Summer time is my favorite time work on some pieces for our classroom. We love to go to yard sales and find unique items... sometimes I find the coolest things in my garage that I didn't even know were there! Here are a few things I have recently worked on and I know I will create some other things before school starts.
My step-dad helped cut up logs. Then I painted the numbers and used puffy paint to outline them. These will be great as our kinders start learning about numbers. They can count out loose parts to match the log, put them in order, use them as a reference, count the dots in all... I'm sure they will come up with their own ideas!
My dad works with an electrician who gave him several old wire spools. We used some of them last year during our bakery and art investigations to display the students' work pieces but I had extras at home. I have wanted to make little stools out of them for a long time but I didn't want to spend extra money on foam for the seats. Today I was trying to think about what I could stuff the seats with... and then it hit me! I spray painted the bottom parts of the spools with black paint. Then I used black and white fabric from old shirts for the cloth... and for the inside/cushy part... old plastic grocery bags! I had tons of them in my pantry so I used them to cover the top of the spools and then used a staple gun to hold the fabric down. These seats will be great at one of our coffee tables.
- Chalkboard Writing Area Table
Someone gave us an old coffee table that was just sitting in my garage. Today I used chalkboard paint to paint the top part of the table and then sanded down the legs so they were a natural wood. I love the way it turned out. It will be great for the kids to sit at in our writing area.. maybe even with the black and white stools!
I have wanted a wooden kitchen set for our kids to use for years... but they are so expensive! After some pinterest searching, I realized I could make my own. I bought a sturdy wooden hutch a few years back for $5 at a yard sale. It has just been sitting around my house. My step-dad used a saw to cut a hole for a sink (metal bowl) and a faucet that someone was throwing away. I used tree cookies to paint wooden burners to represent the stove. It has two shelves... one will have the curtain and we are still working to make an oven door with wood and plastic... pictures of the finished product to come later...
Summer is such a great time to work on crafts for the classroom... just look around for what you have laying around your house!
