another peg

Managed to find time, using another vintage peg, to create an automaton! As the handle is turned the figure goes up and down - he's supposed to be a swimmer. Not sure whether to add paint or just leave alone.

drawing

Today the y1's continued their topic about toys by doing some observational drawings of toy cars.

They were encouraged to look carefully and draw what they could see.

We did side, front, back and birds eye views and finished with a 3/4 view.

I don't think this 3/4 drawing of a pick up truck is too bad for a 5/6 year old!

Our y4's have also completed their totems.

toys

Y1's theme for this term is toys. Today, using simple shapes they had a go at drawing some traditional ones.

They also added captions.

toys

Thank goodness the school computer knows what its doing! Today in y1 ( 5/6 yr olds) we drew toys using simple shapes - squares, rectangles, circles, semi-circles, triangles and ovals. 

 

We also sketched toy vehicles, including motorbikes! I don't think this is too bad for a 5 yr old!

 

A traffic jam!

 



 'Thomas';

In the afternoon we made 3d versions of our vehicles so that they could be played with. We used words like 'chassis' and 'axle' to help understand the component parts. The body was formed from a folded piece of card, detailed on both sides.

This underside shot shows the simple construction.

more toys

Spinning tops in Y3 today. They're studying the Victorian period and, after Thaumatropes last week, we used the quilling technique (a Vic craft) to create simple tops. The small one in the centre is based around a cocktail stick - it works too!

 

 

cards & wood

More Chrimbo card designs that we've been having a go at this week. The children have been really pleased with their efforts.

 

Today was our school xmas fayre. Children bring stuff in...and then buy it back! I bet parents love getting rid of some unwanted bits and pieces only to have it replaced with someone else's stuff. This is a pic of wooden things that no-one else wanted. They went for the flashy plastic toys. Being a sucker for anything wooden, it was only right and proper that I saved it from the skip (where all the unsold stuff gets dumped). I've got ideas about repurposing the boxes with handpainted images and making some doll type figures out of the stacking toys - watch this space after Christmas.

moving art

In y1 today we made wheeled toys. Card and dowel were the materials to hand.

 

One chap added thread to his car to represent exhaust smoke!

 



In y5 we continued our discovery and exploration of space theme by making moving pics of 'Neil Armstrong' - "One small step...".

 



 

When  pulled, the tab causes the legs to move in opposite directions so that he appears to be walking. A5 Card and split pins.

 

round and round

As part of our studies this term we are looking at the Victorian period. In art/technology we are making moving toys. Following on from last weeks Thaumatropes, today the children made spinning tops, by quilling thin strips of card. They worked reasonably well !

moving toys 2

As you know, the children have been making moving toys. Today they returned with their marvellous, magnificent, magical machines! Pull 'em back and let 'em go!

pull-back toy

Made simple, but very effective moving toys yesterday. You pull 'em back and they 'zoom' forwards! The children really enjoyed the fact that they could make such an effective toy out of a few bits and pieces. They have been set a challenge to improve them and make them look like something other than card!

thaumatropes

Following on from the spinning tops we made some more rotating toys - thaumatropes ('turning wonders'). These are my 'here's one I did earlier' attempts. The children came up with some really imaginative ones that I tried to capture, but the shutter speed on my old digital just wasn't up to the task!

spinning tops

Continuing our moving toys project, we had a go at making some simple spinning tops. We could have used a pre-drilled MDF 'wheel' and just stuck a short length of dowel through but we went for a 'quilled' process instead. Most seemed to work quite well.

moving toys

Today we designed and made some simple moving toys that rocked.

Paper and card, standing about 10cm tall.

more moving toys

Thaumatropes today, continuing our look at moving toys. It's nice that in todays high tec world children can still be 'wowed' by very low tech stuff.

Managed a few snatched moments during lunchtime and sketched another 'stick' figure. Footy player this time. Part coloured with pencil crayons - beginning to like this style, might see if I can't 'do' a proper picture.

spinning tops

Had to double up classes today - so we continued with our design tech. topic of 'moving toys' and made spinning tops. Simple quilled pieces with cocktail stick additions. They actually worked very well. The children have taken materials home to improve their designs.

Have been doodling a few 'Fougassian' (is this a word? - after Fougasse) figures. I love the simplicity of line in his work;

balancing clowns

Design Technology has replaced Art on the timetable this half term. We're 'doing' moving toys. This week we thought about linear, rotating and rocking movements, played with paper and sketched some possible designs. We used a circle folded in half as the basis for our rockers and envisaged horses, boats etc. I was inspired, and after school played around with the idea of balancing stuff on the rocker - came up with this. It takes a bit of patience to balance the clowns on the rocking base - am thinking this could possibly be offered as a downloadable.

Would welcome any thoughts.