Sand Paper Letters

I recently made a set of lower case sand paper letters for my classroom. I used some particle board from my Mom's old dresser and some left-over sand paper I found in the garage. You can buy a pack of sand paper squares from Home Depot for about $5, and it comes in a variety of grains which might be interesting for the children to experience different types of textures.

It's one of the Montessori methods of learning letters.  Not only is it emergent literacy, but it's also emergent writing!

Step 1:  I took the particle board from my Mom's old dresser and cut out 26 rectangular pieces that measured 5x7. I just used my graph ruler from my art class to measure the pieces.

Step 2:  I just used a saw to cut the particle board. I had to wear the funky goggles because I couldn't find my cool protective glasses to keep the saw dust out of my eyes.

Below is a pic of the particle board after I cut it into 26, 5x7 pieces. It didn't take too long to cut it with a saw, but if you have access to a circular saw, that might make the process go a little faster.

Step 3:  I sanded down the edges to make it smoother and safer for the children.

                             

My not so helpful assistants.

                                                 

Step 4:  Print out the letters (Font: Century Gothic, size 400) and cut them out individually.

I didn't have any carbon paper at home, so I used some newsprint paper and my charcoal sticks. I rubbed the charcoal stick on the newsprint, then put it face down on the back of the sand paper square.

Step 6:  Flip the letters over, and place it on top of the newsprint with charcoal on it.

 

Trace over the letter with a regular pencil.

The newsprint with charcoal rubbed on it will work just like carbon paper, and should imprint the letter on the back of the sand paper square.

Step 7:  Cut the letters out then use wood glue to glue it on the particle board.  I just used Elmer's Wood Glue.

                                                   

It doesn't take long for the glue to dry, so you'll have sand paper letters in no time!

Multi-Colored or Rainbow Crayons

I was used to the old method of making rainbow crayons, where you melt each color individually in soup tins, in a boiling pot of water. Then you pour the colors into a mold, letting each layer cool before adding the next color. I'm all for old skool, but it's time consuming, and too much to clean-up. This method is much easier, not to mention it minimizes and simplifies the process. Props to my co-teacher Ashley for sharing this method.

What you'll need:

• bits and pieces of old crayons
• 2 large mixing bowls (one to put the crayon pieces in, and the other for the crayon wrappers).
• 1 or 2 silicone brownie pans (available at Michael's); I've also heard some people use chocolate molds.
• 1 cookie sheet (to slide the silicone brownie pan
• a large Ziplock bag
• a cooling rack
• heat oven to 230 degrees

The little one and I peeled off all the remaining wrappers and put the crayons in a large mixing bowl. Afterwards, we put the crayons in a large Ziplock bag (squeeze all the air out of the bag) and crushed the crayons with a rubber mallet. You can also use a meat tenderizer or hammer. Make sure to do all your smashing outside on a hard surface or at least on a wooden cutting board, or risk chipping the counter top.

Use a teaspoon to scoop crayon bits into the silicone brownie pan.  The little one used her old baby spoon and it worked great! Make sure you fill it just a little over the top because the crayons will melt, and you don't want to end up with some scrawny squares.

It looks good enough to eat! Just fill it a little over the brim.  Put it in the oven at 230 degrees for 15 minutes. To make it easier to take the silicone pan out of the oven, I slid the cookie sheet under it. I then placed the brownie pan on top of a cooling rack for about 10-15 minutes.

After the crayons  cooled down, I just popped them right out of the brownie pan, which is why I used the silicone kind.

How can you use this in your classroom? It teaches children about science (solid turns into a liquid, then back into a solid). If you only use the primary colors, it can teach children about the secondary colors when they melt and mix together. It's just a cool activity for the children to do, and they even get to take it home too. If you have children of your own, it's an easy and inexpensive method to make give-aways for your party.

Think and wonder, wonder and think.

Welcome to my blog! We just finished a whole week celebrating Dr. Seuss in honor of his birthday, and I thought the quote was appropriate.  I'm hoping to share some cool ideas and lesson plans using materials that you probable already have at home.

I credit my wonderful and creative parents for helping me become resourceful and letting me draw on everything from the walls to the cabinets, and even an antique headboard (I further ruined the headboard by trying to erase the marker with rubbing alcohol, but that's another story). My upbringing has really paid off considering all the budget cuts happening in education right now. Early Childhood Education programs that are funded by the state are also being affected by the budget crisis. In any case, it's really no secret that teachers invest a lot of our own money back into our classrooms, so I'm hoping to share some ideas with you that might help you keep some costs down.

Toodles for now.