Creating a Calendar / Keepsake Art Project

Well, if your child is in the homeschool co-op, you may want to skip reading this post because it's likely to give away one of your presents this year!!!

For everyone else who reads this blog, I'm setting forth here some of my planning ideas for our new project in the Grade 3 Measurement Block. I divide measurement up into a few blocks, actually, usually doing Baking (Time, Temperature, Weight & Volume), Money, and Housebuilding (Linear Measurement). We are on Time right now and this is a perfect time of year to make calendars! We went over the history of the names of the months of the year and the days of the week, and I just purchased a scrapbook blank wall calendar for each child. These were $10.99 apiece.

Now I need to spend some brainstorming time -- and feel free to post a commment if you have a great idea for one of these seasons -- figuring out what art to do for each month. The girls all went to a Montessori school when they were little and between the three of them they created five of these handmade calendars. Their teacher was a master at finding cute, simple seasonal ideas for art activities.

Here are my current ideas:

January - "The Snowy Day" Printing

February - Celery Heart Roses

March - Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers
(spray with fine hairspray to preserve)

April - Footprint Easter Bunny

May - Paper Weaving

June - Tin Foil Fish

July - Fireworks and City Silhouette

August - Thumbprint Dandelion

September - Fizzing Apple Art
(printable apple template)

October - Chalk Stenciled Pumpkins
(spray with fine hairspray to preserve)

November - Spider Web Art

December - Christmas Trees

* UPDATE *

Upon receiving the calendars, I've discovered that there is a page for December of this year (meaning that people can hang it on their walls as soon as they open their present) as well as the 12 months for next year. So we need another idea for Dec. 2016 AND an idea for the front cover.

Front Cover - Marble Painting

December 2016 - Quirky Trees