Memorial Day Flag by Linda Hess & her 1st graders

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Ever wonder what to do with all of those bit and pieces of paper??  I think I have the perfect project for you!  Now granted, I teach art so I have multiple hands to do the work for me, but you could scale down the project and still have fantastic results.

 
With Memorial Day upon us, I created a project with my 1st grade students.  Our school is next door to Quantico Marine Base, so many students have family ties to the military.  We spoke about what Memorial Day is and the meaning of the stripes & stars in the flag.  They were all very excited to work on this collaborative project!

Materials are simple:
Scraps and pieces of paper in desired colors (I had an assortment for my students including handmade scraps, construction paper scraps, and magazine scraps)
Sheet of backing paper (ours was very large ~ 30"x36")
Ruler & pencil
Glue (any type will do...at school we used Elmer's School Glue)
Optional: sequined stars

Use the ruler to measure 13 stripes.  Draw in lines with the pencil.  Don't forget a large rectangle section for the blue.
Tear the paper into small pieces.  The size of pieces will be determined by the size of your flag.  I had 2 groups of 15-16 each working on this flag, so the pieces definitely varied in size.  Those who tried to "rush" the process by placing extra large pieces were reminded by friends to tear them smaller.

Once the paper was torn, glue was applied to appropriate areas of the flag.  The first group did a great job of starting to fill in the spaces with appropriate colors.  They really enjoyed using a variety of blues and reds and types of paper.  The second group had plenty to do...there were plenty of "holes" to fill with more color.  Once all of the color was applied, the students placed the stars. 

Our flag turned our so gorgeous that it is now hanging proudly in the hallway for all to see. 

God Bless those who serve, have served, and who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this beautiful country we live in.



Comments

  1. SandeeNCMay 25, 2015 at 10:26 AM

    I love it, they did a fabulous job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda HessMay 25, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    Thank you. I am obviously quite proud of them :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michele Emerson-RobertsMay 28, 2015 at 9:46 AM

    Greetings,
    What a wonderful project for the kids to make!
    Love and light,
    Michele

    ReplyDelete

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