge to create a tab to glue their items inside of the diorama. Students can decorate with stickers, or other decorative material if they desire.

6. After completing the work, invite students to share 3 things they have displayed through their work in front of the class as a whole, or in small group instruction.

Finger Weaving

This was probably one of my favorite activities that we did the entire course. I would recommend to teach it in grades 4+, however simpler finger weaving can be found and taught for the lower grades if you so desire.

Materials:
Old shirt
Scissors
Fingers!

Process:
1. Have the students bring one of their old shirts to school. It is preferred to have fabric that is cotton, or cotton-poly, so it can stretch and won't irritate the student's fingers.

2. Cut off all the seams of the shirt. Cut off the sleeves, collar, hem, and seams down the side, so you are just left with the plain fabric with no stitching.

3. Cut 1/2 inch strips long ways through the fabric. The longer you can keep the strips, the better.

4. Stretch out each strip by pulling on each end. You want the fabric to stretch, but not like spandex, and have it retract afterwards (like a rubber band).

5. On one side of one of the strips, fold over 1/2 inch. Make a small slit. Unfold the small folded piece to see that you have made a small hole. Do this with a second strip and overlap the two holes on top of each other.

6. Take the bottom right end (the side without the slit in it), and weave it through the hole, creating a small knot.

7. Repeat this process to connect 4 pieces of fabric. Pull tightly to ensure all knots won't come undone.

8. Now it's time for the finger weaving! Leave a small (5 inch) tail that won't be tied into anything. Weave the rest of your long rope in between your fingers like this.

9. Weave the fabric back the other way like this.

10. Take the straight strand that is going across the top of the palm of my hand (from my pinky to my thumb), and put it at the top of the other strands, towards the middle of your fingers.

11. Start with your pointer finger, and weave your pointer finger below the top straight strand, and take the loop off your pointer finger underneath. Do this will all of your fingers, and repeat.

12. After weaving, it will begin to look bunched. Stretch it out by  pulling so it looks like this.

13. Tie off the top, and you have created a 4-finger weave!

 For a video on Finger Weaving, go here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMVpVybrUE









10.

Print Making

This was a really cool activity that requires a little bit more time, but is extremely unique in the way that it is completed.

Materials:
Tempera paint
Blank overhead transperencies
Flat rollers
"Printing press"
Thicker paper

Process:
1. You will first create your own color by mixing whatever you would like together.

2. Cut the blank overhead transparencies in 1/2 hamburger style, so it's easier to manage and takes less time to dry.

3. Paint your color on a blank transparency so it is solid all the way across with the flat roller. Use the same rolling techniques as you would when rolling paint onto a wall.

4. Let your new color dry. To speed up this process, you can use a blow dryer.

5. After the paint is dry, cut different shapes out of the paint sheet that you have created. You can dry 2-3 different sheets of color at the same time so you can make a scenic picture if you would like. You can also scratch designs with a toothpick or needle on top of the dried paint to create different patterned effects.

6. Place the different shapes of paint on your paper and arrange them how you would like. You want the paint side DOWN, facing the paper, with the transparency side up.

7. Put the paper on the "printing press" and lay the layers of thick felt on top. Slowly crank the felt and picture all the way through the press.

8. Take it out, remove the pieces of colored transparency, and enjoy your masterpiece! You can even reuse the colored cut pieces if you would like.

Ceramics

Although I did an introductory course in ceramics in high school, I would have never thought to teach to to elementary age students. But to my surprise, after learning a few of the most simplest techniques, it would be a great hands on activity for the students to practice sculpting and molding.

Teach students about the different types of clay that can be used, and some of the terminology. For example, "bone dry" is when the clay is bone dry and brittle. "Green" means the clay is still wet and mold-able. All clay can be molded/sculpted until it has been "fired"- being put in the kiln and essentially, baked. Once clay has been fired, it can't be molded anymore, but it can be "glazed"- a paint like substance painted over top to create a glaze. Glazes come in all sorts of different colors, and different glazes can be used for different affects.

The easiest explanation about the different glazes and processes I found is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_glaze

Materials:
- Clay
- Glaze
- Kiln
- Sponges
- Water
- Basic ceramic tools

Process:
1. To start my pinch put, I used about a handful of clay and began molding it.
     a. This might also be a good time to teach some of those techniques and terminology that I mentioned earlier. For example, show how to knead clay (just like kneading bread), and "throw" it.
                i. Throw: Throw the clay on a hard, flat surface at an angle. It should slowly turn into a "slab", a    long flat piece of clay.


2. Roll the clay into a ball and create a hole in the center with your finger.

3. Slowly pinch with one finger inside the center hole, and another finger on the outside of the ball, in a circular motion around the circumference of the circle.


4. Keep pinching until you have about 1/4 inch thickness around all sides of the pot.

5. You can shape it into different shapes, for example, I shaped mine into a heart.

6. These are examples of some of the other projects that were done.
      a. The mugs were long slabs that were brought together with "slip"- really soft clay mixed with water. It's like glue in ceramics.

7. After firing once, I glazed mine, and it looked like this. You can't glaze on the bottom of the piece, wherever it will touch the kiln or else it will fuze together.

8. After it was fired the second time, the finished product looked like this!

This project took a couple of days, but the end results last forever and would be really fun to make as a class.