Connie Container Snowman A Recycled Gift

I’m big on recycling so I try to dream up some sort of hands on activity for my students each month involving recycled items.

Since everyone has tin cans at home they are one of the easiest things for a parent to save for us.  Cans are also a way to review the cylinder shape and make handy holders for a variety of things.

Connie Container Snowman is perfect for rulers, scissors and other tall “stuff”.  She’s made out of an asparagus can.

We eat a lot of asparagus at my house so I find it easy enough to simply save enough cans for my students.

If you don’t, simply send a note home at the beginning of the school year with a list of “SAVE these things” and explain to parents that their child will be doing projects through out the year involving these items and you just wanted to give them a heads up; that way you’ll always have a few extra’s for those children who don’t bring things in.

My Y5’s LOVE to paint and I find that even though their “mess-terpieces” are not as “perfect-looking” as I’d like them to be, they have fun, are learning, and are more of a keepsake because they did the entire project.

However, if you want to expedite things you can pre-paint the white bottom and have really little ones simply paint the top hats black. I use glossy acrylic paint.

An easy way for students to paint is to put their hand INSIDE the can and rotate as they go.  Make sure there are NO rough edges on the inside so they won’t get cut.

My mom gave me a smoothing tool from Magic Chef that goes around the lip of cut cans and presses down the edges so I never have a problem with this.

In the morning, paint the white bottom first. Let dry and then paint the black in the afternoon or on another day. 

Little ones will drip and slop paint, so make sure they are working over newspaper and have paint shirts on.

On a file folder, trace around the top of your can to make a circle template. Decide how wide of a brim you want to have.  Mine is just shy of an inch.

Draw the brim around your traced circle.  You will be cutting the circle out so that you can slide it over your can and rest it at the base of the snowman’s hat.  No gluing is necessary if you cut it so that it fits snug.

Pre-cut your black hat brims.  I used black foam.  Tag board and construction paper are cheaper, but you really have to be careful that they don’t tear apart when students slide them over their cans.

Using a Q-tip and the dabbing method of simply dotting on a small amount of paint, model how to paint on a snowman’s face.

I find that it’s a great idea to have students practice on a sheet of scrap paper before they paint their can.  This also allows them to design a few different faces to see which one they like the best.

Hobby Lobby, Michael’s Crafts and JoAnn Fabrics all sell ribbon by the bolt for a dollar or less.

Choose something that looks like a snowman’s scarf and tie it on the bottom of the cans for that finishing touch.  You’ll need a little over 12 inches for each student’s scarf.

Another Recycled Snowman Idea!

Use shorter veggie and soup cans, and instead of making a head of a snowman, students can simply paint the entire can blue, black or even brown.

After they’ve painted their cans, using a toothbrush, splatter the dried cans with white paint to look like falling snow.

I used a nail and hammer to punch holes in the sides of my can and then simply added a bit of wire with a rag bow on the top.

Craft stores have a huge assortment of colored wire if you want to make your cans less rustic looking.

You can put just about anything in these cans to give as a gift, including student work, a photograph, little “I love you notes”, a paper heart with a poem on it, candy etc.

Later parents can use them to hold markers, pens and pencils etc.

Click on the link to view/print this article's directions and pix.  Recycled snowman: Connie the Tin Can Container Snowman

Be sure and pop back tomorrow for another recycled snowman made out of a paint stick!

Do you have an activity that you do with recycled "stuff"?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com