In the Art Room: Paper Loom Weaving

Well, hello there, buddies! I'm here today to share with y'all that I hereby declare January the WONDERFUL WORLD O' WEAVING MONTH! That's right "WWW".  Which is way better than WWF because it doesn't involve sweaty old dudes in spandex. Unless you're into that sort of thing. In which case, you might have found yourself on the wrong blog. Smell ya later.

Whew, now that my mom is gone, lemme splain to ya what the Wonderful World of Weaving Month is gonna look like on this here blog. Each week, I'm going to share with you my fave tried and true weaving lessons complete with video (including this post! Brace yourselves, people. My voice has been likened to nails on a chalkboard.) At the end of this month, I'll be sharing even more weaving goodness at The Art of Education conference on January 31st! Are y'all going? 

If you've not attended, you really outta. In my last post, I mentioned my fave things of 2014 and completely left out one of the very best things: attending and presenting at AOE twice! I do hope to see you there so you can hear me wax poetic about WWW. Unless you wanna hear someone wax poetic about WWF in which case you should call my mom. Right now she's only going by her "Wrestling Name" which is Star Blaster. Don't ask. 

Now, if you've never ever taught or attempted weaving before, have no fear. This here paper loom weaving project will lay the ground work for all other weaving projects. I do a paper loom weaving project with my first grade friends every year. However, if you are introducing weaving to kids that have never given it a go, I strongly recommend you have them do this simple project. They'll learn the vocabulary, the technique and the ability to apply what they've learned to more advanced weaving projects. So, lez get started!

To jazz up my paper weavings a bit, I'll often have the kids create some textured and painted papers. It's a fun and quick way to introduce such painting techniques as stamping (I used the back of a round clothes pin), credit card scraping (just paint a couple drops of paint at the top of the paper and pull the credit card downward), scratching into paint with a texture comb or back of a paint brush and splatter painting (everyone's favorite...except for the art teacher's.)

Once the papers are painting, some are cut by me into weaving strips (called wefts) and one is left untouched to be used for the loom. In the clip below, I'll introduce you to some of my favorite ways to share weaving with students as well as show you how I go about having the kids create a paper loom.

With the introduction to weaving and loom creating, this generally takes about 30 minutes. That's one art class for me. Oh! In this clip, I mention what my art room set up is like. You can read all about that here. 

If you are a step-by-step photo person, like me, here you go. I have the kids gather with their paper and a pair of scissors. We begin by folding our papers in half from the bottom to the top.

With the folded edge at the bottom and the open at the top, peel back the first layer of paper at the top. Fold it down just a pinch, about the length of your finger tip. No need to fold down both pieces of paper. It should look like the lip of an envelope. 

Next up, unfold that part and run your finger back and forth over the crease. At this point, I have the kids do the same and repeat after me: "This is the STOP! line. When my scissors are a-cutting they will STOP! at this line".

At this point, I tell the kids that I want to cut my paper almost in half. How will I know when to stop cutting so that I don't cut it completely in half? That's right, the STOP! line. Start by cutting at the bottom in the middle and, well, you know where to stop. I then hold this up and tell the kids, "hey, look, we made Sponge Bob's pants!"

Next up, cut the paper into fourths. If you are curious how I go about having 20 plus kids all cut these looms together, watch that clip. It's tres simple, y'all.

 Boom! Now I've made pants for my cat. 

 Each one of those four sections is then cut in half creating eight equal sections. Lika dis. It should closely resemble a hola skirt.

Carefully unfold your paper and, viola! You've got yourself a loom. Let's weave something, shall we?

In this much shorter clip, I'll show you how I go about teachin' that.

Using a giant paper loom really helps. Unless you have a document cam then I suppose that'd work great too. Once I feel the kids have it, we weave together whilst sitting on the floor. 

My first grade kids all know what an A-B pattern is and looks like. So explaining it to them in their terms really helps.

When I'm teaching weaving, I do whole lotta non-exampling. I'll weaving incorrectly, for example, by having the second weft do the same as the first, and show them why this is incorrect (the wefts will simply slide down behind the others). By showing the kids a non-example and explaining to them why it's incorrect, they'll more than likely understand the process even better. 

And end up with a super lovely weaving! Now, I'm not gonna like about a half the kids are gonna knock this outta the park and be finished in a blink. Meanwhile, the other kids are gonna get stuck. So we do a lotta peer tutoring in weaving which looks a lil like this...

