Bird Kites & Model Arthropods

Kindergartners and 1st graders began creating their bird kites recently. Using a cardboard template they traced a bird outline shape (24 x 24 inch dimension) onto 2-ply synthetic kite fabric. 

Goldfinch

Kites include the black-capped chickadee, blue jay, and goldfinch. Students are using real feathers to create templates for kite embellishments. Outlining the shape and size of actual feathers, they made fabric cutouts of tail, wing, and head feathers - in various accent colors - that will be glued onto the main body of the kites.

Our next phase will be placing a bamboo frame inside the main body of the kite and gluing fabric pieces together.  Stay tuned for updates!


Meanwhile, plasticine clay is proving to be a wonderful medium for creating insects and arachnids. Although the normally rigid exoskeleton might seem tricky to recreate using a pliable and soft material, the plasticine overall is actually quite perfect for modeling the intricate anatomical detail of arthropods.

Clay Arthropods in Progress

Our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders have begun their written research projects. 

Each are working on creating enlarged clay versions of their animals of choice as they finish up their written reports. 

The students have selected several diverse members of arthropods (killer bee and stag beetle pictured here) for their research topics, including:

Monarch
Scorpion
Stag beetle*
Morpho Butterfly
Cricket
Tarantula
Bumble bee
Wolf spider
Black widow
Honey bee
Praying mantis
Killer bee*
Wasp
Cicada
Mosquito
Stick bug
Wood ant
Dragon fly