Think Like an Insect

Insects are so cool! Their bright colors, patterns, and bold eyes make them fascinating to examine. Why not encourage your kids to look more closely at these critters? Have them get down on the ground and try to imagine life as an insect. They can write stories or draw pictures from this perspective.

 

 

Have the kids use magnifying glasses to examine the insects they find carefully. Create enlarged, abstract pictures of a single section of an insect (for example, its eyes or a portion of its pattern) . They can paint, draw, or color these. They can use wax crayons to separate the parts and then paint it in with watercolors. If you have ever done this, you know that the watercolor paint won't stick to the crayon and a neat effect is created. The possibilities are endless!

 



Making Masks with Leaves!

I thoroughly enjoy collecting leaves that have fallen from the trees any time of the year. There are so many different shapes, colors, and patterns to be found. On the 4th of July this year, I walked out in the backyard to find an adorable little Screech Owl perched in the tree as it rained all around us. He let me walk right up to him as he stared back at me with his large, bright eyes. It was after this wonderful encounter that I came up with my most recent idea- making an owl mask from found leaves! First, I collected my supplies: leaves picked up on walks, string, a cardboard container from last night's dinner, glue, and scissors.

I cut a cat-like shape out of the cardboard to act as my base and then I cut holes for eyes and attached string so that the finished mask could be worn. After doing this, I began strategically gluing on my various leaves in a pattern that I felt mimicked the feathers of an owl.

This is a great project for kids slightly older than mine. Bug would not let me put the mask on her to model it, let alone participate in the project (she is only one after all). I was quite pleased with the final product. One could also use a watered down non-toxic glue mixture to varnish the leaves, similar to decoupage.  What a great seasonal project for Autumn, or art project to integrate into a unit on animals.

 

I LOVE seed pods!

 

Seed pods are awesome! They represent the renewing of life and the transition of the seasons. I love to collect things on nature walks, seed pods being one of those things. Once the seeds have been released, the pods dry up and will eventually fall from the branches and decay into the earth. I like to pick them before the decaying process, so that they are nice and crisp. These cool pods can easily be turned into creative projects such as canoes, boats, mobiles, and jewelry.

Today, I turned a Trumpet Vine seed pod into a boat complete with a found feather sail. I used wire from my jewelry making kit to secure the feather, but you can easily use hot glue (just be sure that if you float it in a pond or stream you make sure to pick it up and not discard it there- you don't want wire or glue being consumed by wildlife). Kids love to make boats and then watch them float (in addition to splashing in the water) and this is a great way to teach units such as buoyancy in an elementary classroom.

In addition to the Trumpet Vine boat, I also made a fun little necklace from a Buckeye seed pod. I secured dried flowers and a cool little green pod, that I have yet to identify, to the Buckeye pod with wire and then strung some hemp string through a jump ring. Little girls especially love stuff like this! They can be queen of their own imaginary fairy kingdom! You can also create head dresses, bracelets, and rings using found objects in nature.

The collection of something like seed pods can easily be turned into a lesson on classification or seasonal cycles, but why not take it one step further and turn it into an art project!? Don't just teach a lesson, but inspire creativity and imagination as well!