Thank you to all who voted for my blog in the AOE Blog of the Year contest. While I did not win, I am still happy to have been a finalist. Congrats to all of the bloggers in the contest! Today I am going to show you a super fun project that my students worked on this week. This summer we planted a garden. My husband diligently set up a plastic fence to keep out the rabbits. We watered it … Read more…
I introduce paper weaving with my kindergarten class. We use colored strips, scrapbook paper and wrapping paper. Here is a paper weaving tutorial. Check out my Weaving Ideas Pinterest board if you want to see more fun weaving techniques. –>
Weaving is so much fun! I love using up scraps of yarn, but there are other things you can use too: pipe cleaners (or chenille stems.. what do you call them?) tissue paper rolled up fabric scraps cut into strips ribbons feathers raffia I started the kids with just yarn pieces. After 2 days of working, some of the kids were far behind, so then I brought out thicker ribbon, tissue paper and raffia to fill in the gaps. Some … Read more…
Weaving on styrofoam is really easy to do! There is a great restaurant supply store near my school where I can buy meat trays in bulk and have them last for years. 1. Cut slits on the edges of two sides. 2. Loop a sturdy string or yarn up and down the slits. 3. Weave over and under using pieces of yarn, ribbons, pipe cleaners, feathers or rolled tissue paper. 4. Trim the edges that hang over.
The kindergartners made these lively paper weavings with colored paper strips and paper strips cut from scrapbook and wrapping paper. Then, I stapled them to a white piece of paper and the students stamped a border with gadgets, caps and random objects. After the weavings, the students played with the gadgets and made a design with paints.
Weaving on Styrofoam was a recent project with the 1st graders. A restaurant supply store near our school had a huge package of styrofoam plates for very cheap. Slits were cut at the top and bottom of the styrofoam and string was placed in these slits for the loom. The students used ribbon and fabric to weave over and under the string. Suggest to the kids to choose a variety of colors and textures. I put out some colored wire, … Read more…
Paper Weavings by Kindergartners.A twist on the typical paper weaving… use wrapping paper and scrapbook paper pieces.Â
 We finished the giant weaving. I had kids in all different classes work on it when they were done with their projects. I like how it came out. We are going to make a few more and then they are going to be hung in this large window well that is inside the school.Â
The 2nd graders made circular weavings this week. Some are still finishing up. They are like the ones we made at the weaving camp I taught. Here is the big jumble of yarn that I have in one of the boxes. I just put this out and the kids pulled out the yarn they wanted from the jumble. I hate to waste yarn (or any art supplies) and this tangle of yarn is a tad bit overwhelming to untangle. They … Read more…
 We made this with my first grade class. I took mat board, and the kids stapled their own pipe cleaners to the ends and then weaved in yarn, ribbons and feathers. The kids did a great job on their weavings, but I think I like this technique better.Â
3rd graders’ burlap weaving with feathers Burlap weaving made by 4 year old Weaving on BurlapWeaving camp has been over for a couple of months now and I’m finally getting around to updating the last of the lessons I taught for the camp. Just a refresher, the weaving camp was for kids going into kindergarten to about 3rd grade. Each day focused on a different type of weaving and kids could sign up for one day or all of the … Read more…
Weaving on Straws Here is a really fun and addicting way to weave… on plastic drinking straws! There’s no reason to re-write all the directions out, so here is a link to how to weave on straws.  If you get stuck, there are plenty of websites with full directions and even videos… simply google “weaving on straws.” With this project, I set up the straws ahead of time for the kids. (There were only about 6 or 7 kids … Read more…
Part 4 of my Weaving Wonders Camp: Some of the kids tried finger weaving or finger knitting. It was too hard for the youngest kids to figure out, but 3rd grade seems about the right age to start.  Detailed directions are here: Knitty, which is a really cool knitting blog if you are a knitter.
Paper Weaving. One of the projects I did with the kids for my Weaving Wonders Camp was Paper Weaving. Paper weaving is, of course, one of the first and most basic types of weaving. Kids in kindergarten, first or second grade will often complete paper weavings as introduction to weaving. Preparation:  Gather fancy scrapbook paper, with patterns, bright colors and maybe even glitter. Add some solid colors if you wish. Cut strips on a paper cutter, approximately 1/2-1 inch … Read more…
