Pound, Pound, Pound - Hammering Out Some Crafts

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is craft. Our tree is almost always covered in homemade ornaments, and it is nice to add a few "new" things each year.

This week, we have been working more with tools. In this project, we have been perfecting our use of hammers as we make old fashioned tin punch ornaments.

When I was younger and in 4-H we made these ornaments quite frequently. I had trouble tracking down my old patterns, but found a link here online with a few. Making your own patterns is also quite simple. The less experienced with hammers the group of children you are working with, the less complex you want the patterns to be. (I started to type "younger" and then realized that as with many things, age has little to do with it.... it is primarily based upon experience).

We used old juice can lids, but you can use a wide variety of lids/metal to attempt this project. The nice thing about the juice can lids is that they are the perfect size for ornaments, they are easy to work with, and we are re-purposing "garbage." All you need to do is find/create a pattern, print it, cut it, and tape it to your piece of metal. Use a large nail and pound each dot. You can choose to pound through the metal each time or just put a small dent in the metal. Then when you have completed the pattern..... you can leave them as is, or you can decorate them up with paint/permanent markers, ribbon, etc.

Although this is a "product-orientated" craft, the children have spent quite a bit of time enjoying the process too.

Happy Crafting!

Easter Egg Caterpillars!

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A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...

My friend died

I learned a hell of a lot from Dan Hodgins. He was mentor, a friend, and a "bone shaker" for many of us in the field of Early Childhood Education. He was and will always be a champion for children, and protector of childhood. I have so many great memories of time spent with him, it just doesn't seem like we had enough time. Dan died this past Saturday. Interestingly enough, Dan and I talked about death quite a bit. It is one of those topics that isn't talked about all that much in our field, but is super important. All living things eat, all living things poop, and all living things die. Dan and I recorded a podcast for awhile called "Shaking Bones." Dan was always shaking bones, even before I met him. To say I was honored to be asked to be his co-host would be putting it lightly. I loved recording with him. He was never afraid to touch on topics that were a bit edgy, or issues that sometimes weren't talked about much at all. We even...

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