Greetings!
I just had to share this fun project! Back in December I made a New Years Mobile that I shared for free. It became wildly popular and I loved seeing pictures from all over the globe of ways that it was being used in classrooms. It was inspiring and fun.
This got me to thinking- what if I did a Back to School edition! The idea sat in my brain for a while and finally bubbled its way out and onto paper. The results are shown below. I had two of my children take it for a test drive (after all, if there was a kink or issue, I wanted to have it resolved BEFORE I make copies for my 63 writing students- grades 4-6 for this coming school year!).
Both kids were very happy to test drive it for me. My soon-to-be 5th grade daughter was in heaven. She is very crafty, just like her mom. After she finished coloring and cutting out the shapes, she got to work.
The materials for making this are very simple. Copies of the mobile pieces, string, scissors, and a glue stick (or liquid glue). There are 4 headers to choose from- 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th.
My daughter started by laying out all the pieces on the table, making sure the pieces were facing the right direction on both sides.
Once she had them laid out, she cut the string to match the length, leaving extra on both ends (for a loop to hang it with on the top and wiggle room on the bottom!)
Once she had the string cut, she separated the pieces, putting the words face down.
Next, she used the glue stick and outlined the first shape and but a line of glue down the middle where the string was to lay.
Then, she glued the words down and pressed firmly where the string ran through. She had to try a couple of times to get the string straight. :)
My daughter continued to glue each piece in turn, double-checking to make sure the bottom piece was NOT upside down.
When she finished, she cut off the extra string and tied a loop at the top.
Here is my beautiful girl showing off her hard work. I asked her if she liked it and she said it was "really fun!".
A disclaimer: You may be thinking that she said that because she is my daughter- WRONG! There have been MANY times when she has patted my shoulder and told me that an activity/resource wasn't that great! She sure knows how to be honest- which I am grateful for!
Next, my 3rd grade son did HIS project. He was excited to do his first test drive for his dad!
You can see big sister helping, but not too much. I really wanted to see if a 3rd grader to could this with minimal help!
As you can see, he was very successful with his project. AND, he was very proud. We still have it hanging in our living room. ha ha.
If you are wondering what is on the back part- there are LOTS of activities. Students talk about their favorite book/author, what they did on summer vacation, set goals for the year, and more. I am so stinkin' excited to use this with my 63 writing students. My
New Year's Mobile looked amazing hanging from my ceiling, and I know these will look stellar too!
Thanks for stopping by! It is always a pleasure to see you.
Cheers-
Mr. Hughes
You can use this amazing project with YOUR kiddos!
Simply click on the picture below to check out the details!
