"In this classroom, relationships are fostered, families are respected, and children are honored.
In this classroom, nature's gifts are valued and children's thoughts are captured.
In this classroom, learning is alive and aesthetic beauty is appreciated." -Unknown

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Snowballs: Getting Creative


Where we live we don't see snow very often. We can travel a short distance and get snow, but it rarely makes an appearance in our backyards. With this in mind and us doing a theme of Winter, we were inspired to get creative. I found this post awhile back on Pinterest. Be sure to check it out: http://www.makeandtakes.com/glue-yarn-ball-tutorial  The blogger had used a variety of colored yarns for her activity. I chose to purchase some white yarn for our cause.

For this we used: white yarn, balloons, glue and water.


The original blog used 5 inch balloons. I couldn't find any balloons that small, so I got the smallest I could find. I think they were 9 inch ones. I inflated them to between a baseball and softball size. We mixed up a mixture of glue and water, ran the yarn through it squeezing off the excess and began wrapping the yarn around the balloon. 


After the balloon was wrapped really well we sprinkled silver glitter and snow glitter on it and laid it aside to dry. 



This is what they looked like when they were drying. The tape sections had each child's name on it.


The next day when they were completely dry, we had each child use a pair of scissors to cut a hole in the balloon. It was interesting that some of the balloons peeled away from the yarn as it deflated and sounded like ice cracking and others held their position and pulled away as children pushed through the yarn holes with their fingers.


I know snowballs don't hang in the air, but I wanted to display them in the window so we could see the glitter when the sun was shining on them. It was a very messy project, but it turned out beautifully!






12 comments:

  1. What a great idea! We don't get much snow where we live either and my kids would really think this was fun. Thanks for sharing at the After School Link Up.

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  2. Ooh, fun! I've been meaning to try something like this with my kids and now you've inspired me to get on it!

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    1. Good luck, Katie! It was a grand adventure and the results were amazing.

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  3. I LOVE this idea!!!! Brilliant!
    I am now a new follower that found you through the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!

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  4. What a fun and creative idea! I am pinning this to do with my children next month. Thank you for linking up to the brand new Hearts for Home Blog Hop!

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  5. Hey,
    These are fantastic, they would make such a creative display and the children would really enjoy making them! I'm a trainee teacher currently and find your blog really interesting, can't wait for more uploads! Will follow.

    Ben

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    1. Thanks, Ben. I love it when I can get ideas from others. Hope I can continue to inspire you.

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  6. Beautiful! I can think of some fun uses for these! Pinning!

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    1. Aren't they cool, Ashley? Check out the link to the original post I found through Pinterest. They had used hot pink, orange, and lime yarn. Very cool!

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  7. Great way to use up leftover yarn I have laying around!

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