chalkboard butterflies in the classroom

 When I was shopping for butterflies the first time around, I spied these already-made chalkboard butterflies at Michaels for three dollars and scooped one up for the children to draw and color on.

The chalkboard came with a twine hanger threaded and knotted through the holes at the top. I cut the twine off so we could use the butterfly at our art table. The set up was really pretty simple. Just the chalkboard and the chalk in one of my insect trays from Cost Plus World Market (from 2011). I mean really, look how pretty the chalk looks...all those happy colors. The children had a damp sponge and/or a piece of flannel to wipe the board clean. One of my industrious kiddos got a hold of a wet wipe to wash the chalk dust off his hands and continued to use it as an eraser. While a lot of fun, this board did not work as well when wet. You know how vibrant chalk looks on a wet board, or wet chalk looks on a board? It didn't work on this board...I have no idea why but that did not deter the kiddos at all.

Sorry about the blurry photo. This is the only one I managed to get of the set up. Even though I wiped it down you can still see evidence of the chalk all over the surface. For some reason, the children also preferred the brown chalk above all the other colors. Go figure. You can find chalkboards in all shapes and sizes now. I have chalkboard teapots, pumpkins,  birds, circles...so many!

diy magnetic butterfly {that is also a chalkboard and a felt board}

This project is a favorite of mine and the children's! There are three ways the children can interact with them. They are a both a magnet board and a chalkboard and the backs are covered in felt to use as a felt board. I came up with is on the spot at Michaels once I saw these butterflies.

These wooden butterflies were a great size, not too small, not too large. They were thick and sturdy and while I wish they were flat, the details were not too cumbersome. At two dollars a pop, I snatched two up and ran to the paint section to search for magnetic paint. The only magnetic paint they had was from Martha Stewart. It was a bit on the pricey side but I really wanted to make this project and was very happy I had a coupon to use so I justified the purchase and popped it into my basket. I gave the butterflies two coats of magnet paint and one coat of black chalkboard paint that I had previously purchased from Michaels as well. It was a small bottle, 2 oz, from CraftSmart. While the paint was drying, I glued magnets to happy colored shape buttons purchased from Oriental Trading, and cut out tiny shapes from colored scraps of felt I had from another project. To finish it off, I glued orange felt to the back of one butterfly, and yellow felt to the back of the other.

We covered our  butterflies in buttons, colored them with chalk, pretended they were sandwiches and practiced our symmetry (for some of the children I designed one side of the butterfly while they matched the other and vice versa). We also sorted out our magnetic buttons into cool and warm colors (which was an impromptu project when one of the children asked me if purple was a cool color, how awesome is that?) We never got out the felt pieces for the back as the task of covering the entire surface with brown chalk (and only brown chalk) was much too enticing for ALL of the children.

I am really really pleased with how this project turned out and how the children engaged with it. Now I have to think of some other projects for my magnetic paint. Any suggestions?

Chalky Birds

Okay, so, Penguin Day was yesterday and I am late with some penguin inspired projects. I am so sorry for that and I have some projects about to be done but for now I leave you with Chalky Penguins! The nifty thing about penguin inspired art is that you don't need too many colors and in looking for what you have on hand you just may come up with something completely original and super duper fun! To start all you have to do is go on an art supply scavenger hunt and search your household for black, white and yellow. The possibilities are endless! You could even send your kidelts on the hunt with guidelines, of course! Fabric scraps, paper, newspaper, paint, crayons, dried pasta, rice, black beans, pip cleaners, tissue...see what I mean. Today's project utilizes those fun and chunky bits of sidewalk chalk that are laying about. I don't know aboutany of you but when we have a new box of sidewalk chalk in this place, the blues and pinks and greens get snatched up right quick but the whites and yellows usually sadly linger in the bottom of the tub. Pull them out, shake them off and have a go at some Penguin drawing.

What you need:
*chalk (any color will do but white & yellow are perfect for penguins)
*black paper

scrumdilly-do it!

lay out black paper
lay out chalk

Have a field Day!

If you are super industrious you can make your own sidewalk chalk. If you're feeling click happy you can check out my newest kaboodle list!