So, what can you do with paper weaving when they are finished? Well...

 My first graders have used them for the basis of a crocodile puppet and a Starry Night-inspired collage. 

As well as these fish collages! My first graders used a small paper weaving as the basis for their self-portraits as royalty.  

And there you have it! I hope you are excited about the Wonderful World of Weaving as much as I am. And keep on coming back to here, y'all, as I've got plenty more weaving projects and videos to share with you in the weeks to come. 

Until then, I'd super duper love to hear what your fave PAPER weaving projects are! Let's inspire each other in the comments below. And if you've got a blog post on weaving that you'd like sot share, pretty please do. Thanks, guys!

How to Teach Paper Weaving!

I'll never forget my first year teaching. It was: wonderful, traumatizing, exciting, nerve-wracking and, most of all, a HUGE learning curve! I'll never forget seeing "weaving" in my first grade curriculum and breaking into a sweat. I'd gotten a C in fibers in college (which is so funny as fibers are my favorite thing!) BECAUSE OF MY WEAVING! When warping that big ole loom, I missed a couple of warps. Instead of going back and fixing my mistake, I thought, "eh, that professor will never notice." Little did I know that it'd leave a huge run all the way down the length of my weaving that seemed to scream, "THIS SLACKER DESERVES A C!" And a C I got.

I remember introducing weaving to my first graders that year and a boy named Jonathan shouted out, "Weaving's for GIRLS and I ain't doing it!" It was then that I realized I had to make weaving (and teaching in general) fun, silly, wacky and engaging. For all my learners, boys and girls. The thing is, he turned out to be my best weaving and biggest fan of the medium. As most boys do!

Introducing kids to weaving is something that I've been doing now for 18 years...and this lesson hasn't changed all that much. I read the same book, show them how to make a loom on the first day and we weave on the next. I know so many teachers struggle with weaving. The key is, introducing them to weaving with a simple paper weaving. Once they understand the concept, they'll take off like a weavin' rocket ship. 

I thought I'd record my two thirty minute classes. Here's what we did on the very first day: creating our looms!

Here are some must-have visuals that I always use: thrift store weavings and looms; my GIANT paper loom made from laminated paper; my Goat in the Rug book.

I also love having the roving for the kids to see and touch. Normally, I'll pass it around but I had forgotten to check with the nurse for allergies so I held off on this day.

This here is my FAVORITE book on weaving and the kids absolutely love it! After we create our looms, we sign them and await the following day's weaving adventure:

If you'd like more info on paper weaving, you might enjoy this video. It will explain the process more:

Here's how we went about cutting our looms and how I explained it...

I'll keep you posted on just what we are doing with our weavings...I'm really excited and cannot wait to share. I have a TON of weaving projects both on my YouTube channel (just search my Fibers playlist) and right here on my blog. Happy Weaving!

In the Art Room: First Grade Fiber Arts

Every year I do paper weaving with my first grade artists...and every year, when the weavings are complete, I think, "well, now what?"

This year, my first graders FLEW through weaving without much help or reteaching from me. I was so excited that I decided to throw some simple stitching into the mix and I'm so glad I did. The kids nailed it and created a beautiful heart-tastic quilt to boot.

Day 1: If you've never done paper weaving with kids before, here is how I teach them to cut their looms. We used painted paper for our looms. Cutting our looms and weaving a couple of strips took us one 30 minute class. 

Day 2: On our second day, we reviewed the weaving process. We sit in a circle and weave together. I like to use peer tutoring for those who understand weaving to help others. I find the kids do an excellent job teaching one another!

Our Love Quilt now hangs outside my art room! This is the work of two classes. My next two classes will have a different color scheme. I'll be sure to share when they are complete. 

Day 3: The next art class, students chose a 12" square piece of construction paper. We learned all about symmetry as well as positive and negative shapes and how to cut out a heart! This was then glued over our weavings. We saved the positive shape hearts for our next project. As a wrap up, we had a drawing sheet full of symmetrical and asymmetrical images for the kids to draw.

Day 4: I had to do some prep work for this day, not even gonna lie. I hot glued another square paper on the back of the artwork to anchor the weaving (see below) and I hole punched the sides. For two classes, that took about 20 minutes. Then I cut the yarn to about 18" strips and had pieces of tape on hand for the kids.

