The “Helping Hands” Good Deeds Display

Image of Roylco Color Diffusing Hands artwork display on school hallway

Image of Roylco Color Diffusing Hands artwork display on school hallway

Special Post Contribution: By Amy Klossner

Here are the photos of the project our school completed using Color Diffusing Hands.  They were just perfect.  We read the book Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed, before painting the hands with liquid watercolors.  It’s a story about a little girl who does one good deed and that person does 5 good deeds then those people do five more good deeds each and so on. Like I said, the hands were perfect for displaying to the students how one good deed (represented by the hand) grows into five more, (represented by the fingers) which grows into 5 more, etc. The “helping hands” displayed that kindness is contagious.

As a spin off, students can write good deeds they are preforming in our school and community on each one of the hands, heart shapes or other inspirational design.

 

Close up boy decorating color diffusing hand

 

Close-up of a decorated hand

 

Children decorating Color Diffusing Hands with liquid water color

How to Decorate Color Diffusing Hands:

Liquid Water Color:  To get the most beautiful color blends, I recommend using liquid watercolor paint in a mister bottle. Spray the colors you like onto the Color Diffusing Hand.  Then use another mister bottle to spray clean water over your colors. Set aside to dry. Be careful where you put them, they can make a mess. To speed up the drying time, I like to hang them up for good air circulation. They should be dry enough to use in about 30 mins.

 

Washable Markers:  Color the Color Diffusing Hands with washable markers. Do not cover the whole area. Make sure to leave white space. Use a mister bottle to spray clean water over your colors. This will allow the colors to “mingle” and spread.

 

Image of sketch drawing of Kid 1

Prehistoric Marbled Slinky Fish

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This adorable fish is fun to make and even more fun to play with!

Age: 5+

Duration: 15 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Exercise fine motor skills. Create a 3D pal for dramatic play.

You’ll Need:

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Start with a sheet of marble paper, white side up. Fold it diagonally, and trim off the excess. When you unfold the sheet, you should have a square.

 

Still with the white side up, turn the sheet so it looks like a diamond, and the fold line is vertical. Next, fold the left and right points of the diamond in, until you have an inverted kite shape.

 

Trim the shorter point so it is rounded. Next, unfold the two sides.

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Fold your paper in half along the original fold line, and carefully cut a series of slits from the point to about 2″ before the curve. Your cuts should only be as deep as your second set of fold lines.

 

Overlap the two outside triangle and tape them securely to create the 3D body of your fish. You should have a triangular prism.

 

Choose another sheet of marble paper, preferably in a contrasting pattern from the body of your fish. Fold the sheet so you have approximately 2″ of paper below the fold.

 

Draw shapes for fins and a tail for your fish. I drew triangles for the fins, and rounded shapes for the tail, and then cut them out on the fold. You’ll need to cut the fins apart, but leave the tail as one piece. Tape the fins and tail to the underside of your fish.

To give your fish some personality, add eyes and a tongue! I used the blue marble paper for the eyes, and the pink paper for the tongue. Tape the tongue inside your fish’s mouth, and the eyes to his head in front of the slits.

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Now your fish is ready to swim!

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Elementary Animals: Fold A Mouse!

Welcome to our fifth and final origami animal project: the mouse!15219 - Mouse Carft (eyeballs).jpgThis project is definitely best-suited to third graders because the folds are a little more intricate than our previous projects.

Age: 7+

Duration: 10 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice reading and understanding step-by-step directions independently. Exercise fine motor skills. Develop patience.

You’ll Need:

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Start by downloading and printing the mouse folding instructions. This fully illustrated, step-by-step instruction sheet allows students to work independently to create an adorable mouse pal. We have also created a step-by-step video for visual learners:

These adorable mouse pals can serve as take-home art projects in and of themselves. However, if you want to extend the activity, challenge students to use their mice to recreate a favorite scene from their favorite mouse book! Our Set the Scene! Diorama Boxes are an excellent tool for this project. Some great books to use for this project include:

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Elementary Origami Animals for 2nd Grade

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Welcome to our third set of Origami Animals! Today we will be focusing on two projects perfect for second graders: the Penguin and the Swan.

Age: 5+

Duration: 5-8 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Exercise fine motor skills. Practice following directions independently.

