Ten days.
Ten short days, people.
It took just 10 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes and 50 seconds before my daughter uttered these three words: “I hate school.”
So, yeah, the novelty of the new academic year has already worn off and now we’re back to dealing with bullies and bad attitudes.
Thank goodness for art.
It’s been a saving grace in more ways than one. Fortunately, my daughter loves art class, so I use it as incentive to get her out of bed and off to school with at least 1/10th of a smile on her face. In addition, this year, my daughter’s art teacher is offering kids the opportunity to learn advanced crafts (well, advanced for kindergarten through third grade) during lunch recess. Given that my daughter’s bully is not a big art fan, these lunchtime tutorials have been a haven of peace for my child. What’s more, since these lunch lessons are not part of the regular school curriculum, parents are responsible for providing supplies. However, the teacher is uber-sensitive about the current financial stress most families are challenged with, so she has been recycling used supplies.
The following project is one of my favorites and is an excellent way to recycle old crayons:
Materials:
Old crayons with the paper wrappers removed
Crayon or pencil sharpener
Wax Paper
Scissors
Yarn or ribbon
Hole Punch
Iron
Construction paper
Pencil
Directions:
Start by having kids draw a simple shape on the construction paper, such as a heart, diamond or star.
Trace the heart, diamond or other shape on the wax paper two times.
Cut-out the shapes.
Place one of the shapes with the wax side up on a flat surface.
Using the sharpener, have kids shave crayon pieces on top of the wax paper shape. They should shave enough to cover the entire shape. Also, limit the number of different crayons used to about three, otherwise the shades run together to make an unattractive color.
When you have covered the wax paper shape with crayon shavings, carefully place the second wax paper shape on top, being sure to have the edges line up as nicely as possible.
Next, place a sheet newspaper underneath and on top of the wax paper shape and have an adult iron it on low for about 5 seconds. You may need a little more or less time depending on the amount of shavings you used. Be sure to check the shape while you are ironing to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Allow the shape to cool for a few minutes before punching a hole at the top and running yarn through it.
Finally, hang your mini masterpiece in the window and watch what happens as the sunlight streams through it.
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