Category Archives: Building and Crafting

Making Music: Sticks and Drums

Sticks make magical musical instruments.  With sticks, anything can become a musical instrument.  Today we are going to explore stories and activities around drumming, including building our own drums and drumsticks!

Drums are considered on of the oldest musical instruments created by humankind.   The earliest form of today’s drum dates back to 5500 BCE,  to the Neolithic era, where animal skin  was strung across the top of a ceramic pot or tree trunk.

For more information on the history of drums visit www.historyofdrums.net

Drumming in Indigenous Culture

The drum holds an important position in Indigenous culture.  Northern College explains the spirituality of the drum:

“For First Nations Peoples, the drum represents the universal heartbeat of Mother Earth, the Universal goddess and mother to us all. The first sound that was heard in the world was the heartbeat of Mother Earth. First Nations Peoples manifest this heartbeat through playing a special rhythm on the drum. This Rhythm facilitates healing and realignment of the four realms of human existence (Mental, Spiritual, Emotional and Physical) because the Creator revolves around the rhythm. The drum, when combined with the voice, creates a hum that rests between the voice and the drum and is thought to be the spirits of the Ancestors.”

David Bouchard, a beloved Canadian Métis author from Vancouver wrote a beautiful story about the Cree Round Dance in his story, “The Drum Calls Softly”.  The story is also written by Shelley Willier and illustrated by Jim Poitras.

Listen to the French version, “Entre dans la Grande Ronde” here:

 

Watch a video on traditional Coast Salish Drum Making here: 

For more information on Indigenous drumming in British Columbia, please visit, The Drum: Heartbeat of Our Indigenous Cultures.

Drumming is Special

Drumming hold a special place for many many people.  In the story, Max Found Two Sticks, by Brian Pinkney, Max uses two sticks to express the world he experiences around him.  In the following read aloud, Calderwood Percussion plays the drums to the reading of “Max Found Two Sticks”:

Crafting Drums

Today, let us try making our own drums and drumsticks.  I explain how to make a drum from recycled materials here: Quick and Simple Drums by Mme Zibin

After I made my drums, I looked up bucket drumming online to practice learning to drum.   I’m not musical, but it was a lot of fun trying and getting started.  M. Zibin is a drummer and I love the bucket drumming lessons Mme Williams teaches to our Grades 5-7s.  I hope to learn more in Mme Williams’ class next year!

Here’s an example of some drums made by a Grade 4 student:

If you made any drums and created a song, I’d love to see/hear!  Email me at dzibin@sd79.bc.ca.

Happy drumming,

🙂 Mme Zibin

 

Making Stick People

Today is a great day to make stick people.  It’s drizzling outside so a walk in the sheltered forest is a lovely idea.

Made by EH and AH, Grade 4 and 6
Stick Family made by NDO and LDO, Grade Kindergarten and 4.

Please read the eBook I created below to lead you through today’s activity:

How to Make Stick People by Mme Zibin: eBook

In the ebook I have included some stand up comedy by the Fanta-stick Mme Feuille Feuille:

I made the video on ChatterPix, a simple and fun animation app for kids.  Find the tutorial here:

Here is an example of a ChatterPix video made by a kindergarten student with her stick mermaid:

Here is an example of a movie and Grade 4 student made with her stick person and the green screen.  She made a stick family and they went camping.  Inspired by the story “Stick Man” by Julia Donaldson:

Have fun creating!  Send me an email to dzibin@sd79.bc.ca if you would like to show me what you’ve made!

🙂 Mme Zibin

Blanket Fort Challenge Submissions from the Week of June 1st – 8th, 2020

What a fun week!  I wanted to show you a few of the blanket fort challenge entries I received:

1.  Photo of Your Blanket Fort

Sending in a photo of your blanket fort earned you one submission into our Volume One Books gift certificate draw.

Mme Zibin and her dog Walter’s blanket fort.

