Pop-Up Valentines Day Cards

Pop Up Valentine Card

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These hand-made cards make your feelings POP on Valentine’s day!

Age: 5+

Duration: 15 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Exercise fine motor skills. Encourage creativity. Integrate art, literacy, and holiday activities. Makes a perfect take-home craft.

You’ll Need:

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  1. Type a Valentine’s day poem into a word document.
  2. Print out the poem and cut it out.
  3. Fold a sheet of heart-themed Pop Culture Paper in half, hamburger style.
  4. Cut two parallel slits in the fold. Mae sure you cut each slit approximately the same width. We suggest no more than 2″.
  5. Open your sheet of paper. You should have a flap of paper with a crease in the center. Pull the flap forward gently, and crease the flap the opposite way. Then close your card with the flap on the inside. Crease. This will create the support for you pop-up. Your card should look like a folded sheet of paper with a square missing from the fold side.
  6. Open your card. Apply glue to ONE SIDE of the pop up.
  7. Glue your poem to the popup.
  8. Decorate your card.
  9. Present the card to your Valentine!

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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!

 

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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

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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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Throwback Thursday: Crafts for the Holiday Season

Feature-Image-2012XMASCelebrating the season doesn’t mean just focusing on Christmas. You can create inclusive crafts that all of your students will love to make. Here are some suggestions for fun art projects that are open ended enough to relate to Christmas, Diwali, Kwanzaa, New Years or just the first snowfall!

Practice patterning and sequencing while creating beautiful star ornaments! Roylco’s R16024 Stringing stars are a perfect craft base for holiday ornaments that students can give as gifts, hang in their homes, or use to decorate their classrooms! Check out the video we made to start creating strung stars in your classroom:

 

Integrate history, math and art as you put a holiday spin on Roylco’s R15665 Quilt Blocks! Each student can design their own quilt block, and add an image of a symbol of their favorite holiday tradition cut out of construction paper! Put all the blocks together to create a classroom quit that celebrates everyone’s holiday traditions!

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Decorate with color this season! Fold up beautiful ornaments with our special designs–use paint, crayons or markers to color in the shapes. Each of the R51081 3D Ornaments are die-cut into 3 folding designs. This means that when folded, the card ornament transforms into a beautiful arrangement that can be hung from the ceiling or as a part of a giant seasonal mobile. 51081-3D-Ornaments-art_4

snowflakes color diffusingIntegrate the science of weather while exploring the mathematical concept of symmetry. Start with Roylco’s R2437 Colour Diffusing Snowflake Kit. The kit comes with a beautifully illustrated poster of inspiring snowflakes along wtih a guide detailing the kinds of snowflakes that are formed at different temperatures. The guide provides easy-to-understand information about snowflake formation. Once your students know about snowflakes they can make their own! Start with a pre-cut sheet of colour diffusing paper. The clever design makes it easy to fold and cut wonderful snowflakes. Colour them in with watercolour paint or markers!

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Study the design of snowflakes in more detail with Roylco’s R58622 Super Snowflake Stencils. The twelve beautiful designs are perfect for making wrapping paper, window art and splatter painting.

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For an outstanding window decoration, use Roylco’s R52085 Snowflake Stained Glass Frames. The metallic silver snowflakes are cut from high quality foil card. Flip them over and glue on tissue paper or Roylco’s R15257 Stained Glass Paper. Light will shine through the snowflakes and cast off wonderful colours!

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If stained glass art interests you and your students, explore the season with black construction paper. Children can start with a sheet and fold it in half and cut out shapes along the fold line. Alternatively, kids can poke their scissors into the paper and cut out shapes. For a Christmas theme, try creating a Little Town of Bethlehem townscape or make a beautiful star shining in the night sky! Flip the scene over and fill the gaps with coloured tissue paper or Roylco’s R15257 Stained Glass Paper.

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Explore holiday traditions with dioramas! Children can create dioramas on any subject. If they are interested in Christmas, they can create traditional or contemporary scenes. They can explore Christmas traditions in other cultures. Alternatively, they can make a diorama focusing on their own holiday traditions whether that’s taking a ski holiday, celebrating Kwanzaa, Hanukah or Ramadan. The scene can be anything the child is interested in. Provide some direction by putting out a mix of decorative elements such as craft buttons, coloured noodles, pompoms, fabric scraps, craft paper and modelling clay. Don’t forget to include magazines and catalogues along with scissors and glue. Children can flip through the pages and cut out pictures and glue them into their scenes. To make it easier to create wonderful dioramas, start with Roylco’s inexpensive R52094 Set the Scene Diorama Boxes.