To begin, each child anchored their yarn with tape on the back. I showed them out to do a whip stitch and they went to town. To end the stitch, they added another piece of tape on the back. 

Early finishers helped those those who needed assistance. Everyone finished in under 20 minutes. This gave us time to add our names with silver Sharpie!

Once the kids were done, I laid the pieces out on the floor and decided to display the artwork quilt-style. 

For that, I simply hole punched the tops and bottoms of the weavings and tied them together with two pieces of yarn. This created long pieces of art that I hung next to each other to create the illusion of a blanket. That took a mere 30 minutes! 

I was so excited that with 4 30 minute art classes, the kids learned about weaving, symmetry and stitching...all while having a blast! I am so glad to have this beautiful masterpiece outside my art room. 

Love to hear about your favorite projects that involve paper weaving!

In the Art Room: Straw Loom Weaving

Hello, weaving friends! Welcome to the second installment of The Weaving Series during this Wonderful World of Weaving month formerly known as "January". In case you didn't know, I'll be sharing with y'all some of my favorite weaving projects all this month each complete with step-by-step photos and short video clips. So, what's in store today? Drinking Straw Loom Weaving!

Straw Loom Weaving is a great follow up project to Paper Loom Weaving as it builds on all of the previously learned skills. The youngest grade level I've done this sort of weaving with is second grade. However, I believe upper grades would enjoy this fun, easy and totes educational weaving project as well. Let's get started, y'all! 

Supplies:

Large Drinking Straws: I like the big ones without the bend in them. I've scored them at fast food joints and the grocery. I cut the straws in half. Each kid will need four straws.

Scotch Tape: You'll need this to adhere the yarn to the straw. I like this kind of tape better than masking because it can lie flat against the straw and not impede on the weaving process. And don't nobody like their weaving process to be impeded upon.

Yarn: Four strands cut to the desired length of the finished weaving. In this demo, mine was cut to about 9". 

Even More Yarn: For weaving. Let's get started!

You'll begin by warping your loom. This is the fun part, at least according to the kids, a you'll be "drinking" the yarn. If you watch my clip, you'll bet an even better idea on the process. Start by holding the end of the yarn at the bottom the straw. Place your mouth on the opposite end and inhale. The yarn will pop out the other side! Warning: do NOT inhale too much as you'll end up with a yucky mouthful of yarn. 

Yee-ouch, nice nails. Tape down that little yarn tale with some Scotch tape.

And do that four more times.

Tie all the ends together with an overhand knot.

Once you're warped (and, admit it, you've always been warped), you're ready to weave! If you watch this short clip, you'll get the process.

Hold the straws together in your non-dominate hand with a tiny bit of space between 'em. Use your thumb to hold the end of the warp string while your other hand begins the process of over and under.

When you reach the end of the row of straws, go around the end straw and begin the process again.

Lookie there, just like the paper weaving! 

In this final clip, I'll show you how to finish off the weaving and remove it from the straw loom. Take heed: the kids will often want to slide their weavings completely off their straw loom as they weave. It's important that they do not! Their weaving should slide off the ends of the straws naturally as they are weaving along. Also, they will freak out when their weaving begins to slide off because it will look a little loose. Set their minds as ease and tell 'em that it's perfectly normal. No need to freak out.

So what do you do with a straw loom weaving once it's complete? Well, my kids love to make them into bracelets by simply tying the ends of the warp strings together. They've also made belts, bookmarks and wallhangings. I'm personally dying to get some yellow and blue yarn and create woven Minons. 

What about you? Have you done this kind of weaving with your kids before? If so, what have y'all created! Please keep the convo going in the comments, kids.

ALSO! ARTSY BOOK CLUBBIN' KIDS (that's you, you can join the fun here!) don't forget that we'll be reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri beginning Monday, January 12th! 

The winner of the Artsy Book Club Giveaway is...Leah! Congrats, buddy! 

In the Art Room: My Favorite Fiber Arts Lessons!

Hey, friends! I'm coming to you today with my very favorite fiber arts projects! Teaching fiber arts is one of my very favorite things to teach, along with clay. This summer and fall, I put in HOURS creating THIS BOOK which will be due out this coming summer:

You can preorder yourself a copy here if you are interested! But if you just can't wait, I thought I'd share some of my very favorite fibers projects right here today. Be sure and follow the links to the lessons as nearly all of them have how-to videos that are perfect for you and your students. Let's start with sewing!

