Come along for the ride as I attempt to show young kids that you can make cute and crazy critters out of recycled junk.
Scroll waaaaaaaaaaaaay down to the bottom and READ UP!
Class 15 Final Class!!! Darth Vader, Vampires, and Tiny Penny Man!
I have taught my students well. Only one kid choose to make the Demonstration Dog. The rest created … I think best if I describe them individually.
- Purple Striped Owl with fork feet holding a rose
- Vampire with his bloody rib cage laying next to him
- From Boy Ranger — towering something?????
- Darth Vader’s mask
- Orange Owl watching TV while relaxing by the pool
- Little Bunny/Dog
- Bookish Caterpillar
- Little Bunny/Dogs on a farm with some food and a barbell nearby for lifting if they escape from their pen
- AND … TINY PENNY MAN!
At one point the kids were busy, drawing and putting things together when they all broke out in song (Best Song Ever, 1D). I was in a mild state of euphoria (was it the glue gun or the song?) and did not want the class to end.
I have learned that six and seven year olds are equal parts bewitching and beguiling, transforming toilet paper rolls and wine corks into something cute and clever is immensely satisfying, and if you need to patch a little hole in the wall, you can use Liquid Paper.
Class 15: Final Class!
Is it really the last class? Will I stop collecting lids, fishing cardboard out of the trash and saving toilet paper rolls?
For our final project, I thought I would make something for the kids to follow in addition to bringing my entire arsenal of materials.
Dalmatian Dog:
- Lids for the head
- Toilet paper roll for the body
- Bendy drinking straws for the legs
- Cork for the nose
Class 14 Results: The Chaos Effect
I was flying solo again for this class, so I preemptively talked to a few of my more rowdy gals before class to request that they be on their best behavior. The best behavior lasted about two seconds, and slowly devolved into a hot mess of frustrated and impatient kids. I had brought three little bottles of Liquid Paper for painting white spots, thinking it was an innocuous material. Have you ever had the great pleasure of cleaning dried Liquid Paper off the floor? It dries like cement, and the kids managed to spill the entire contents of not just one bottle, but two. Despite the mayhem, we did manage to squeak out some pretty cool butterflies. One girl had me glue two tiny eyes to an acorn, which I then glued to a thumbtack and to the bottom of the butterfly.” What’s that?,” I asked. “It’s his surveillance camera.” Oh yes, of course. I didn’t get much of a chance to photograph them, due to time- consuming task of scraping the spills off the floor (with a Zip disk case!).
Class 14: Butterfly
I was looking for something that would involve coloring, less gluing, AND use these Zip disk cases that I cleared out of my office. Does anyone remember Zip disks? You, of millennial age, I suspect not. Zips were like a fat 3 ¼ inch floppy disk – oh wait, you probably don’t know what that is either. We’ll just leave it at an antiquated computer storage device, like what your flash stick will be a couple of years. The cool thing about this butterfly is that it flaps its wings when you open and close the case.
- Zip disk case
- Cork for body
- Thumbtacks for feet
- Construction paper
- Pipe cleaners for antaneas
Class 13 Results: Studious and Samuari Kangaroos!
Aside from one girl throwing up (a first for me), it was a successful class! Baby kangaroos were tucked away in the pouches when they weren’t too busy reading tiny books! And Boy Ranger made his kangaroo one-eyed and outfitted with a sword and cape, or at least I THINK that’s what was going on.
Class 13: Kangarooooo!
I thought the kids might like something involving a baby, so I hopped on this.
- Juice box
- Brown paper bag to wrap the juice box
- Egg carton for the head
- Champagne cork for the baby (No, I did not drink 11 bottles of Champagne — they’re from wine store across the street)
- Thumbtacks for baby’s arms
- Toilet paper roll for the pouch
- Popsicle sticks
Class 12 Results: I want to hang out with these guys!
First: “I’m SLIGHTLY allergic to pollen,” stated one of the kids. Relevant or not, we were off to make some elephants. Perhaps the most joyful collection of creatures yet—rainbows, polka dots, a jet pack for high flying antics (see white elephant on the left), and a snail???
Class 12: Elephant
Is this Dumbo, or Babar? Whoever it is, or isn’t, I think it’s pretty cute.
- Squatty water bottle ( 8 oz.)
- Corks. Believe it or not, I have fully depleted our collection of corks and now have to get them from our local wine shop, who conveniently put all their corks in the window and are RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from our apartment : )
- Handle of a plastic milk jug container for the trunk
Class 11 Results: If a tree falls in the classroom and the kids are not paying attention, does it make a sound?
I wonder.
One girl complained that everyone was calling her “Princess” and she didn’t like that, so of course everyone called her Princess. Over and over and over throughout the tree making and the cutting out of teeny, tiny leaves. I did not bring the “demonstration tree” so they were on their own as to what it should look like. The monkeys were a little easier for the kids to make, although sticking a thumbtack through a rubber band proved to be a bit challenging to some. One girl made a monkey AND a squirrel, while another was in holiday mode and created …
Santa Monkey!
Class 11: Monkey and Tree
Nothing like hanging around, feeling groovy! I intended on using cardboard for the tree, but quickly realized that there’s no way my kiddos would be able to cut through stiff board.
- Construction paper - brown and green
- Cork (monkey body)
- Rubber bands for arms and legs, pinned to cork with thumbtack
- Pom pom (head)
- Pipe cleaner for tail
Class 10
Whoops! Have to miss this one! My other job calls me to The City of Brotherly Love (aka Philadelphia). See you next time!
Class 9 Results: Lions and lions and ? Oh my!
Big hugs from the kids and the requisite “What are we making today?” Then, “Maybe we’re making a toilet. With a giant head coming out covered in poo!”
If only. The lions were a big hit, and I’m not sure why I’m still surprised that the girls always make food dishes and toys for their critters. And houses. And carrying cases. Except for Boy Ranger– no food for his creature!
Class 9: Lions Redux
I’m back! Now with 11 orange juice lids and ready to roar!
Class 8 Results: Gobble Gobble!
Very impressive indeed!
Class 8: Turkey
I’ll be traveling to see family and will miss class, but my indispensable friend will run the show.
- Folded magazine pages
- Plastic bag stuffed with another plastic bag colored with Sharpies
- Bottle lid and cork for top hat
- Red rubber band for whatever that thing is called
- Forks, for the feet
Class 7 results: Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away (Or Not)
“Where is the demonstration ladybug?” cried the girls as they grabbed their materials. Demonstration Ladybug was the clear winner of the bugs and the kids wiped out my lid collection. Dozens of the little ladies were created while only one enterprising kid made all four creatures. My boy ranger made … ?????
We also got a Q-Tipped happy spider and a lollipop-eating bumblebee. Well done kids!
Update Class 7: Things that crawl or fly
Turns out we don’t go through as much Tropicana OJ as I thought, so the lion will have to wait! Since we didn’t have a chance to make the spider during our Halloween zombie class, let’s see what kind of bugs the kids come up with.
Mine included:
- Bumblebee - cork, acorns (picked up from the soccer fields), newspaper wings
- Spider - egg container, pipe cleaners
- Ladybug - milk lid, wine cap head, pipe cleaners
- Dragonfly - cork body, plastic spoon, toothpicks, bubble wrap, and a contact lens case
Class 7: Lion
Here’s what’s on deck for the next class.
- Orange juice lid. Some families are orange juice families, others are not. We can’t start the day without Tropicana, so I had plenty of these lovelies
- Fairway plastic bag. The orange part, for the mane
- Toothpicks
- Corks. Of course!
- Toilet paper roll. For the body