Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Collage Mode

Last Thursday afternoon Mason came home and insistently asked if he could collage.  I was in the middle of dinner prep, backpack roundup (please tell me my kids aren't the only ones who come home and want to show me everything they made/did/found at school all at the same time and then leave it all over the kitchen) and a million other things, but his sweet little face (and crazy persistence) was too hard to say no to.

I rummaged through the craft closet and came out with glue, feathers, pom poms, stickers, macaroni noodles, googly eyes, foam shapes, miscellaneous scrapbook paper and a few old magazines.


There was no plan or end goal, they just "collaged" :)


They were quiet and entertained and SWEET to each other (minus a couple of battles over the glue bottles).


This even happened...


... Mason told me he couldn't talk to me because he was in "collage mode".  Ummm, k.


They cut, pasted, stuck, drew and created their little hearts out.





I was able to get dinner totally ready and even popped a load of laundry in the washer while they played.


Miss Independent was trying SO HARD to cut.  Her fine motor skills are really really good, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get her to hold the scissors in her left hand.  She improvised, but I'll be ordering some left handed preschool scissors STAT! (Any lefty moms out there have good recommendations???)



We didn't end up with anything "Pinterest-worthy", but they had a fantastic time and they were so proud of their creations.  I can sometimes be a craft control freak, so it was awesome to see them be creative and independent.


We'll definitely be "collaging" more often - I cut up some fabric scraps this weekend and pulled out some of my spare buttons as well.  I think it would be fun to incorporate plastic straws (that they could cut up), pieces of yarn, tissue paper and even photographs. 

Let me know if you have any fun collage ideas!  If you haven't tried it before, let your kids loose with some supplies and see what they come up with. Happy crafting!!!


31 comments :

  1. We need lefty preschool scissors too! Let me know which kind to buy :). And listen...the backpack unload every afternoon in the kitchen is totally overwhelming to me. Every. Single. Day. I get overwhelmed!

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  2. How fun!! And I'm crazy impressed you had all those crafting goodies in your closet. I need your closet!!

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  3. Coming from a kindergarten teacher - I totally recommend trying to use the regular scissors! It is doable :) I had 3 lefties last year and they all used the regular scissors! It was great since we didn't have leftie scissors at school :)

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  4. I have a lefty and was a kindergarten teacher so I can highly endorse the Fiskars Left Handed pointed-tip kid scissors- http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Inch-Left-handed-Pointed-tip-Scissors/dp/B0020MLI4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444734929&sr=8-1&keywords=fiskars+left+handed+scissors

    They are the best! I got two pair and sent one to school and kept one at home. The at home pair has lasted since my oldest was in PK and he's in 5th grade this year. Happy crafting!

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  5. Love! They look like they are having so much fun!! We need to collage soon also! ;)

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  6. Fiskers have always worked for us. It helps with control to have at least three fingers in one hole under the thumb. FYI only- take or leave this - Handwriting Without Tears has a great explanation of how to teach lefties to write in the first teacher's book; if you're able to find a copy to borrow, it might be helpful. Also, worksheets are generally made for righties which forces lefties to make that awful crook with their wrist. Helped me to be more aware of ways to encourage my leftie to maintain proper position.

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  7. My lefty (he is 11 now) never liked left handed scissors, even in school. He has always used regular scissors. No one else in our family is left handed, but we figured out how to help him use regular scissors. It really isn't that hard! Good luck!

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  8. I love your posts everyday! I am a kindergarten teacher and Fiskars scissors are the best. If she uses lefties, she should be able to adapt to using right ones in her left hand once she gets to school✏📓 if they don't have lefties. That's what I always do and the kids do great... Most of the time!!! She can also practice with righty scissors 👍

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  9. Just turn the scissors upside down! Put two of her little fingers in the thumb hole and her thumb in the big hole. Being a Mom of a lefty is tough for some things. My best advice: Find another lefty grown up to help her with the hard things like tying shoes, cutting her food, etc when she's older. It is harder than you think!

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  10. "Collage Mode" is my favorite! How fun to just let them do their own thing. Way to go, Momma:)

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  11. As a lefty and an early elementary teacher: don't try and make her use regular scissors! It is do able but even into adulthood not all scissors work and the sooner she realizes she isn't doing anything wrong the better! I was using my moms Ginger scissors a couple weeks ago and insisted they were broken, my mom grabbed them and started cutting fine. They just weren't made for a lefty!

