What do you do with a leftover rain gutter mesh and tagging tape? You use it to weave these awesome kites/wind chimes/paintings (as they were called by the kids).

We love upcycling whatever we can use. We use paper toilet rolls for printing circles when we learn about shapes. We use bottle caps for wheels on our cars during Glue Gun Fridays. We use cork to make boats for our boat races. We use all we can find for 3D mixed media sculptures, collages, color wheels… I love teaching the kids that no one thing has only one use. There is not a right or wrong way to do art – there is always more than just one way.

This project was very simple, straightforward and more of a fine-motor exercise than art. But still, the kids approached it very differently. Some cut tiny pieces of the tape and made small flowers, others used huge pieces and made a ‘tail.’ Some made patterns, some used all the colors they could, others used only one or two. I love that even a simple thing such as this tells you something about the child it creates it – and I love that after a year with these kids, I can guess (90%) who made what. I can’t wait to meet the new crew tomorrow – and to start learning all about them! Yay for the new school year!