circle, circle, dot, dot weavings

These were some simple weavings with 1" strips and some 1/2" strips glued on every other one.

Yes, I pre-cut their paper looms for them.
Yes, I realize I'm crazy. I've learned my lesson over the years, though, because watching some students cut looms is A.G.O.N.I.Z.I.N.G. It doesn't matter how many different ways I show them, measure them, etc half of them end up being a total disaster.

The result of my labors? 100% perfect results from EVERY.SINGLE.STUDENT, which to a first grader, is what makes the world go 'round. Their beaming faces after completion make my world go 'round!

luli sanchez dot paintings

I was so inspired by the beautiful fabrics that Luli Sanchez (http://www.lulisanchez.com/) makes! They are so simple and understated, but the simple geometric patterns were a great "jumping off point" for some upcycled bottle cap printing done by my fourth graders!

*Recently I was cited by the Fire Marshall for storage in my classroom. I hoard stuff BIG TIME in case my budget doesn't add up, which will probably be the case in the near future! Alas, I decided to dip into my bottlecap stash and that is what we used for the dots (the back sides) and the circles (the bottoms) for this project!

I gave them each 4 colors of paint. They printed the backs (dots) first in rows across and down their papers. On day 2 we printed the circles (rings) in empty spaces and on the tops of the dots in some cases. Sometimes there were distinct rows of circles and dots, and sometimes things got a little confusing. Either way, they turned out GREAT!

One hang-up some of my kids had were the imperfections some of the stamps made. Many of them wanted to have complete circles....but after looking at Luli's "professional" work, they embraced their imperfections, too.

I have lots more to photograph and add...I will do another post with a photobomb later!