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Pom poms

I saw a post on FB about making pompoms using a fork.  So I thought I would try it.  Usually I make pompoms using 2 circles of card with a hole cut out the middle, and it can be quite tricky for kids to get the knack of it.  It also takes a bit of time to get right around the whole circle.  I found the fork technique fantastic for making little pompoms, it was quick and simple and easy to tie them off. 

These pompoms are great for using up scraps and leftover bits of wool. 

You will need:
a fork
wool
scissors

 Wrap the wool around the fork.

 The more you wrap it, the bigger the pompom.

 Cut a piece of wool to tie it off with.  Poke through the middle rung of the fork and tie securely around the ball of wool.

 Slide off the fork.

 Snip through the loops of wool.

 The finished pom-pom.

A variety of pom-poms in different colours.  You can wrap two or more colours together at the same time, to create a multi-coloured pom-pom.

Paper Flowers

Yesterday, on one of my rare visits to the shops (I much prefer browsing second hand and charity shops than going to malls or large stores, but I wanted to get my nieces and nephew something for Easter), I found the We R Memory Keeper Flower Punch Board on special for $25 at The Warehouse, reduced from $40.  I find it hard to go past a craft bargain, and I love paper flowers, and anything that helps to make the process less fiddly and time consuming has got to be good.  So I bought it and took it home and I have been making paper flowers ever since!

I thought I would share how easy it is to make them using the punch.  As with all crafts, however, it does take time, so do make sure you have a bit of time to spend making them.

The punch comes with instructions, a paper creaser, and a tool for rolling around the petals, to create a curve.

The board states the measurements (both in inches and cm) for the different sizes of flowers.  Cut your paper into strips according to the size you want to make.  A paper cutter is helpful for this, otherwise use a craft knife, mat and ruler.  I cut several sheets of paper at a time, and used both 80gsm paper and 120gsm paper.

 Place your paper vertically and line up along the 'Start' line.  Push the punch down (this creates the petal shape) and use the paper creaser to crease the paper along the indented lines.  Move your paper down to line up your horizontal crease next to the line marked on the board (this will make more sense when you use it).  Push the punch down to create the next petal, and repeat until you have created 8 petals (the larger sizes use two strips of paper, so you will create 4 petals at a time). 

This is what it should like one you have completed one strip.  I do 3 strips at a time.  I think 4 strips might be a bit too much for the punch to cope with easily, but 1-3 strips works well. 

Once you have completed a strip, accordion fold along the creased lines (fold back and forth along the lines).  Again, I did this 3 strips at a time.

 Continue folding back and forth until you have completed the strip.  It will start to form a circle.

 The folded strips of paper.  You can see that one side has the pleats showing - this will be the back of the flower.

 Put a dab of glue on the end tab and stick down on the last petal.  .

The completed flower.

A variety of flowers, in different sizes and colours.

 Layer the flowers on one another. I have made a variety - some are 3 layers, some are 4 layers, and some are 2 layers.  I layered a large flower with an extra small flower.

 When you are happy with the arrangement, put a dab of glue in the middle of each flower and press the next layer into it.  I found it easiest to go from the bottom up. 

 You can cut off a petal (or 2 or 3) to make the flowers more 3D.  These flowers above have 7 petals instead of 8.

 Cut out a small circle (doesn't have to be a perfect circle) to stick in the middle.

 I cut out a larger circle to cover the backs of the flowers.

 Snip into the middle of the circle (especially when covering flowers with 7 petals or less) to give a neater finish.

 Put glue onto the circle and stick down, covering the folded pleats.

 The backs of the flowers.

You don't have to layer the flowers.  I created daisies by using the extra small size, and placing a circle of yellow in the middle.  I used metallic paper for these daisies.

You could use pages from old books to create a vintage or shabby chic look.  Experiment with printed paper, coloured paper, different weights, etc.

I haven't made stems or leaves yet.  The instructions detail how to create leaves using the punch.

Some ideas for using paper flowers: 

birthday decorations

party decorations

card making

attach a flower onto a present

string flowers together to create bunting

make posies

baby shower decorations

table decorations

Mothers Day

decorating Easter bonnets

Spring crafts

string up and attach to a coat hanger or a stick, to create a mobile.

Felt Story Boards

 The story of Ranginui and Papatuanuku.  I created this in felt, to help tell the Maori creation story. Details were drawn on felt using fine black Sharpie pens.  Do not use a Superfine nib - it catches on the felt.  Acrylic felt is best to use - aside from being half the price of wool felt, I find that wool felt is more likely to pull and become fluffy.

 The brothers trying to push Ranginui and Papatuanuku apart... Tangaroa (God of the Sea); Rongomatane (God of cultivated food); Tumatauenga (God of War) and Tawhiri Matea (God of wind).

 Tane Mahuta lay on his back and pushed Ranginui up into the sky.

 The brothers turned Papatuanuku over so she couldn't look up at Ranginui; Ranginui's tears formed the rivers and lakes and oceans; Tawhiri Matea went to live with his father in the sky; Ruaumoko stayed in his mothers womb.

 Felt train with numbered carriages; ideal for putting in numerical order, number identification, fill the carriages with the corresponding number of items, etc. Felt numbers glued onto felt cut-outs of carriages.

 The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I used fabric paints and fabric markers to paint the details on the food.  The leaf, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly are all needle-felted.

The story of The Little Red Hen.  Details applied using fabric paint, fabric markers, and a fine Sharpie pen.


