What are some craft ideas to make ornaments? I teach every 3rd grader. I was too late to order my oriental trading ones, so what can the kids do with thing like craft sticks, pipe cleaners, pom poms, etc.??
<!--CHRISTMAS2-->My least expensive ornament craft is a Christmas card stocking. I use my old cards but you could have the kids bring in old cards. You cut the cards into a stocking shape and then hole punch around the edge. Lace them using sparkly string or thin ribbon and then put a candy cane in each one. They are very cute and each one is unique because each one has a different picture or design on it.
Do you have individual photos of each of the kids? If so, give them two pipe cleaners and have them twist them into a wreath. Adhere their photo to a piece of construction paper that is slightly larger than their photo and between the two, place a little bit of wire to twist it to the top of the pipe cleaner. The photo sits in the center of the wreath. Tie a tiny bow at the top and call it an ornament! Make sure your put the year on the back of the photo. I just put up my 16 year olds ornament like this from when he was in 1st grade and it's just so precious!
I have my students trace a christmas tree pattern I have [it's about 3-4 inches tall]. They cut out three, and fold them down the center. Put glue on one side and stick together at the folds for a 3-D tree. We decodate with sparkley yarn and glitter glue. They're cute.
Check out your local craft store. I went to Pat Catan's today and everything Christmas was an extra 50-75% off. I get a lot of really cheap crafts.
Reindeer can be made easily with three craft sticks (cross them like an upside down triangle with some overhang). Add googly eyes, red pompom nose and pipecleaner antlers, a ribbon for hanging and you're done. I may have to make some myself.
Each ornament will need: 3 craft sticks, 2 google eyes, 1 red pom pom, 1 brown pipe cleaner cut in half, ribbon, and glue.
Very easy to make. I will post a link so you can see what they look like. My first graders ( well most) were able to do it by themselves in stations. I tied the ribbon on. We used red ribbon instead of yarn.
Buy the colored ball ornaments (very cheap at Wal-Mart). Buy acryllic paint and paint each kiddos thumb, pointer, and pinky. Put them onto the ball ornament and you have a snowman. You can use either paint markers, sharpies, or other arcyllic paint to add the eyes, buttons, hat, and arms. They are so darn cute too!
I made shrink art ornaments with my fourth graders last year. They absolutely loved them! I went to my local grocery store and asked how much a class set of salad containers (med- lg size) with the recycle symbol 6 would cost. They ended up donating the containers! I cut the rectangular bottoms out, and the kids used a small piece of sand paper to rough up ONLY one side. Then you can use a coloring page or template under the plastic that the kids can trace and color. For more details visit, http://www.aimsedu.org/Activities/index.html (Go to the Upper Grades Math for complete instructions.) Don't let the age level scare you. I modified for 4th.
One year for Christmas, I made tongue depressor snowmen for the kids. I painted the wide wooden sticks with white acrylic paint. Then I cut mini hats out of black foam and tiny orange carrot noses out of orange foam. To finish them off I used a black marker for the eyes and the dots for the mouth and then cut a mini strip of material for the scarf. I glue gunned a gold cord on it for a hanger and then wrote with black marker on the back to personalize it with their names. (cute and didn't take too long)
Good luck with your ornament search!
Buy the clear ornaments that have the removable tops. Cut little pieces of paper that can be rolled and inserted into the bulb. Let the students write holiday wishes to their families, insert the note, shake the bulb so the note opens up, replace the top and add a string for hanging. The easiest ornament I've made ever. Twelve bulbs only cost $2 on sale at my local Hobby Lobby. At the end of this season I'll buy more for next time.
To go along with 1gr81ntheus' idea...I used the clear ornaments and then had them fill them with all different colored feathers. I also had them put round stickers on them and then sprayed frosted paint over them and took off the stickers- you could skip this though and they would still look cute. I also had them glue on beads with tacky glue and tie a ribbon on the top. Surprisingly, they all turned out different and cute in their own way.
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12-17-2006, 09:21 AM
