Welcome to the Green Street Volunteers Blog!
A place to share ideas and such - email me if you have something to post and I'll put it right up. This is yours to run with, if you think it can be useful. Etroll@wesleyan.edu

Art Activities:
Please feel free to comment and add your own: who did the masks? the nametags? Jack O'lanterns? leaf rubbings? Let's get inspired for next semester!

HW Tips:
By the illustrious Alex Hartley. Comment and expand! No kid names please.

Daily Comments:
How was your day? How were your kids today? Did you learn anything to share?

Updates:
Postings about meetings and other events, feel free to add your own if there's something that would be of interest to the group.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Popsicle stick Superheroes

Materials: Popsicle sticks, yarn, foam paper, googly-eyes, crayons, glue, scissors, tape
Setup: Distribute materials around the table, the teacher should cut the yarn and keep it off the table, make an example. Make a bunch of superhero figures by crossing two popsicle sticks (body w/arms basically) and gluing in the center.

Lesson Plan:
1) What’s your favorite superhero? If you made up your own superhero, what would it’s name and superpower be? (5)
2) Pass out superhero figures, and show example (2)
3) Continue questions and discussion while students work on their superhero (10)
4) Attach a yarn loop to a finished superhero so students can hang it up somewhere (around their necks) (3)
5) Clean-up: neaten up materials, scraps in the trash can, collect glue and scissors in one place (5)

Comments:
Kids will need a lot of help on the little details, like fitting superhero capes, attaching stuff with yarn. It’s good to have a bunch of volunteers to help out with this one.

When-I-Grow-Up Statues

When-I-Grow-Up Statues

Materials: crayons, pencils, scissors, cardboard (Kraft mac+cheese boxes are perfect, you can get 2 statues out of each, 4 each out of a cereal box)
Setup: cut out cardboard rectangles, about 7” by 4” for the statue part and 1” by 4” for the support, pull out drawing materials and scissors, make an example

Lesson Plan:
1) What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? Raised hands (5)
2) When students have an idea of what to make, they can outline their person in pencil (3)
3) Add colors and details with crayons (10)
4) Students can cut out their statue shape (2)
5) Help students tape the support to the back of the statue and fold the support so that the statue can stand up on its own
6) Clean-up: students should put their name on the back of their statue and move it to the windowsill, everyone should help collect pencils and crayons and put scraps of cardboard in the trash. (5)

Comments:
Takes some setup, but is pretty easy to run.

Paper Bag Monsters

Paper Bag Monsters

Materials: paper bags, decorating materials (feathers, buttons, yarn, googly-eyes), glue, scissors, paint, old t-shirts for smocks
Setup: trash bags taped down to cover the table, paint diluted in cups, scissors and glue spread around the table, materials at the head of the table with the teacher to distribute

Lesson Plan:
1) Put on a smock, take a paper bag, and choose a seat (2)
2) The goal: paper bag monster, give some ideas, ask for ideas, show an example (3)
3) Painting (10)
4) Adding body parts with decorating materials (10)
5) Discussion of monsters to keep ideas flowing: what is this monster’s special power? is it a scary monster or a gentle one? does this monster have a name?
6) Clean-up: decorating materials back to the top of the table, monsters left on the windowsill to dry, paint poured out and brushes rinsed, scraps in the trash, floor swept (5)

Comments:

The cleanup was a disaster because there were too many students and too much to do. Maybe next time eliminate the painting aspect and use crayons instead, or have a team of volunteers who can help kids with specific tasks like collecting the glue or bringing the paint to the sink. With painting, it’s probably better to leave the final monsters on the table and move them yourself rather than asking the students to move them – they’ll just make a mess! Otherwise, the activity went well because the students are more engaged with paint and a variety of materials to work with.

Clay Transportation

Clay Transportation

Materials: clay, pencils, popsicle sticks, paper
Setup: lay out clay tools around the table, pass out clay to children as they arrive, giving even amounts, if a student wants more they should specify what they need it for before receiving extra

Lesson Plan:
1) Define transportation and list types of transportation, discuss what different types of transportation we use, encourage participating through hand-raising (5)
2) Inform students that the goal is to make some kind of vehicle out of clay
3) Pass out clay (2)
4) Help students think of what to make and give advice on how to use the clay to make their idea. Demonstrate use of pencils and popsicle sticks to make marks in the clay, and cut the clay cleanly. (5)
5) What details can you add? People in the vehicle, a steering wheel, windows? (10)
6) When finished, have each student place their vehicle on a piece of paper and write their name on the paper, then put it on the windowsill. (5)
7) Clean-up: pencils and popsicle sticks in the center of the table, paper towel to wipe down the work area

Comments:
Making examples of a train and a car beforehand would have been helpful, giving the students a more concrete goal.