Out of all the projects Mikey’s teacher has had us do this year–one per month, sometimes two–the Earth Day project is my favorite. Mikey had to make something from items we already had in the house. Craft supplies were okay, as long as they were items we already owned/weren’t purchased for the project, and she didn’t want them to be the bulk of the project. She really wanted to see the kids think outside the box and create something from items that would have been thrown away. They had to write a poem about Earth Day along with the project.
I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of Mikey’s project before he left for school, so after I finished reading to the 1st grade I walked over to his classroom to take a quick picture. I ended up taking many pictures because the projects were amazing. Too amazing for me not to share!
This is Mikey’s project. It’s a vertical toss game he calls Recycle Wars. Items used: Cardboard boxes, wire clothes hangers, spray paint and paint pens, PVC pipe, and crushed soda cans as bean bags.
A pirate ship! Items used: egg cartons, scraps of felt and fabric, stickers, paint, and a chopstick.
Nemo! Items used: a plastic water bottle, newsprint/paper mache, paint, cardboard, and a giant paperclip.
Shark! Items used: laundry detergent jugs, paint, pieces of a broken flashlight (eyes), cut up beach ball (mouth and teeth).
The tin-can man! I really liked this one because it reminded me of metal folk art. Items used: cans, springs, bolts, etc.
Paper beads! Those of you with girls might be familiar with this recycled craft, but this was new to me. She later strung them and made a necklace and bracelet for the teacher. Items used: cereal boxes, junk mail, and a teenage sister’s enormous collection of nail polish.
Bunny! Let me tell you about this bunny. I walked past it several times before I realized it was a recycled project. I thought Mikey’s teacher was as slow as I was to put away Easter decorations. Nope! It’s all recycled and so, so creative. Emma made it, of course.
Here is the bunny sans cotton balls. It’s Frankenbunny! Items used: Her torso is a box of hair oil. The head is a paper bowl. Paper towel rolls made up the ears and the arms are toilet paper rolls. Her bottom is a donation box. One foot is a cardboard shoe form and the other is scraps of cardboard. Her paws are Easter egg halves.
A close up of the face because it’s so clever. The nose is an electrical outlet. The eyes are marbles. They whiskers are stretched out bobby pins. The mouth is a pipe cleaner and the fur is, of course, a metric ton of cotton balls.
I could have taken a picture of every project. I’m a sucker for kids crafts, and these were great because of the limitations. It’s so easy to go out and buy supplies for each project and for me, at least, that makes me less creative. It reminds me of that series Nester did a couple of years ago on lovely limitations. Kids are so inspiring.
I am so impressed with those projects – Mikey’s and all the others. Oh Emma – we haven’t heard enough about Emma recently. :)
These are great! Some of these kids must have had help though, right? Some of them seem pretty involved. Also, some people have some good junk laying around their house! I would have had to make something out of aluminum foil & buttons! lol.
This is a great line up of projects. I’m really impressed. I think it’s a great idea for a joint art and earth day project and it helps kids (and parents) to realize what resources we have on hand rather than rushing out to buy new things. The challenge comes for me in that I thinks some children are better self starters than others and in my house, this would require a lot of my brain power and help. We recently had to make an apothecary out of a shoe box and had a budget of $5. We were able to do it but it was a lot of work for our whole family.
I think I am in love…with Tin Can Man! That is so cute.