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Incorporate literacy into your festive activities. Create family heirlooms by writing the story of Christmas or any religious holiday onto a sacred scroll. Alternatively, children can make up and write down their own creative stories. These stories can make marvellous gifts. The author of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Clement Clarke Moore, originally wrote his poem as a Christmas gift for his family. It’s become a tradition in many Christian families to reread the poem on Christmas Eve. Start with a sheet of Roylco’s R15406 Rolly Scrolly Paper and let children compose their own stories or practice their penmanship skills by rewriting a poem or the Biblical Story of Christmas. Roll up the scroll and send it home with the students.diorama

Decorate your classroom with a friendship paper chain! Traditionally paper chains are used to decorate homes and Christmas trees. Use them to celebrate your students. decorative paper chainsStart with good quality craft paper. Roylco’s R15203 Decorative Hues Paper is perfect. The sheets come in a huge range of colours. Cut off strips along the bottom of the paper. The paper is the perfect width (14 cm). Cut off strips that are 2-3 cm wide. Each child writes in his or her name on the paper strip. One student starts by looping their paper link together and taping it closed. He or she then hands the link over to the next child who threads his or her strip through the loop and tapes it closed. Go all the way around the room once or twice to create wonderfully long chains. Use them to decorate your classroom.

 

End your seasonal celebrations with Thank You Notes! Integrate writing skills with etiquette and art. Start out with a #10 envelope and Roylco’s R52056 Puzzle Me puzzles. Children write messages on the body of the puzzles and adds decorative details. They then break up the pieces and put them in an envelope to send off to a special someone!

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It’s important to acknowledge and celebrate the season in the classroom, however, your celebrations don’t need to be limited to Christmas. Ask your students how they celebrate the season and explore everyone’s uniqueness through pictures, art and stories.

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Math Mystery Mini Booklet

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Can YOU solve this math mystery?

Today we are demonstrating a fun activity that uses our technique for folded mini booklets, and will help get kids excited about math! Challenge each student to write their own math mystery, then mix them up and challenge their peers to solve the mysteries.

Age: 5+

Duration: 15 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Explore math facts and get to know students. Exercise fine motor, folding and scissor skills.

You’ll Need:

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Start by folding your booklet. To learn how, click here!

Once your booklet is folded, each student will need 6 strips of white paper. Fold each strip in half. Then glue one folded strip to each page, so you have a “lift the flap” book.

Now it’s time to create your math mystery! Students will need to have five math facts about themselves. The answer to these questions can be things like age, shoe size, number of pets and number of family members.

The first pages of our booklet challenge students to discover the author’s age and number of pets.

The next pages ask about the number of people in the author’s family and the author’s shoe size.

The last pages have a math fact and the reveal page!

These books aren’t just a great way to practice math and introduce students to each other. It’s an excellent activity for parent nights!

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Miniature Folded Booklet

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This simple craft base is perfect for all kinds of classroom projects!

Are students getting bored with writing? Has math lost it’s luster? Everything is more special when it is published! Reinvigorate students by teaching them how to create this little booklet and writing their own stories, favorite math facts, “All About Me” arts and more!

Age: 5+

Duration: 5 minutes

Learning Outcomes: Practice making neat, precise folds. Add pizzazz to language and math activities. Encourage young writers to “self publish.” Exercise fine motor skills.

You’ll Need:

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This folded booklet is a cinch to make!

  1. Turn the sheet of paper so the white side is facing up.
  2. Fold the paper lengthwise (hot dog style), and then open it up.
  3. Fold the paper so the short sides come together (hamburger style).
  4. WITHOUT opening up your hamburger fold, do a second hamburger fold.
  5. Open up the second hamburger fold. You should have a half sheet with creases that form a +
  6. Using safety scissors, cut the paper along the crease line from the fold to the center of the paper.
  7. Unfold the paper completely. You should have creases demarcating 8 boxes, and a slit in the center of the paper.
  8. Fold you paper hot dog style, so that the colored side of the paper shows.
  9. Hold your paper so that the fold is facing up. You should be holding the two end boxes. Gently press the two end boxes together. This will form a 3D +
  10. Fold the top and bottom of the + so that they sandwich the left handed box. Lay your paper flat, and strengthen all the creases.
  11. Fold the last box over to form a small booklet.

Stay tuned, we will have more ideas for projects to do with these little booklets in the future!

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