And here it begins. 

11 six and seven year olds. 15 Classes. Arts and Crafts. Making things with recycled stuff. 

On the heels of a successful morning class that I led last spring, “Mini Mod Dollhouse,” the school asked if I would be interested in leading an after-school arts and crafts course. Sure! I said. I had a great experience making groovy dollhouses and furniture with 4th and 5th graders. We used a bunch of recycled materials and made some really spectacular stuff. Check it out at makeitminimod.wordpress.com. I was psyched to replicate the experience. 

It was only after I committed and was checking the schedule that I noticed the fine print – K-2nd grade. Oy. That’s young! Too young to handle my most critical tool: the glue gun. How was this going to work? And I had also promised using recycled materials again. Can a 6 year old cut cardboard?

After a quick pivot from dollhouses to animals, several consultations with my mom (former art teacher) and days of experimenting and trial runs—I was ready. Or not.

Class 1: Peacock 

• CDs. My office is moving downtown and we are charged with purging, so old archive disks looked shiny and fun
• Wine corks. I’ve got plenty! Pre sliced in half for the feet
• Construction paper
• Plastic bag stuffed in a plastic bag for the body
  
• Paper, paint, straws and of course, GOOGLE EYES!