 

A wood shed turned into a blanket fort by a kindergarten and grade 4 student; NDO and LDO

 

A blanket fort with a Frankentoy from our after-school Frankentoy Workshop. Quote by student, ND in Grade 6.

 

Blanket Fort made by BE and OE, Grade 1 and PreK

 

2.  Photo of You in Your Blanket Fort Reading a Book

Sending in a photo of your blanket fort with you reading a book earned you a second submission into our Volume One Books gift certificate draw.

Walter loves reading the “Walter the Farting Dog” series.

 

EC reads “I am Peace” and IC reads “I Am Martin Luther King”.

 

IA reads “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and PA reads “Anne’s Kindred Spirits”.

 

CY reads “Auggie & Me”, MM reads “Behind the Scenes at the Museum” , CY reads ? and RY reads “The Corpse with the Garnet Face”.

 

BE Grade 1 reads Marvel’s “Thanos” and OE “Pete the Cat”.

 

Grade 1 student MH reads “Treasure Island”

 

Grade 2 student WE reads Dragon Masters in his blanket fort.

 

Grade 2 student PC reads The Girl Who Drank the Moon and her brother TC, Grade 6, reads Dog Man in their blanket fort they built on their mom’s bed.

 

Grade 4 student LDO reads Dog Diaries by James Patterson

 

Kindergarten student NDO reads Houndsley and Catina: Through the Seasons by James Howe.

2.  Video Tour of Your Blanket Fort

Sending in a video tour of your blanket fort earned you a third submission into our Volume One Books gift certificate draw.

Mme Zibin’s tour of Walter’s Blanket Fort (example):

 

Video tour by LDO and NDO, Grade 4 and Kindergarten:

 

Video tour by BE and OE, Grade 1 and PreK:

 

Video Tour by PH and KH, Grade 6 and Grade 3:

Video Tour by IA and PA, Grade 7 and Grade 3:

Video Tour by WE, Grade 2:

3.  Planning Sketch of Your Blanket Fort

Sending in a planning sketch of your blanket fort earned you a fourth submission into our Volume One Books gift certificate draw.

LDO and NDO’s planning sketch for their blanket fort.

 

BE and OEs design sketch of their blanket fort.

4.  Viewing all the Fort Story Read Alouds for  Our Fort Week

Sending in a list of all the fort stories you listened to, including the aauthor and title of each book, earned you a fifth submission into our Volume One Books gift certificate draw.

I hope you had a blast this past week and spent many hours reading, dreaming, playing and creating in your blanket fort.  Winners will be announced tomorrow.

🙂 Mme Zibin

It’s Fort Week! June 1st – June 8th, 2020

C’est la semaine de la cabane!  It’s fort week in the VIRTUAL library learning commons!  Click on image and read below to learn more:

Many of our students are returning to school this week while others will be staying home.  What a better way to welcome everyone back than with a Library Learning Commons Fort Challenge:

Keep on reading to find out more information about our contest!

Why Build a Fort?

Building forts, whether out of blankets, boxes, or pillows, was one of my most favourite things to do as a child.  In fact, building forts are good for us and can provide us with a safe place to escape.  In the article, “Why kids love building forts — and why experts say they might need them more than everpublished in the Washington Post on May 18th, 2020, fort building can “reflect children’s growth as individuals; they create a “home away from home,” free from parental control. Forts also foster creativity.

IKEA created a wonderful fort guide for children over the lockdown to encourage people to stay home: 

This week I have to feature read alouds in our Virtual Learning Commons.  The first is one of my most favourite picture books, “Everything You Need for a Treehouse” written by Carter Higgins and illustrated by the talented Emily Hughes:

Packed full of wonderful ideas for forts, “Everything You Need for a Treehouse” is a must listen before beginning your fort building.

Another featured story this week is the charming, “Fort Building Time” by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Abigail Halpin:

So draw up some plans and get building!

