FAYETTEVILLE OK! I’m ready!,” exclaimed 4-yearold Nicholas Castle.

It was his turn to create a crayon photo frame Christmas ornament with his pre-K teacher, Rebekah Broadwell.

The prekindergarten students at Just Like Home Childcare West in Fayetteville will make one ornament each Friday this month.

Nicholas chose the colors he wanted to use and where to place the crayons, but Broadwell assembled the ornament on a tall counter because the crayons are aftxed to cardstock with hot glue.

Nicholas found his photo on the children’s table, shouting, “There me!” and chose where to place the photo. Broadwell glued it on the paper and wrote “Pre-K 2012.”

Broadwell found the idea for this ornament on Pinterest, a pinboardstyle social photo-sharing website.

She said she chose it so parents would have a keepsake of each child’s pre-K year.

“It’s something they can customize and make their own by picking out the colors, and it’ssomething the parents can enjoy hanging on their tree,” she said.

All the students love art, Broadwell said. She gets many of her plans for schoolroom crafts from Pinterest, where project ideas are plentiful.

“Pinterest is a great resource for crafts for kids and teachers. Usually the crafts are easily modified to make it age appropriate,” she said.

Supplies for the crayon photo frame ornament were inexpensive, Broadwell said. Twelve ornaments were made for about $10.

Broadwell is in her fourth year as a teacher and said she enjoys art just as much as the children.

“I love to see how creative they can be, and I love to watch them succeed at the challenge of following instructions but at the same time make it their own,” she said.

The students made the ornaments in groups of two. Fiveyear-old Garett Hilton said he was going to take his ornament home and hang it on his door. When another student said, “I’m going to put mine on my Christmas tree,” Garett changed his mind. “Oh yeah! I’m gonna put it on my Christmas tree.”

The children can look forward to making a tinfoil Christmas tree Friday and a craft stick Christmas tree the following Friday.

Crayon Photo Frame Ornament

Cardstock, square-shaped

Hole Punch

Ribbon

Four crayons

Hot Glue

Photo

Glue

Punch hole in each top corner of cardstock. Thread ribbon through to make a hanger. Hot glue crayons to each side of the cardstock square. Glue photoonto cardstock.

Craft Stick

Christmas Tree Ornament

Craft sticks

Green paint

Cardboard (to make the trunk)

Ribbon or Twine

Pom poms, sequins, and craft foam shapes to decorate

Glue

Glue three sticks to form a triangle and paint them green.

Attach a piece of cardboard asthe trunk. Decorate tree with pom poms, sequins and foam shapes. Add a loop of twine or ribbon for a hanger.

Tin Foil Christmas

Tree Ornament

Cardboard triangles

Tin Foil

Paintbrushes

Glue

Tissue Paper, cut into squares

Gemstones

Hole Punch

Ribbon

Cover cardboard triangles with tin foil. Brush glue onto foil with paintbrush. Affix the tissue paper squares to the tree. Whenpaper is dry, glue gemstones to tree. Punch a hole in the time and thread ribbon for a hanger.

Life, Pages 9 on 12/12/2012