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Wallpaper Necklace

Required: Wallpaper, toothpicks, water and string Find unwanted leftover wallpaper in various colors, designs and shapes.

Cut triangular strips about 3 inches long and bottom end of the triangle about one inch wide. Dip the strips one at a time in water and roll the pasted side in with the printed side out. You could also use a wet sponge instead of dipping the strips in water.

Roll one strip at a time starting with the wide end, using a toothpick leaving a small hole so you can put string through. Allow the wallpaper beads to dry about 24 hours and then string the beads on while creating a unique design or necklace pattern. Great school craft for a present for mom or just fun for kids to make at home.

Build a Scarecrow

Required: Clothes, straw, mounting boards, ball of twine, staple gun and/or stapler and several different colors of permanent markers

Have participants bring old clothes and accessories from home. Collect these items for a few weeks and make sure you end up getting old tee shirts for the head.

On a given day set up teams of 3-6 participants and instruct them that they will be building a team scarecrow. They are to select clothes to dress their scarecrow in, like pants, shirt, and use a white or light colored tee shirt for the head. They can put them in a dress but would still need pants under to hold in all the straw.

The players will stuff the clothes with straw and they need supplies to hold the scarecrow together. So make sure each group has a stapler and twine. They should make the face of the scarecrow with a light colored tee shirt, tie in a ball, so that they can draw a face on him with permanent marker. Have them add clothing accessories like a tie, hat, jewelry, purse, suspenders, or other items to personalize their scarecrow.

They can even come up with a name and that could be their team name for the day. Once they have completed the stuffing and securely tying the scarecrow together, mount the scarecrow on two boards that are in a cross formation. Give awards for various categories that you might come up with like The Best Dressed, Ugliest, Needs to gain weight, Wouldn’t Even Scare a flea or what seems best to you.

Make sure you have a camera for those memorable moments. You’ll find this to be a great idea for youth groups, harvest events, fall camp or retreats. Come up with games that the teams can play with their scarecrow.

Felt Apple Tree

Required: Red, brown, yellow and green felt, scissors, marker and bulletin board

Here’s a great idea for the fall season and for classroom management. Have someone create a 2 - 3 ft apple tree on a bulletin board or open wall in the classroom.

Make about 20-40 apples for the tree and baskets for when the apples are picked. All of this is made out of felt. The tree can be stapled or tacked but the apples should be movable. You can use regular little wicker baskets that are tacked to the bottom of the trees to collect the apples instead of felt baskets.

On the back of the apples you can award points for those that are allowed to pick the apples, if you use a point system of reward. When various students in the classroom are showing good behavior, proper working attitude or good judgment they will be allowed to walk up and pick an apple off the tree.

If you have the classroom labeled by tables and the whole table is showing good working skills, the whole table is awarded one apple to pick.

If you have some type of marked apples you could reward those that find the marked apples a real apple to eat, yummy and they’re good for you. At the end of the day replace the apples and start over the next day.

FTD Test (Following Teachers Directions)

Required: Premade test form

Here’s a test for your new classroom of students. It’s called the FTD Test (Following Teachers Directions), but don’t tell them what the letters stand for.

I remember this test from when I was in the 9th grade. One that really stuck in my head. It will make your students aware of how well they listen once they complete the test. The teacher hands out a paper with about 20 items or more to do.

They are turned over while they are handed out. Give the students specific instructions that when they turn their test over they are to write their name at the top of the paper, read through all the questions first before starting. If they follow your instructions they will take the test correctly, because the last item on the paper tells them to do only items let’s say #5 and #9.

When they are finished the instructions should tell them to turn over their paper and sit with their arms folded. The students that correctly take the test will be completed very soon. The others that do not listen will be busy following and completing every instruction.

Michael Angelo Week

Required: Tables, tape, markers, chalk or pastels, white paper and clean floor

Tape white paper under all of the tables in the classroom. Have students at each table pick out a theme that their artwork will represent. Each table will use chalk, markers, crayons or pastels to do their artwork under the table while lying on the floor. Tablemates may have to take turns lying under the table and others can assist by handing needed items.

Memory Hand Prints

Required: Laminator, poster paint, printed message and colorful construction paper

Here’s a holiday gift that preschoolers or lower grades can make for their parents. Print out the message below on white paper for each student using a decorative font. The message should be printed on 8 X 10 paper long ways in the center at the top of the paper.

You do this to allow for the placement of hand prints. Here’s the message that will be printed: Sometimes you get discouraged with me because I am so small and I always have my fingerprints on the furniture and walls. But every day I’m growing bigger and soon will be so tall, that all those little fingerprints for you will be so hard to recall.

So here’s a little handprint just so you can remember exactly how my hands looked on Christmas Day.... the 25th day of December Example Each student will put their name on the back of the printed paper. Students will one at a time place both hands in poster paint and then carefully place their hands onto the printed paper.

Instruct them to place, press and then pull away. Do not wiggle their hands and you should have adults assisting while they pull away for the paper. Allow hand prints to completely dry and once dried you could even have them sign their name at the bottom.

Mount them on a larger piece of colorful construction paper and then add name to back if name is not on the front. Once dried run through a laminator for the finished gift.

Neighborhood Doorway

Required: Neighborhood business ideas and paper

Here’s a great way for students to learn about their neighborhood and to become familiar with it. Have each teacher pick an area business and decorate the entryway of the classroom door to represent that business. Use those creative Mom’s willing to come in during the day to decorate the outside of the doorway.

Use different colors of construction paper to simulate the company logo or color theme. A great time to do this is around conferences so more adults will see the finished work. Our elementary school did this and we had in our halls our local Nursery, Car Dealership, Shopping Center, Ice Cream Shop, Apple Orchard, Health Center, Library, and Music shop.

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