École Mount Prevost’s LLC Blanket Fort Challenge

Our Blanket Fort Challenge is meant to build creativity and fun while fostering the love of reading and stories.  The guidelines for the challenge are as follows:

  1. Use can use whatever you want to build your fort.  It does not have to be from blankets only.
  2. You can build your fort inside or outside your home.
  3. You can build your fort with your siblings.  Each sibling will be entered individually for the family fort.
  4. If you cannot build a fort for yourself due to space or time, you can draw a fort or build a fort from Lego, blocks or toys.
  5. You can build a model fort from cardboard or recyclables.
  6. Take a picture of your fort and send it to Mme Zibin at dzibin@sd79.bc.ca for a chance to win a $25, $15, or $10 gift certificate from our local bookstore, Volume One Books!
  7. Photos of your fort are due no later than Monday, June 8th by 7 pm.

How to Earn More Entries 

You can earn more entries into the draw by including the following:

  • Extra entry if we can see you reading a book in the fort.  BOOK COVER SHOULD COVER YOUR FACE for privacy reasons.  BOOK COVER SHOULD BE VISIBLE to help promote the book.
  • Send in a design sketch of your fort to show your planning.
  • Listen to ALL of the fort stories in this week’s virtual library.  Send in a list of all the titles you listened to and include the author’s names.
  • Create a video tour of your fort, explaining the special features.

Each bullet will earn you an extra entry.  Please submit your work to Mme Zibin at dzibin@sd79.bc.ca by Monday, June 8th at 7 pm.

If you would like to contribute your child’s weekly reading responses to our Friday gallery, please visit the “Submitting Work” page for more information.

I’m going to build a fort too!  I’ll share it with you later in the week.

A big thank you to SW and JW for allowing me to use their blanket fort to promote the challenge.  Thank you to mom, TW, for the photograph.

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing those that return,

🙂 Mme Zibin

It’s Garden Week: May 25th – May 29th, 2020

C’est la semaine “Dans le jardin”! “It’s In the Garden Week” week in the VIRTUAL library learning commons!  Click on image and read below to learn more:
A la bibliothèque for the week of May 25th – 29th, 2020.
 
This week’s theme is “In the Garden” or “Dans le jardin”.
Click on a book cover to access a link to online read alouds in French and in English.
Stories include:
  • Une si petite graine by Eric Carle
  • Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds illustrations by Peter Brown
  • The Bad Seed by John Jory
  • Rose la graine by Benédicte Guettier
  • Graine d’arc-en-ciel by Benoît Charlat
  • and so many more!
Songs:
  • The Vegetable Song (I think the song is hilarious myself)
Activites:
  • Make a Creepy Carrot
  • Draw a Creepy Carrot with Mme Zibin
  • Draw The Bad Seed with Mme Zibin
  • Germinate Seeds activity
Videos:
  • Watch a bean seed sprout in time lapse – so cool!
  • How Does a Seed Grow into a Plant?
If your child has any work they would like to share, please send it to me by Friday morning. I adore seeing their work.  See “Submitting Work” page for more information.  
Have a great week!
🙂 Mme Zibin

Today is Gallery Day!

Today is Gallery Day!  What another great week!  The Pet Reading Photo Challenge had a few first time sharers and I am thrilled to show you all of the work.  Here is a quick sneak peak:

I am aiming for all work to be posted between 3 – 4 pm.

If your child has work they would like to submit, please know I will accept work at any time, there is no deadline.  The only reason I post after 3pm on Fridays is to have as much work as possible revealed at once.  I will however, add student work anytime after.

Please see the “Submitting Student Work” Page for more information.

🙂 Mme Zibin

Book Cover or Pets Reading Photo Challenge

Oh my word, today’s reading challenges are so much fun!

Challenge One: Recreate a Book Cover

It’s simple; using what you have around the house, recreate a book cover.  Here are some examples to inspire you:

Image Source: New York Public Library

 

From the New York Public Library

 

From @lepetiteeducator on Instagram
From @domegomez.c on Instagram

Use your toilet paper roll characters to recreate a book cover like I did:

Matilda book cover
Mme Zibin’s Matilda
Pretty good match, don’t you think?