1. These GIANT pizza pillows were such a hit last year with my students that I knew I had to do it again. Because I was wrapping my fibers book this past fall, I decided to kick off the school year with fibers. Usually, I'm all about fiber projects in the spring. This is how we displayed the pillows at last year's art show!  This year, we also made both emoji and donut pillows (size: HUGE) but for details on those, you'll have to scoop up my book.

2. If you are looking for a beginner sewing project on a smaller scale, you might wanna try these stitched monsters on for size. My kids used Smart Fab fabric for the bodies but felt would work just fine. If you are curious what types of needles and thread I recommend, be sure and check out this blog post as well as the others where I break it down for you. 

3. I learned embroidery from my grandma when I was in elementary school and I LOVED it. It felt so good to learn something so "adult" in my mind: creating a picture with needle and thread. I love sharing this experience with my students now too. You can read all about this Our School Has Heart fiber art's experience right here. 

This year, I decided to live dangerously and introduce embroidery to my second graders at the start of the school year...when they are still first graders, really. It was a bumpy start but they got it and loved it. This lesson can be found in my book but I did create this video a while back to help you troubleshoot stitching with kids:

Actually, the above video was created for AOE during one of their online conferences! This is a couple years old but does walk you thru a lot of important details of all things fiber arts and kids. 

And here is my troubleshooting embroidery with kiddos video. I hope you find them helpful!

4. For even MORE details on sewing and embroidery, along with a book I strongly recommend, visit here!

5. Needle felting with kiddos is not something I do very often...but I do enjoy doing it! If you attempt needle felting with children, I'd make certain it's with a group of kids that understand the dangers of the needle felting tool and are responsible enough to handle it. As y'all know, I LOVE needle felting and have put in countless hours stabbing stuff. If you are interested in learning more about needle felting, start here.

6. One of the most popular lessons on this blog has been my string art lesson. This is based on a project I did in 5th grade and LOVED. My students have loved it just as much. I've created videos to walk you and your kids through this lesson so be sure and check out this blog post AND this blog post! 

7. Paper weaving is a must when you introduce weaving to your students. But what to do with the paper weaving when finished? Last year, we made these woven owls and the kids loved them! 

Both this blog post and the one mentioned above have A TON of videos on teaching first graders (and up!) how to make a paper loom and weave. 

8. Circle Loom Weaving has always been a huge hit! I normally do with my second graders in the spring but this year, I did it with third grade in the fall. I can't tell you how many videos I have on this! Be sure and check this blog post out if you have any questions about getting started. 

9. Have you ever tried CD or Embroidery Hoop weaving? So fun and easy! Last year, my second graders tackled CD weaving instead of plate weaving. It was a great way to upcycle those stacks of CD's I'd been accumulating. This type of weaving takes less time than plate weaving as you don't have to spend two art classes painting the plates. They also look super pretty in the window when light hits the CD. Video and lesson details here!

10. Whenever I get stumped for a lesson, I just think back to the things I enjoyed creating as a kid. I remember the summer I spent at a vacation bible school learning straw weaving. So fun! My kids love this one too. Details and video here!

11. Want a lesson that packs a huge punch? Tree weaving teaches landscape painting, weaving and so much more! This lesson of mine has been another huge hit on my blog. I have many videos to walk you and your kids through this fun technique. You can find it here. 

12. I have yet to meet a kid who didn't love making Ojos de Dios. Why not try expanding on that love by making BIG God's eyes?! We did that here!

13. Pouch Weaving used to be one of my all time favorite things to teach. Because it is complex, I created an entire series of weaving videos for you and your students, including how to create that cool cord. You can find the beginning of the series here.

 14. Got yarn? Then you and your kiddos can yarn bomb! What a great activity for your early finishers too. 

15. Shibori! I love shibori dying and so do my students. I created a video that explains EVERY one of these folding techniques and you can see it here. 

So, truth be told: I've been blogging for seven years and teaching for twenty. I KNOW I've left some great lesson links and videos off this list accidentally. So, you are wanting more, give my name and whatever type of fiber project you are interested in a google search...or search in the bar on the side of this blog. Because there are just so many fun fibers lessons out there. AND stay tuned for my book where there are even more!