Lighthouse Sculpture

We used white earth clay to make these tiny little replica lighthouse scenes in the fourth grade.

They were painted using acrylic paints and a touch of water to get the paint to flow into the carved areas.

They were made sometime after we had done our sailboat monoprints and the light house collages with the turbulent oceans.

The bases were formed in a plastic lid that was about 5 inches across. and then the other details were formed and attached to the base with the slip.  Texture was carved into the water.  Finally a rocky cliff or shoreline could be added along the divide where the water met the shoreline.

Here is a sampling of the lighthouse collages that came before we made the little sculptures.

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Wordless Wednesday

Winter Fun Day

Our school had a day of winter fun at a new place this year.    We finally got some snow to cover the ground and it was way above freezing for just this day!  How Perfect!

The volunteer workers were there to help the kids have the best experience at every station.  In groups of about 25, the kids were able to try out ice skating, cross country skiing, snow tubing, and broom ball.  Our extra activities were building snowmen, making pinecone bird feeders, and identifying animal tracks.  They even provided a delicious lunch of chicken strips and mac n' cheese. 

Skiing over the creek!

Grade 6 students step into the bindings

5th Graders wait to take off on the trail


A video of the game that one group of 5th grade played.

mouth guards were made on site

The volunteer ran the game and was coaching the kids on fair play and fun.  At the same time he had a watchful eye so that there was very little high sticking going on during the game.

Third Grade Teachers ran the station to make bird feeders.

advice was given on how to build a snowman

Choosing just the right accessories!

Living Waters Bible Camp was a great experience for our entire school.

Crayola Crayon Maker

One of my students gave me this fun toy for a Christmas gift.  I also gave one to my nine year old niece.  She loved it as much as me.  The first day it was open we made about a dozen little crayon.  She let me keep ALL the pour off stubs for my classroom.  I figure they'll be great for texture rubbings.

It does take a small tapered, clear bulb in order to make it work.  It wasn't included in the original package, but the family that gave me mine knew to purchase those separately.  I was able to give my niece one and a spare for her machine. 
I suppose that if a person didn't know pick up the bulbs and then the child got this as a gift, they might be in for a disappointment if they wanted to use it right away and all the stores were closed.

Left edge: cute new crayons       Bottom Edge:  Crayon Bonus Stubs!

Here we were testing out some of the color combinations.  This was great fun.  I loved the stubs as much or maybe even more than the perfectly formed crayons with the tips. 


Great Color Variety!

My advice would be to not overload the metal hoppers that you use to pour the melted wax.  You may also want to chose analogous colors for most desirable color combinations. 

The boys love the mechanics of the melting and were the first to set it up and use it right away.  They must have escaped a photo opportunity, because I see that this photo showed only a group of girls.  I would say the both boys and girls liked doing the activity. 

 We think some of the crayons will be great for seasonal landscapes.  We were able to make great nature colors and one of our mixtures looks like a perfect autumn tree color.  It was mixed with lots of orange, a swirl of green, and a hint of yellow. 

My fifth grade class loves the new Crayon Maker!

Sewing Lessons

One of the fifth graders became interested in a couple of quilty things I had in my upstairs classroom.  She was more and more curious about some of my table runners.  She wondered if she could come after school and learn to do some piecing and quilting.  She ended up coming for a total of 6 sessions and by then she had a cute little mug rug that she wrapped up for her mom as a surprise Christmas gift.  I bet she will be back for more lessons.  I think she said she wants to make a pillow next!

Ornaments From Seashells

This is the start of some clever angel ornaments.  I found the idea while browsing the web looking for entries to my Pinterest account. 

We will be making these sweet ornaments next week as a reward activity.  The students that signed up have used 5 reward coupons to be able to do this craft.

I have to add a few trims and hanging cords to my samples, but they are almost finished.