Christmas Art Activities

It's finally time for Christmas excitement and decorations in the classroom. Below are some Art ideas that I will be doing this month with my class.

Christmas Snowmen 

I recently saw this online and thought it as very cute and quite easy to do.  I will ask each child to bring in any sock that may be odd at home (the more colourful the better) to make the hat and the scarf for the snowmen. We will use little pompoms or felt rather than pins. You could also use buttons if you have enough for the class (again they might have spare ones at home).  Check out the video tutorial on Youtube.

Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are always a nice art activity to do for granny/grandad or even members of the class. It can be a useful activity on the last day or two before the holidays. I really like pop out cards for the older classes as it adds an extra challenge for them.

This is one that I used as inspiration for my class last year.

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Glass Painting

A useful way to recycle jars from home. the children add the outline of their design first and then choose suitable colours to paint them. They are lovely with a candle lighting inside them for Christmas.

Symmetry Snowmen

Doubling up with a bit of Maths these are really cute symmetry scenes.

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Nativity Scene

This is a nice group activity where the children can make a 3D version of the Nativity scene in a shoebox. Adding straw is a nice touch if you or the children can get their hands on some.

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Or try out this Nativity silhouette.

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Winter Hats

This would be a good print lesson for the children.

Christmas Tree Decorations

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This can be made using felt (it is nicer if you use the strong felt as they are more sturdy). The children can choose to make any Christmas related felt shape. PVA glue or a hot glue gun is the best way to stick the felt together.  Pop on a ribbon at the end and it can be hung from the Christmas tree. Here are some ideas!

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I'm sure a lot of you have seen this one, I had to add it in because it is so simple yet really effective!

Other ideas here & source

Here is another simple but effective example that would be lovely as a Christmas card.

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And finally, one that can be a whole class or whole school piece of art. Everyone can decorate their own star as they wish and combine them all to make a masterpiece!

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Please add any other ideas or links you have below :)

Bridges Project

I previously posted on my Facebook page about a project my students carried out this year on bridges.  I have outlined below how it ties into the curriculum and scope for integration. The project comprised of both a research booklet (available on my TpT store) and making their own bridge following studying Bridges in Science.

Theme: Transportation/Overseas Adventures

Subject: Science
Strand(s): Materials/Energy and Forces
Strand Unit: Properties and characteristics of materials/Forces

Brief overview of Lesson:

-Show children a range of bridges (from locality/famous bridges)
-Discuss the various functions of bridges and the types of bridges
-Investigate through experimentation the strength of various bridges (arch, plank, walled & corrugated). Record results as a class and compare. (Equipment-jenga blocks or similar as bridge wall, dominoes or counting cues, ruler to measure distance between blocks, paper to make arch/wall etc.)

Integration:

English: Oral Language, Procedural Writing based on experiment
Art: Construction of bridges
Maths: Measurement, lines & angles, weight
ICT: researching various bridges

Then the children completed their own project on bridges. Have a look at some of the finished products below!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Drama Games (5 uses for the '10 Second Drama Cards')

If you have a look at my TpT store here, I have uploaded resource cards for Drama. Outlined below are 5 uses for the cards, not just for Drama!

1. '10 Second Objects'

Originally, this is what I made the cards for. This game can be a warm up/cool down activity in Drama. The children are in groups and select a card from the pile. They have 10 seconds to make this object using only their bodies! (More variations included in the resource.)

2. Extend that Story (Oral Language)

Each child selects a card. One child begins by creating a sentence using the word on their card. The next child extends the story using their word and so on until all children have contributed to the story.

3. Story Starter (English)

Select a number of the cards from the pile (maybe 3-4). The children then write a creative piece of writing using the objects on the cards.

4. Make a Mime

Use the card to mime the object and the other children have to guess what the object is. 

5. Divine descriptions (Oral Language/Writing)

Without saying the word on the card, you must describe it to the class and they try to guess what the object is. The first person to guess is next to select a card and describe it. This could also be used as a descriptive writing activity, with each child having a different object. They can read it to the class afterwards and see if their description was detailed enough for the class to guess!

I'm sure you can come up with even more uses for the cards!