Fairies in a Jar class project

I've been promising my kids in my program that we would make Fairies or Trolls in a Jar for about a month. One of my girls, Erica, bugged me about it on a weekly basis, but I needed them all to bring in their own plastic jar. Naturally all 4 girls brought theirs in, but the boys didn't bring in theirs (they never do). So, I finally gathered enough jars and we made them last week.


Remember, I have 7 kids in this program (very small) and maybe one or two like art. I have three boys who would rather play sports for two hours, but that's not going to happen, not with me.
One of my girls might as well be a boy. She doesn't like "girlie" things at all. All of the kids want to do their project in 3.2 seconds, so it's a challenge every time we sit down to make something.

I have to prod them and coax them along the way. Inevitably, someone will say "this is fun".
One boy will either say, "this is the worst day ever" or "this is the best day ever", he's very opinionated.

I keep at it though. There are times when I almost cry because they are enjoying their projects so much. For instance, I played classical music while we painted. I had them close their eyes for a moment and imagine the scene that the music evoked. Most saw people dancing. Some saw castles and dragons. Others saw bright colors and swirls. They just wanted to paint and paint, even the oldest who walks around with a basketball, bugging me to "go to the gym", painted three paintings.

I never force my kids to do the projects. I give them options. For instance, I tell them "if you don't want to do the fairy jar, you can work on a puzzle." Usually, they will pick the project because they want to be in the midst of their friends. (I'm the queen, I just don't want them to know it.)

Fairy Jar

If you have children this is a fun project to do. Save plastic jars (glass if the child is older and the jar is going to be placed on a shelf).

Supplies needed..

• glue gun and glue sticks
• spanish moss
• deer moss
• a fairy, monster or troll
• paper & crayons
• silk flowers
• little pebbles
• sequins
• beads
• glitter
• netting
• tacky glue
  

Of course, don't let the child touch the glue gun, so this is a partnered project.

While you are gluing spanish moss to the bottom of the jar, have your child draw a scene on a piece of paper that easily slips into the back of the jar. It should be as tall as the jar also. I told my kids to draw skies, mountains, volcanoes, sunsets, whatever they wanted.

Slip the finished picture into the jar, along the back side. Glue into place with a dab of glue.

Hot glue the fairy or troll (which you've made earlier) into the center of the moss and hold in place.

Let your child drop beads, little rocks, sequins and flowers into the jar, these don't really have to be glued. Toss in a little glitter. Have your child cut out a piece of netting that is 2 or 3 times bigger than the lid. Have them use the lid as a template. Place a thin bead of glue along the top of the jar and quickly place the netting on top, centering it. Hold it down by the edges till it dries. Tie a ribbon or pipe cleaner around the top to further hold the netting into place. Your child can now use the tacky glue to place feathers, moss, and more sequins into place. Fairy in a jar!

Contest

Don't forget to leave a comment. I'm having a giveaway that ends March 5. A link to the rules is on the upper right side of my blog. Good luck and start commenting. Even if you've won before, feel free to comment again.