February 2009  "Crafts of the Month"--Presidential Idea

With February being a very Presidential month, we thought we would share some Washington and Lincoln ideas with you, that we have had great success with.

Washington's Powdered Wig
  

Materials Needed:

Shower Cap (the kind they give away in hotels--try asking,we got enough for the whole class)
Cotton Balls
Tacky Glue
Ribbon (optional) to tie ponytail on wig

Directions:

Lay shower cap (opening side down) on paper.
Take cotton balls and pull them lightly to create 2-3" rolls of cotton. (You will need approximately 16-20)
Cover shower cap with tacky glue.
Put cotton rolls on glue in rows.
Let dry.
Glue on one more roll as the ponytail at the lower back edge of the shower cap and let it dry.
Tie ponytail with ribbon at base of shower cap if desired.
Put on wig and pretend you are Washington!

This is a great repetitive activity. It also works on muscle control as you have to gauge how much tension you need to pull the cotton balls out into rolls. Putting the rolls on the glue is a great bilateral motor control activity!
And, the cotton and the glue are very tactile!

Lincoln Bracelet

   

Materials Needed:

Shiny new Lincoln pennies
Clear Packing tape
Scissors

Directions:

Cut a piece of packing tape 1" longer than the wrist of the child.
Lay tape down on table, tacky side up.
Arrange pennies down the lower half of the length of the tape, leaving space at each end.
Fold long length of tape over the pennies while bending tape into a circle, attaching the free end space to create a bracelet.
Wear and admire Lincoln!

This activity is great for pinch grasp and position in space activities!

Presidential Wallet

 

Materials Needed:

Construction Paper
Xeroxed copies of $1 and $5 Bills (Washington and Lincoln--you can get 4 to a page)
Scissors
Glue
Crayons or markers

Directions:

Fold the Construction paper in half, press down to get nice creased edges.
Open the paper back up and fold both halves 1" down, toward the center crease (so paper is divided into 4  creased areas.
Leave folded inward and glue the two ends (for the edges of the wallet).  Let dry.
Fold the "wallet" in half and let the child decorate the outside and inside of their wallet any way they want.
Cut the Xeroxed money out and place in the "wallet".
Pretend to go shopping and see what you can buy with those Washingtons and Lincolns!

*This activity is great for straight line cutting and improving folding skills. Designing their wallet can be used to address graphic skills. Overall it is a great bilateral motor control activity!