Today I’m excited to welcome Jordan from KiddPlusKids, a very sweet teacher who clearly loves crafting with her class. Special thanks to the lovely bracelet models in these photos!
In my third grade classroom, we were reading a story about recycling. Our focus of the week was on recycling and helping make the world a better place.
For art that week, I wanted to incorporate a recycling activity in somehow, but couldn’t come up with anything that I thought my kids would be very interested in.
I discovered the perfect project on Pinterest and set my plan in motion. I began by gathering old magazines from around the house, and enlisted my students’ parents for their leftover magazines, as well.
The magazine turnout was astounding. I won’t be needing to get magazines for anything we do in the classroom for years!
Just a warning: this project is MESSY! You’ll want plenty of paper towels, Clorox wipes, and maybe even paper plates to set the project onto while it’s drying.
What you’ll need
- Straws
- Glue – I used Elmer’s glue and it worked perfectly!
- Pipe cleaners or yarn
- Magazine pages
- Scissors
- Optional: paper plates to put finished beads onto while they are drying
What To Do
Cut magazine pages into thin strips, vertically up the page. It’s more fun if you choose a page that is really colorful!
Using your finger to hold it, wrap your magazine strip tightly around the straw. Once it’s tightly wrapped, don’t let go! This will be the shape of your bead, so make sure it’s rolled up how you want it to look.
This is where it gets REALLY messy.
Get glue all over your finger (it works best if you just dump the glue onto your hand) and slather it all over your tightly-rolled magazine strip. The bead will hold as long as it’s completely covered in glue.
After about five minutes, slide your bead off of your straw and set it somewhere to fully dry. A paper plate is perfect for this step!
Using your pipe cleaner or piece of yarn, put the finished bead onto it. This will serve as the body of your bracelet.
Repeat the process until you’ve made enough beads to go around your wrist on the pipe cleaner or string!
My students were IN LOVE with this project. Although it was messy and took more time, it was so worth it to have the kids make their very own recycled bracelet. They were all so excited to go home and show their family, and some have even been wearing theirs ever since!
About Me:
Hey, all! I’m Jordan Kidd. I’m an elementary school teacher with a passion for crafts, DIY projects, and my students. I love to read and write, and am an aspiring author. I love the outdoors and am constantly on the move with my cute husband, Chris.
Check out what’s happening in my classroom, our home improvement projects, and more at kiddpluskids.com.
Thank you so much, Jordan! Sounds like your students had so much fun.
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