031 Dr Seuss Bed Time Blanket

Celebrate Dr Seuss with this weaving project for young children. The project is paired with the book, "I am NOT Getting Up Today" and uses basic supplies and a little prep work.  The episode describes in detail how to teach students to weave a blanket with colored strips of paper and draw themselves dreaming beneath it.
kindergarten & first grade

Step-By-Step Instructions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PB0tmgQfTiasGapmZdHC8IVD8IJflTyL/view?usp=sharing

Transcript

Welcome to Art Class Time. 

This project is called, Dr. Seuss Paper Blanket Weaving,
paired with the book, “I’m Not Getting Up Today!”
for Kindergarten & 1st grade

Supplies you will need: 
9” x 12”/22 x 30 cm sheet of white construction paper, one per student
strips of colored construction paper, 1” x 6”/2 x 22 cm
pencils and erasers
markers, crayons, colored pencils
a finished sample of the project

This art project is a colorful, woven blanket made of paper with the student tucked snuggly beneath it, ready for dream land. The project is paired with the Dr. Seuss book, “I am Not Getting Up Today”. It’s up to you whether you read the story before the project or afterward. Keep in mind that weaving is a hard concept for children to learn. Listen to episode 29 called, ‘Weaving 101’ for tips on teaching weaving to kids.

When I discovered that the Kindergarten and Pre-School teachers at our school were celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday... I knew I had to step it up a notch. Why hadn’t I been doing Dr. Seuss themed projects, anyway? He’s the best. His book, ‘Oh, The Places You Will Go’ remains the most popular gift for students graduating high school and college. Dr. Seuss was a creative and insightful person and imparted wisdom through his original, wacky characters and fanciful worlds. Now, there is a book out called, “Seuss-isms” A guide to life for those just starting out... and those already on their way. Clever and practical advice about human nature and the world we live in.

Prepare the white sheets of construction paper ahead of time. This is the base that kids will draw on and weave into. Fold each sheet in half to 9” x 6”/22 x 15 cm. Starting at the fold, and cut 4”/10 cm long slices, spaced 1”/2 cm apart. The empty space at the end, left uncut, is where the kids will draw themselves tucked in bed. When you unfold the paper there will be 8 long cuts in the middle that will be used for weaving the blanket.

Draw a face on the board ahead of time for kids to refer to when drawing their own sleeping face. Draw a head with closed eyelids that look like little smiles. For the nose, draw a small ‘u’, a circle, or two dots side by side. The mouth can be a straight line or a slight smile. Draw hair on the head, then the ends of the pillow extending out on either side of the head. Small fingers holding the blanket can be drawn with four ovals, side by side. Draw feet poking out of the blanket at the bottom, too. Each foot, a tall ‘U’ topped with a big oval and 4 smaller ones for the toes.

Finally, make a sample of the project for kids to see. It really helps them visualize where each step is taking them.

This project should be done the week of Dr. Seuss’ birthday which falls on March 2nd. Begin class with a trivia question for your students. Ask them to raise their hand if they know, ‘Who is Theodore Geisel’”? If no one knows, here are more hints for the kids: 
“Every one of you has read at least one of his books” 
“His mother wanted him to be a doctor but Ted wanted to be a cartoonist” (BTW: He was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate of English from Dartmouth) 
“His mother let him draw on the walls of his bedroom when he was a kid” 
“He got his book ideas from doodling” 
“He would wear one of his crazy hats in his hat collection to help him write stories” 
I’m sure one of the kiddos will have the right answer before you run out of hints that Ted Geisel is Dr. Seuss.

Instruct your students that there are two steps to weaving and the second step is opposite the first. Everyone will do the first step together.Kids can start drawing their faces with pencil while you go to each table and walk students through the second step a few kids at a time or one on one.

The first step done together is to take one of the colored strips of paper and go under every other cut in their large, white sheet of construction paper. Put it a different way to kids by asking them to weave the colored strip over and under the pre-cut bands of white paper. It does not matter if they start with over or under. When they weave all the way to the end, ask them to slide the strip of paper up to the top of their blanket, nice and snug.

The second step is opposite the first. That is the secret to weaving. If the first strip started by going over the first white band, then the second strip will start the opposite way... UNDER. Show them how to take the next strip and begin by going UNDER. They will know it is right when a colored checker-board pattern begins to appear on the blanket. Not stripes. They will also know because the weaving is snug and will not fall apart.

When you are satisfied that the kids understand how to weave, hand out colored pencils, markers, and crayons to color their dreaming faces. It’s important for them to work in pencil first since the head is drawn on top of the pillow and the fingers overlap the top edge of the blanket. If they draw the pillow or blanket first, they can erase the lines going through their face and hands.

Kids can get creative and draw a cat or dog curled up next to their pillow. Or they can add a teddy bear or a doll sleeping next to them, peeking out of the blanket. Snug as a bug on a rug.

Some students won’t get weaving at all and others won’t finish and that’s ok. Tape or staple the last colored strip so the blanket doesn’t fall apart. It’s enough to introduce weaving so that when they are a year older, and introduced to a weaving project again, they understand it and hopefully enjoy it. 

And, thanks to Dr. Seuss, for all of your wonderful characters, teaching us how to be better human beings.