Africa This Month!

My kinders loved learning about African animals this month.  They all chose an animal to "research" at home, report on and do a project on.  In class we did art projects such as these precious giraffes done with fine point black markers and a little brown paint.

No Sew Paper Towel Quilt Tutorial

Materials:  3 buckets or other containers; 3 bottles or packages of RIT dye (each of a different color) prepared as directed on the package; 2 rolls of decent quality paper towels; rubber or latex gloves; paint smocks 

This is best done in very small groups (3-5).  Hopefully you have a wonderful parent volunteer like I did:) Give each student a square of paper towel to fold.  They can fold it up anyway they like, until it can't be folded any smaller. Most will end up with a tight little square or triangle. Have students put on gloves and smocks.  Have them choose 2 colors and dip 2 different corners of their folded paper towel into each color quickly.  If they hold the paper towel in too long, colors get muddy.  It's okay to have some white left.  Unfold and hang outside to dry.  Repeat for a large quilt.  The quilt above is about 120 pieces.  The students did 4 or 5 pieces each.  

To assemble the dry pieces, simply run a line of Elmer's glue along the edges and overlap slightly.  Use enough glue so that it soaks through both plies when slightly compressed.  That's it...no cutting, no sewing!!!  Your students will ooooo and aaahhh over the results.  We made ours into sort of a tent, which my kinders love to sit under and look up at.