With Halloween just around the corner, there are plenty of projects around the house to keep creative children occupied. Art teacher Jessica Rice, who teaches at Herman Avenue Elementary School as well as at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, suggests using household items rather than kits to decorate.
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On the cover: A family stuffs a scarecrow for Halloween.
On the cover: A family stuffs a scarecrow for Halloween.
She also recommends that children and parents plan out the project on paper before getting started so that they get an idea of what they will be making. For her, the planning period is an important way to teach children to problem solve.
“Our future jobs are all about problem solving,” Rice said. “We problem solve how to plan out a project, we brainstorm, then we practice it. So, those life skills of problem solving and planning carry all the way through to future careers.”
Some of the easier decorations include making Frankenstein out of a soup can, creating a bat out of a milk carton and making a giant spider.
To make Frankenstein, all that is needed is a soup can, acrylic paint, a hot glue gun, some yarn and a push pin with tacks, Rice said. Take the acrylic paint and paint the entire can green. Then, keep adding other colors until you have the face that you want. After that, take the push pin with tacks and add bolts to Frankenstein. Finally, use the glue gun to glue the yarn on as hair.
To make a bat out of a milk or juice container, Rice suggests cutting holes for eyes or painting them on and then painting the container. Children can even make a pumpkin using the same materials. To get an even bigger effect, Rice recommends putting Christmas lights into the container so it glows.
“Using recycled things is the way to go,” she said.
To make a large spider, take an old sheet and stuff it with leaves or hay. Then take old pant legs and stuff them too.
Rice also uses old CDs to draw decorations and create a mobile. Children can draw stars, moons, bats or witches. Once they are finished, put them on a metal hanger and hang it outside.
For more complicated decorations, parents and children can carve a pumpkin or make a stuffed scarecrow.
To make the pumpkin, children and parents will need a pencil, paper, a permanent marker, a spoon, a candle or Christmas lights and a knife. As always, Rice recommends that children and parents plan out how they want their pumpkin to look.
Examine the pumpkin to see what shape it is, Rice said. If it's more round, it could have puffy cheeks. If it is a long pumpkin, it could have a Frankenstein face, she said.
Once the sketch is finished, use the marker to draw it on the pumpkin, shading in the parts that will be cut out, Rice said. After that, cut the top off. Use the spoon to take out the insides. Then use the knife to cut out the shaded parts. Once the tough parts of the skin are removed, the rest of the pumpkin is pliable, she said.
“If you want to get different variations of color, remove more of the (pumpkin) skin,” Rice said. “The more you take off, the brighter it will get.”
No matter what project children choose to make, safety is the most important thing.
“I would just stress safety, safety, safety,” Rice said.
Gitana Mirochnik
253-5311 ext. 237
gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
“Our future jobs are all about problem solving,” Rice said. “We problem solve how to plan out a project, we brainstorm, then we practice it. So, those life skills of problem solving and planning carry all the way through to future careers.”
Some of the easier decorations include making Frankenstein out of a soup can, creating a bat out of a milk carton and making a giant spider.
To make Frankenstein, all that is needed is a soup can, acrylic paint, a hot glue gun, some yarn and a push pin with tacks, Rice said. Take the acrylic paint and paint the entire can green. Then, keep adding other colors until you have the face that you want. After that, take the push pin with tacks and add bolts to Frankenstein. Finally, use the glue gun to glue the yarn on as hair.
To make a bat out of a milk or juice container, Rice suggests cutting holes for eyes or painting them on and then painting the container. Children can even make a pumpkin using the same materials. To get an even bigger effect, Rice recommends putting Christmas lights into the container so it glows.
“Using recycled things is the way to go,” she said.
To make a large spider, take an old sheet and stuff it with leaves or hay. Then take old pant legs and stuff them too.
Rice also uses old CDs to draw decorations and create a mobile. Children can draw stars, moons, bats or witches. Once they are finished, put them on a metal hanger and hang it outside.
For more complicated decorations, parents and children can carve a pumpkin or make a stuffed scarecrow.
To make the pumpkin, children and parents will need a pencil, paper, a permanent marker, a spoon, a candle or Christmas lights and a knife. As always, Rice recommends that children and parents plan out how they want their pumpkin to look.
Examine the pumpkin to see what shape it is, Rice said. If it's more round, it could have puffy cheeks. If it is a long pumpkin, it could have a Frankenstein face, she said.
Once the sketch is finished, use the marker to draw it on the pumpkin, shading in the parts that will be cut out, Rice said. After that, cut the top off. Use the spoon to take out the insides. Then use the knife to cut out the shaded parts. Once the tough parts of the skin are removed, the rest of the pumpkin is pliable, she said.
“If you want to get different variations of color, remove more of the (pumpkin) skin,” Rice said. “The more you take off, the brighter it will get.”
No matter what project children choose to make, safety is the most important thing.
“I would just stress safety, safety, safety,” Rice said.
Gitana Mirochnik
253-5311 ext. 237
gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
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