You can use the different fonts on Book Creator or another photo editing app to remake your book cover.  You can also just draw the text around yourselves or your toilet paper roll character like these two did:

From Twitter: @haha_tucksy

Or here:

You just need to get creative and problem solve with what you have around!

Challenge Two: Pets Read

There’s nothing more adorable than pets acting like humans, especially when they are reading!

Image Source: Pinterest
Image Source: Pinterest

Image Source: Pinterest
Image Source: Pinterest

Just make sure that you don’t harm your pets for the photos.  If you don’t have a pet, imaginary pets are perfectly acceptable, as long as you are getting creative.

I’m going to leave you with this adorable video I saw yesterday of a  boy in England reading the story “Owl Babies” to baby owls:

Reading with animals is the best!

I can’t wait to see what you create today,

🙂 Mme Zibin

 

 

 

 

Toilet Paper Roll Book Characters

I’m excited to share with you this week’s craft: toilet paper roll book characters!

I found so many fun examples of TP roll characters online while researching today’s craft:

Julia Donaldson’s “The Troll” pirates from Red Ted Art

 

Captain Underpants from The Craft Train

Step 1

Think of the character you would like to create.  It can be a character from a picture book or a chapter book.  It can be an animal or a person.  Here are a few examples of what I made to give you some ideas:

The Incredible Book-Eating Boy in toilet paper roll form
Matilda in toilet paper roll form

I started by choosing authors I really like, such as Oliver Jeffers and Roald Dahl.  I enjoy all their stories so it was pretty easy to pick my characters.  I had too much fun making my two story characters: Oliver Jeffer’s The Incredible Book Eating Boy from yesterday’s read aloud and Roald Dahl’s Matilda.   I hope to soon make the character from my all time favourite picture book, The Little Gardener by author and illustrator Emily Hughes.

Step 2

Once you have decided on your book character you need to gather your materials:

Some of the basic supplies for today’s craft

For today’s activity, you will need: 

  • toilet paper rolls
  • cereal box (cardboard for arms, etc)
  • scissors
  • markers, pencil crayons or wax crayons
  • glue
  • paper

Optional supplies: 

  • googly eyes
  • paint
  • fabric scraps or construction paper
  • yarn for hair
  • wire
  • hot glue
  • other supplies like scrap ribbon, pompoms, etc.

Step 3

Begin with the body.  If you have markers or crayons, colour a base colour.  For example, you can colour pink for a pig or grey for a wolf.    You can also use construction paper or colour blank paper the colour you need as your base colour.  Cut the to the size of your TP roll and glue the paper around your roll.   I used paint to paint skin colour:

The little round piece with the tabs I made to close off the top of the head but you don’t have to do that yourself.   If you have used paint, set it your TP roll aside to dry.

Step 4

For my face,  I like to draw my eyes, mouth and nose on paper.  It makes it easier to redo the face if I make a mistake.

When you draw a face you love for you character, cut it out, play with facial arrangements and then glue it on your TP roll.

Step 5

Clothing is my most favourite part!  I used wool felt squares for my TP characters, but you could can draw and colour paper and cut it out and glue it onto your TP character:

I coloured and outfit for my Incredible Book-Eating Boy.

 

Glue the bottoms first and then add the top and all the other details last.

Here, the clothes, hair and face were all made out of construction paper for Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf:

Step 6

If you choose to add hair, now is the time to do it.  You can cut hair from paper and add it to your TP roll character like this Elsa from Hello, Wonderful:

Tip: Cut the hair in strips and curl the hair around a pencil to make curls!