You’ll Need: 

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With second graders, this activity can be individual, done in small groups OR done as a class. If you are structuring this activity individually or in small groups, first download the instruction sheet (Click on the link under “You’ll Need”), and print off copies for each student or group of students. The fully illustrated and easy to follow instruction sheets allow students to problem-solve and work independently to create an adorable finished product. If students get stuck, direct them to the video tutorials.

Our first project today is the penguin.

Once students have successfully folded their penguins, there are some great options for books to pair their animals with! One of my favorite books was read to me by my teacher during our lunch break, and it has penguins galore. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater is a fantastic book to pair with penguin pals. Other great books about penguins include:

Today’s second project is the swan.

Once everyone has their folded swans, pair them with a book! Hans Christian Anderson was a big fan of swans, and he wrote fairy tales that have been adapted into picture books including familiar titles like The Ugly Duckling and Wild Swans. Other excellent titles featuring swans include:

  • The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White
  • The Swan Princess by Rosie Dickins
  • Although it’s not a book, Swan Lake the ballet is a great addition to children’s cultural education. It’s also a great way to get kids interested in literature as well as dance and theater!

As always, challenge your students to read independently with a little help from their winged pals!

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Elementary Animals: Fold a Pig!

 

15219 - Pig Craft (eyeballls)

Welcome to our fourth origami animal project! Today we’ll be focusing on a project ideal for third graders: folding a pig! 

Age: 7+

Duration: 10 Minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following step-by-step directions while exercising fine motor and spatial skills.

You’ll Need: 

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If you structure this activity as a small group or individual project, start by downloading and printing the fully illustrated instruction sheet for your students. The easy to follow instruction sheets allow students to independently work to create an adorable pig pal. If they get stumped, however, direct them to the video:

The completed pig pals can serve as a take-home project in and of themselves, but if you want to extend the activity, challenge your students to use diorama boxes to recreate their favorite scene from their favorite pig-themed book! Some of those books might include:

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Elementary Origami Animals for 1st Grade

15219 - Crafts Collection

Welcome to the second installment of our elementary origami series! Today, we’ll be focusing on two 1st grade projects: The fish and the fox!

Age: 4+

Duration: 5 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following step-by-step directions. Exercise fine motor skills.

You’ll Need:

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We’ll start with the fish today. Under “You’ll Need” is the instruction sheet, with step-by-step instructions and illustrations for students who want to experiment on their own. I have also created an instruction video for you:

Once your fish is all folded up, give him eyes and a smile! The fish will lay flat, so you can also extend the exercise by decorating your fish. Use small pieces of tinfoil or glitter, and students will have their own rainbow fish! The picture book The Rainbow Fish is one of my favorites, and it’s an excellent book to use with this project. Some of my other favorite fish-themed books are:

  • One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
  • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
  • Fish by Steve Parker (An Eyewitness Book)

If fish don’t fit your curriculum, fold up a fabulous fox! Under “You’ll Need” is the instruction sheet, with step-by-step instructions and illustrations for students who want to experiment on their own. I have also created an instruction video for you:

I love how cute the finished fox is! And your fox is a perfect companion for many different books. A great lunchtime read for the whole class and their fox friends is Roald Dhal’s Fantastic Mr. Fox! Some of my favorite picture books with foxes include:

  • Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Cooney
  • Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
  • Fables and fairy tales, like “The Gingerbread Man” or “The Fox and and the Scorpion”

Challenge your students to read aloud and practice word recognition with their fantastic folded friends!

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Elementary Origami Animals for Kindergarten

15219 - Crafts Collection.jpgWelcome to the first in our new series on Elementary Origami Animals! Add a tactile dynamic to early literacy! Today, we’ll be focusing on two kindergarten level projects: the Puppy and the Elephant! 

 

Age: 3+

Duration: 5 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice following directions as you fold these together as a class. Exercise fine motor skills to fold and crease neatly.

You’ll Need: 

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Start by choosing a sheet of the double-sided origami paper. Here is the video tutorial for folding the elephant:

Once you have folded your elephant, use a glue stick to put google eyes on him! You can also use washable marker.