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Easter ideas and activities for young children

 I have been busy creating Easter themed resources to help promote numeracy and other skills.  The chicks were simple to create, using a basic template.  I have discovered a really easy way to create templates and stencils:  get a clear plastic sheet - I use acetate, but you could use a sealed clear laminating sheet; bring up a picture that you want on an ipad or tablet (or you might find a picture in a child's colouring book); place the plastic on top, and trace it with a permanent fine-tip marker pen.

 These chicks were cut out of craft foam using a template.  I got 20 chicks out of one A4 sheet.  I numbered ten chicks from 1-10, and left the other ten blank.  Craft foam is really easy to use, to draw on, to cut, and doesn't rip or tear so is durable with young children.  You could use the chicks for singing "5 Little Ducks" or convert that song to "5 Little Chicks". You could play games by throwing a dice and giving your chick that many eggs.
The numbered chicks can be used for ordering and sequencing; a fun game is where you take away one chick and the child has to figure out which number is missing. Also once the chicks are put into numerical order, give each chick the corresponding number of eggs.

I created a little egg template and drew around it to create lots of mini paper eggs - I used strips of card to make the eggs.

Easter Egg hunt.  We will be having an easter egg hunt this year.  I find that when you hunt for chocolate eggs, some children find lots of eggs and others get disappointed because they haven't found many.  The way I deal with this is by not hiding chocolate eggs - we hide paper easter eggs that the children have coloured in (which develops pencil control and skill; and colouring in easter eggs can help to motivate even the most reluctant artist). We usually spend a week making paper Easter eggs, ready for the Easter egg hunt.  This means we can hide lots and lots of eggs,  and the children then trade their paper eggs for a chocolate egg.  I use a simple cardboard template that I made a number of years ago now, and still use every year, and draw around it in black marker pen.  I draw some patterns in on some eggs,and the rest I leave blank for children to create their own designs.  The children colour them in and cut them out.

Pompoms

These pom-poms were really simple and fun to make and just used the bits and scraps of wool that I had.  Add a little orange felt triangle and two googly eyes to a yellow or orange pom-pom and you have a little chick.  Add two green felt feet and two googly eyes to a green pompom, and you have a frog.  Or just have a little basket full of bright colourful pom-poms and children can pretend they are Easter Eggs.  I will do a separate blog-post detailing how to make the pom-poms. 

 The Easter Bunny

These bunnies were created with a simple template that I made, and traced around it onto white craft foam.  I got 10 Easter bunnies out of 1 x A4 white foam sheet.  I filled in the details of the face and ears with felt tip pens and a black fine tip Sharpie.

You can use these bunnies for counting songs, stories, small world play and whatever else you or the children can think of.

Carrots for the Easter Bunny

These carrots are for feeding the Easter Bunny.  They are made out of craft foam. I drew one carrot, cut it out and traced around it to create the rest of the carrots.  I coloured in the tops of the carrots using a green sharpie, and drew the details in using a pencil.

 Easter Eggs - Number Matching

This is a simple numeracy activity that involves matching the number of dots to the the correct numeral.  These eggs were made out of craft foam, using a cardboard egg template. Once I had cut out the eggs, I used a Sharpie pen to write the numbers and do the dots, and then I cut the eggs in half. 

Cutting and Paper Folding
The children at school love cutting - cutting up paper, cutting up magazines, cutting out pictures.. if it is able to be cut, they want to cut it.  I have recently started showing children how to fold paper to cut, to create designs etc.  This is a really simple activity that teaches children about symmetry, as well as developing cutting skills, as it requires cutting around curves, which is a tricky skill for children.
Simply fold a piece of paper (it doesn't have to be in half), and on one side, draw half a rabbit. Cut out. Draw on eyes, nose, and mouth.

 

You could do the same for Easter Eggs, butterflies - anything that is symmetrical.

Easter Bunnies

 These bunnies are for small world play.  I am still figuring out the design (I'm just making it up as I go and adjust it slightly for each one). On the back of the rabbits is a little pom-pom for a tail.

Some Rabbit songs you could sing with the children...

Mrs Bunny
Mrs Bunny looks funny when she wriggles her nose
Mrs Bunny looks funny when she wriggles her toes
Two floppy ears and two big feet
I love Mrs Bunny 'cos she's so neat.

Mrs Bunny stretches
Mrs Bunny flops
Mrs Bunny hops and hops and hops and
Mrs Bunny hops and stops!


Oma Rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma
Oma rapeti
Oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma

Pako! Pako! Pako!
Goes the farmers gun
Oma rapeti, oma rapeti
Oma, oma, oma.

Run, rabbit
Run, rabbit,
Run, run, run,
Run, rabbit
Run, rabbit
Run, run, run.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Goes the farmers gun
Run, rabbit, run, rabbit,
Run, run, run.


Sleeping Bunnies
(Tune: First verse - Baa baa black sheep)
Look at all the bunnies sleeping
till its nearly noon
shall we wake them
with a merry tune.

Why so still?
Are they ill?
Up little bunnies, up, up, up!
Jump little bunnies, jump, jump, jump!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Stop little bunnies, stop, stop, stop!

 Mister Rabbit
I love this little ditty about Mister Rabbit! So cute and a fun message.
Mister Rabbit - Youtube


5 Little Chicks
5 little chicks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother hen called, "Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck"
But only 4 little chicks came back.

(continue until no little chicks came back etc etc)

Ten Little Bunny Rabbits
(Tune: Ten Little Indians)
1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunny rabbits
4 little, 5 little,, 6 little bunny rabbits
7 little, ,8 little, 9 little bunny rabbits
10 little bunny rabbits.

10 little, 9 little, 8 little bunny rabbits
7 little, 6 little, 5 little bunny rabbits
4 little, 3 little, 2 little bunny rabbits
1 little bunny rabbit!


Click on the link for more of my teaching resources