If you choose to use yarn, creating the hair is similar to what we did when we made our cork portraits last school year.  Here is a video from the cork project to help you with the hair.  First, bundle the yarn into two bundles then follow the steps in the video:

Step 7

In this last step, add the little details. like arms or other details that make your character special, like the Hogwarts scarves in Harry Potter:

The characters of Harry Potter

I made little paper books for my Matilda, since she loved books so:

I also made a paper book for my version of the Incredible Book Eating Boy:

I’m really happy with how my characters turned out.  I hope you enjoy making your book character too!  Join me tomorrow for the Photo Quote Challenge.  You could always use the character you build today in the photo challenge tomorrow.

🙂 Mme Zibin

 

 

 

Today is Gallery Day!

ACTIVATE ROBO-GALLERY BLAST –

Today is Gallery Day and I can’t wait to share the wild work of our students with you all.  I am happy to hear how many of you are enjoying “The Wild Robot” read aloud  — and across all grades!  Peter Brown has truly written a special story.  We have “The Wild Robot Escapes” in our library learning commons too, an FYI.  😉

Here is a sneak peak of today’s awesome-sauceness:

Our École Mount Prevost’s ESW students’ wild robots, found in the wild, Grades K – 5: 

MH, Grade 1, Wild Robot diorama: 

I will add all to the work to the Student Gallery page by 3 pm today.  If your child has work they would like to submit, please know I will accept work at any time, there is no deadline.  The only reason I post at 3 on Fridays is to have as much work as possible revealed at once.  I will however, add student work anytime after.

Please see the “Submitting Student Work” Page for more information.

Un grand merci to all those taking part.  I’m finding your work so inspiring.

🙂 Mme Zibin

 

Build a Bot

Inspiration

Today we build our junk wild robots!  Looking for inspiration?  I found many wonderful recycled robot projects online:

Image source: Pinterest
From https://rustuff.tumblr.com/

 

Here’s a wonderful step-by-step tutorial by kidsactivitiesblog.com:

From: kidsactivitiesblog.com

 

Mme Zibin’s Robot

I love crafting.  Yesterday I shared my sketch for my green lacewing robot:

Mme Zibin’s Robot design concept

 

Here are the recycled materials I gathered before starting, as well as some new materials:

  • toilet and paper towel rolls
  • paper straws
  • cardboard packing
  • lace from an old doily
  • pasta cardboard box
  • tin foil
  • wire: pipe cleaners and metal wire
  • metal bits
  • glue (I mixed glue with water to harden my lace into wings)
  • hot glue
  • masking tape or Duck tape
  • scissors
  • silver spray paint
What I gathered for my materials

 

I started cutting and shaping my paper and toilet paper rolls, attaching pieces with masking tape.  I also mixed equal parts craft glue and water and painted the mixture on my lace to harden it for robot wings:

Green lacewing robot base

I’m adding a simple hobby motor to my robot so I made an opening to insert the battery pack and an on/off switch.

After the majority of my lacewing robot was assembled, I spray painted the wings separately from the body.  I have more to add, but I will insert the motor into my robot before adding pieces and another layer of spray paint:

After the first layer of spray paint.

 

I’m really really happy with how my robot is coming together!  Remember, the above are all suggestions — you can take any direction that works for you.  Build your robot from:

  • Lego
  • blocks
  • loose parts
  • nature materials

The list is endless!

Images from: FrugalFun4Boys; Lego; Modularbrick.com

Wild Robot Photoshoot

It’s going to be a beautiful day today, so why not take your robot outside for a photoshoot?

Mme Zibin’s Wild Robot photoshoot

You can take pictures of your robot trying to survive in the wilderness like Roz in Peter Brown’s “The Wild Robot“.   What story can you tell?

Tomorrow is Gallery Day!  I am so excited to share with you all the submissions I’ve already received.  If you would like to share your work with others, please see the ” Submitting Student Work” tab at the top of the home page.  I will accept your work at any time.  I hope to post as much work as possible by noon tomorrow, but if you are late with your submission, send it to me anyway at dzibin@sd79.bc.ca.

Yours in making,

🙂 Mme Zibin