Once all the kids have their elephants, the question is, what book do you pair your elephant with? For very young readers, picture books read with reading buddies are a great option. Independent learners might also enjoy exploring the images in an elephant reference book on their own! Some of my favorite elephant books include:

If you want to fold the puppy instead, start with a sheet of origami paper. Here is the video tutorial for folding the puppy:

Once your puppy is folded, give him eyes and a nose!

There have been many, many picture books about dogs and puppies written, so feel free to choose your favorite! Here are some of my favorites:

Challenge students to practice letter recognition with their origami pals!

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3D Flower Wall Art

wall art diy color diffusing flowers

Make a beautiful wall art canvas with 3D flowers using our R2440 Color Diffusing Paper Flowers!

Age: 4+

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Learning Objectives: Children get to take home their own projects to hang up on their bedroom walls at home. Use different colors to produce interesting combinations. Paint easily with fun and engaging Color Diffusing Paper! Create a wash of color on a canvas and talk about essential keywords such as balance, subject and background.

wall art diy color diffusing flowers

You’ll Need:

R2440 Color Diffusing Paper Flowers

R2131 Bright Buttons

R54460 Squiggle Pipettes

• Canvas

• Watercolor paint

• Paint tray

• Spray bottle of water

• Small plastic cups

• Paintbrush

• Glue

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Pour a small amount of watercolor into each cup. Set up your workstation so that the flowers are on the paint tray.

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Squeeze the bulb of the Squiggle Pipette to expel all the air inside, then dip the nozzle into the paint and release the bulb. This will draw the paint into the main chamber of the pipette. Carefully raise the pipette on top of the paper and squeeze the bulb to release the paint. Use different colors to make interesting effects!

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Spray the concentrated watercolor spots with a bit of water to help diffuse the paint throughout the flower.

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To give your Color Diffusing Flower some dimension, drape it on top of an overturned cup. Leave it to dry for 30 minutes under direct light.

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While the Color Diffusing Paper Flowers are drying, prepare your canvas for painting! You can use watercolor on the canvas as this will give it a nice diffused look. Pour the concentrated watercolor into little cups so as not to use too much, although a little will go a long way!

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I created a gradient wash from one corner of the canvas to the opposite corner. First I started with the darkest color I had–red–and blended it into an orange once it hit the yellow on the opposite side. Even though there isn’t much red remaining, it is still a lovely transition! Although your students can paint their canvases different colors, it’s a good idea to keep the colors minimal. Remember, the canvas will form the background to your 3D art, so it needs to let the flowers stand out!

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Now get your flowers ready to attach to the canvas!

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Dab a bit of glue onto the back of each flower center and press the flower onto the canvas. Hold the flower down for about 20 seconds to make sure that the glue starts working to secure it to the canvas.

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Glue a button to the center of each flower. Use contrasting colors to really make the 3D art pop!

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Paint Bellows and Lace Circle Stencils

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Extending our exploration of Paint Bellows, I’ll show you how to use this unique painting tool to create beautiful stencil art combined with our Lace Circles! Read on for more details!


Age: 5-8

Duration: 10 minutes

You’ll Need:

• R5419 Paint Bellows

• R24910 Lace Circles

• Art paper

• Tempera paint

• Paint tray

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I recommend using card paper for the backing underneath the Lace Circle. Depending on what kind of paint you use, the splatter paint may seep through any weaker or thinner paper. You want to make sure that the art paper is strong enough to withstand the paint splatters.

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Fill the paint containers with a bit of water to make the paint easier to pick up in the Paint Bellows. Place the template or Lace Circle onto the card paper.

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Press all the air out of the Paint Bellow before inserting the spout into the paint. Release the hold on the Paint Bellow to allow it to draw in the paint. Next, aim the Paint Bellow slightly above the art paper and quickly press the back of the Paint Bellows chamber towards the spout and release. Redo this action several times to get a great stippled effect on the paper!

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I wanted to use two different colors to make the artwork more interesting, so I used red. Spritz the red paint over the template. Tip: You can also remove your template and place it in another position over the stippled blue paint, then spritz with red to give your artwork a bit of dimension.

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Remove your template to reveal a simple yet gorgeous piece of artwork underneath!

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Show us some of your artwork using the Paint Bellows! Send us photos of your students’ work to subscriber@roylco.ca for a chance to be featured in our next post!