    I love Mason's collage mode!! :)

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  12. I'm a lefty! And I cut with my right hand. Since I was little my mom knew I was a lefty but had me use scissors with my right hand. Otherwise for the rest of my life I would only be able to use lefty scissors which are pretty scarce. :)

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  13. I have a lefty and we have used Westcott and Fiskars and they are both good. My recommendation is to buy two pair and when she starts school send a special pair for her and keep the other at home for crafts and homework. Thats what we have done and it has worked out great. We also got lucky and her kinder and 1st grade teachers were leftys as well so they knew the struggle she had with certain things. Also be ready for the challenge of teaching a lefty to tie their shoes. We are still trying to master that and she is 7!

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    1. As someone mentioned above, find a lefty to help her learn to tie her shoe. I'm a lefty & taught my 5 year old cousin when I was 10 how to tie her shoe. Her parents were so frustrated & couldn't figure out how to teach her. We sat down & tried to together & she picked it up right away!

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  14. Love this! We do this at camp sometimes and I like to call it "Open Studio" it's a fantastic way to use up all those leftover craft supplies and let imaginations run wild!

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  15. Such a great crafting day. I should do that with my kids, although I'm not sure my oldest would like it, my youngest would love it, now she just needs the motor skills to do it. I have a lefty and we bought a pair of non-lefty or righty scissors and showed him if he held it just right that it would still cut. It worked for us, so far. They were actually part of a crayola art kit that we got as a gift. He loves it, I'm not sure what they have for him at preschool, I'll have to ask him.

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  16. As a former kinder teacher and mother to a leftie I agree HWT is a great at helping with setting up paper the paper and pencil to write left handed. I bet your school kinder teachers have a copy if not you can pick it up at a teacher store. My 5 year old son personally does not choose to use a pair of left handed scissors all that often. Although we do have a pair of Fiskar that is linked above. He normally just turns a pair upside down. He can not tie his shoes (and my husband is left handed) which is a huge struggle in our house. He might wear velcro or none lace shoes FORVER!

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  17. I used to LOVE collaging when I was little so I totally feel their excitement! I need to try this with my kiddos for sure!

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  18. I've been reading for awhile and I've never commented, but as a leftie I felt I had to! Teach Griffin how to use regular scissors because in school we never had leftie scissors or someone else would always get the "special" pair we did have in the classroom! Now I use them because its so much easier! There used to be a great store in San Francisco called the Left Handed Store, but now I order everything from the Amazon Left Handed Store! It's great and you can use Prime!

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  19. I am a lefty adult who grew up in a righty family. I could never get lefty scissors to work for me. They always turned and shifted. Then I figured out righties work fine but I'm cutting on the opposite side of the blade than righties. I found holding them straight made the difference. As for laces...try sitting across from her so she is toe to toe with you as you show her. The mirror image she sees is "right" to her. This method makes all the difference for me! I have learned to crochet and knit this way!

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  20. Thanks for the encouragement to let them craft with no end goal, sometimes we all need that little reminder! The crafts and gifts they come up with on their own are the ones I know I will cherish when they're grown :)

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  21. I tried the lefty scissors when I was little and They never worked for me, so I just cut with my right hand. It's literally the only thing I do with my right hand. And I agree with other commenters about finding a friend to help her learn to tie her shoes, zip up her jacket etc, it's tough to be a lefty in a righty world! 😉

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  22. I am so using the "collage mode" excuse when I don't want to be bothered. LOL You have the greatest kiddos. Adorable and full of personality. :)

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  23. I'm a lefty but think that these preschool training scissors are the best. Once the child gets the hang of cutting, you lift the spring and they are normal scissors. We use them in the 2 and 3 year old classes at church!

    http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-194900-1001-Pre-School-Training-Scissors/dp/B00K2T14WW

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  24. great idea! will definitely try this with my mini.

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  25. Sometimes that's all they need to do! I keep a bin of supplies in my kitchen for this purpose. It always helps during the dinner time chaos!!!

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  26. Make sure that she has her thumb on top. I teach my students that Mr. thumb must be in control and on top in the small hole. Make sure her fingers are in the correct holes and then have her practice making Mr. thumb open and close the scissors.

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  27. old magazines and catalogs are great for collages too!

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  28. I am left handed, and I do most things with my left hand, but I actually prefer using my right hand to cut. They tried getting me left handed scissors when I was little, and I hated them and thought it felt awkward. Every child is different, and maybe I just had too much practice with cutting right handed from watching my older siblings, but I just wanted to share that in case Griffin ends up disliking the left handed scissors as well. I'm sure you will find what will work best for her.

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  29. It's funny, I see I'm the second person who has never commented before but had to because I'm left handed! Left handers are coming out of the woodwork! But, I'm also one who is left handed but has always cut with my right hand. Interesting that there are others that do that as well. So I guess I'm not much help. unless she ends up being the same way and just needs to use her right hand.

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