New works

Just came up with an ingenious way to use a huge box of old (and I mean old) computer paper my parents gave me. It will both give the kids something new to learn, and be a solution to the incredible amounts of paper we are going through at the moment. Here it is, a new work, Tearing Edges Off Paper:

A pile of paper (I did have to tear the individual sheets apart, they come all attached to each other, as most people probably remember who had a printer back in the 90s). And a bowl to put the edges in.


When the bowl is full, I put the edges on our cutting tray, and the kids can cut them to pieces. They put the nicely de-edged papers on the paper tray, where it will sit for no more than a few minutes before being colored on, and then potentially cut into pieces and/or rolled into a tube by a creative 3-year old.

Below is a work I made for that same little person, who constantly cuts up her pictures. It is on her shelf now, but will make it's way around the room. I think all the kids are ready for this. The object is just to cut on the lines, and each line requires more than one cut, making it a little trickier. The markers are for coloring, as an incentive to cut the strips in the first place.

I was just visiting a friend and realized that kids are capable of cutting out shapes and much harder things by age 4-5, but...we haven't gone there yet. I only got kids' scissors last year! So, we are behind in the cutting game but soon to catch up I think:)

And our bean bowl, with a new addition, a milk-carton funnel. I just cut the bottom off a clean milk carton, and the top is a great funnel. I was having trouble using other funnels with the beans, because the opening at the bottom was never large enough. This is perfect, and has been very popular!