Mini Atelier Blog

We love being in the Atelier.

I has seen E stacking the poly shapes 

I - "It looks like a castle, can I make a castle?" She collects a box 
I - "this is Mochi Mochi from my home!!" She collects the cylinders and cone shapes and uses glue to stick them down to look like towers and turrets. She puts it on the drying rack to dry. 
I - "Can I see some pictures of castles? I can choose a princess castle." We look on the iPad and she chooses her favourite. 

... 

The following day I returns to collect the castle, F and G want to make their own 
F - "I like yours, I'm going to make mine but different colors." She collects a box and poly shapes. 
G - "I make one." She also collects a box and shapes. G paints her shapes then glues them on one at a time. She makes one tower and puts it on the drying rack. She then goes to the minibeast area and uses the log slices to make another tower. She is calling F and I attention to it as she builds.

F - "I am doing green and purple on mine, and orange as well." She adds more towers and puts it on the drying rack.

Theo returns to the craft area to make a house with empty boxes.

"I want to make a house, I need the biggest box." He collects a box and uses masking tape to seal the flaps. He looks at some pictures on the iPad.

"That one has got a chimney, I like that. How can I do it? Can I get something long from the Atelier?" We go in and he chooses a toilet roll. I show him how to fringe the bottom so it can be stuck on. He uses glue.

"It won't stand up, it's not drying, how can I do it now?" He tries tape after looking at the resources. I show him how to cover it all to make it sturdy.

"I'm making a door, can you poke a hole? He collects scissors and spends some time pushing a hole in the box himself.

"Can you cut it in a square like a door shape?" I cut it for him.

"I'm painting it yellow now." He paints it and leaves it one the drying rack.

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Theo returns after lunch.

"I'm making windows now. What do they look like?" I show him some pictures on the iPad. He draws squares and circles with crosses in the middle. Then cuts them out and sticks them on his house.

Eugene has seen the snails made but A and P the previous day using empty boxes.

"Can I make a bug? I love spiders, I'm making a spider web."

He collects a box and tape, he tapes up the flaps then stretches strips of tape over the face of the box, then cuts the length with scissors.

"I'm making it like a cross-cross." He makes a cross then diagonal strips turn it into a star. 

"I'm making a spider just like a ball. It's in the middle of the web." He rolls a ball of tape and sticks it in the center of the cross he has made on the box.

...

Eugene returns the following day and collects his spider web from the drying rack.

"I'm making it sparkly because sparkly is beautiful." He shows me a photo on the wall of a spider web with water droplets on it. "It's so beautiful. I'm doing that now."

He adds 1 blob of glue to the center of each arm of his cross, then sprinkles it with glitter. He leaves it to dry, then shakes the loose glitter into the bin.

P and A like the birds that T made at home, they want to make their own animals. They decide to make snails, and look at some pictures on the iPad to help them. 
A - "we need to get a house (shell)" he collects a tub and P follows. 
They paint their tubs then collect toilet roll tubes 
A - "this is the slimy bit." 
A has tried using glue to stand the match sticks up for the antenna but it isn't working. 
A -"Can you (to teacher) poke holes in there?" P wants this for his snail too. 
They add googly eyes and continue painting.