Rainforest Trees

The Rainforest is a great eco project and can be done across the age range. One of my favourite displays is to make a large tree and the canopy. To do this you will need:

Rolls of brown paper (either packing paper or backing paper)
Rolls of green backing paper
2 shades green crepe paper
Camouflage netting.

1) Line your ceiling with green backing paper.
2) Choose an area of your classroom for the trunk of the tree to start. Crush the paper to give a slightly 3D effect and make the trunk up to the ceiling.
3) Twist large sections of the paper to make tree boughs and link from the start of the tree to the ceiling and then 'branch' out.
4) Pin camo netting to ceiling to create a mottled leaf effect.
5) Cut strips of crepe to make vines/creepers and drape over boughs randomly. These will look effective and help to create movement in the classroom with any breezes.

Classroom Banners

Banners can make a great visual impact on your classroom display and will really stand out against your chosen background. They can simply be printed out from your computer and stuck together or laminated for greater durability and either hung from the ceiling or mounted on a wall.
Here are some basic instructions. Publisher can be set up to print continuously on several sheets of paper. As ever with software things vary with the edition you have, have a play and see what you can come up with. Just watch out that images and some WordArt will distort if used in very large banners.

1. Open Publisher through the “Start” menu or double click the icon on the Desktop. Click “File” and “New” from the top menus after the program has opened. Give it a relevant title and save.
2. Choose Blank Publications. From the drop down list select “Banner”. An example will appear on the right hand side of the window.
3. Select a size larger than 8.5-by-11 inches in Page Setup . You can choose up to 240″ in Publisher 2007. This will spread your banner over several pages.
4. Select a design from the examples on the right hand side. Publisher has several templates but most won’t be suitable for school. Choose “Blank” to start from scratch. (To use a template just double click it and it will appear in your banner.)
5. Left click the “Insert” and “Picture” to add a design, photo or a clip art.
6. Choose “Insert” then “Text Box” to add your text. Click the mouse where you want the box to start in the banner. Have a good play with fonts, sizes colours etc at this stage. Make sure it looks clear.
7. Select “File,” “Print,” then “Properties” to use the Landscape option to rotate your paper.
8. Choose “File” and “Print Preview” at any point during the design process to make sure everything is as you want it.
9. Only when you are really happy with the banner, print it out. You will have to stick the A4 pages together to make the banner.

Happy printing!

Using Ribbons In Your Display

Florists ribbon and curling ribbon are two great mediums for adding interest to your display. The thin curling ribbon is good for :
1) Hanging written work from the ceiling, so much nicer than wool or string.
2) Adding a finishing touch to your artwork.

The wide florists ribbon can be used for:
1) Creating great effects such as hanging vines, seaweed, kite tails, hair etc.
2) Making bows and loops to add a 3D touch to your wall display.
3) Adding the feeling of movement to any mobiles that you hang up.

Most florists are happy to let you order ribbon through them and are often cheaper than if you order through art companies / catalogues - some florists will also donate ribbon to schools so it's always worth asking if they have anything that they can give the school ( and equally important to take a photo in to show them where their ribbon went when you use it in a project).

Recycled Fish Mobiles

No, it's not quite as smelly as it sounds! Make great fish mobiles using old CD's by:
1) Cut out a red card heart 5cms high.
2) Cut out 2 triangles, one with a 15cm base and one with an 8cm base in coloured card of your choice.
3) Take one CD and on the side of the writing glue the short triangle so that the base fits along the top of the CD with the point sticking up. Then take the large triangle and glue the pointed tip (about 1cm in) on the left hand side of the CD.
4) Take your heart and glue it on the right hand side of the CD so that just the curved part protrudes. (This makes your fish's lips).
5) Take your other CD and glue it writing side down to the other CD. (You should have no writing visible on either side of your CD.
6) Glue a large googly eye on each side of the CD and hang

Try to place these near sunlight as it will really make them sparkle.

These can also be adapted into fat birds with waterproof materials to hang in the gardens over seeds and crops to scare birds away.

3D Wall Display

Make your walls 3D with shoe boxes and never have flat wall displays again. Collect several shoe boxes and cover them with paper inside and out. Staple gun them to your walls so that the inside is facing outwards. This gives you instant display surface for models / books / features that can all link with the display surrounding them and make your display look much more interesting too! Any shoe store is usually quite willing to donate some boxes if you don't have any.