Candy Corn Word Family Mobiles - shhhh!

Do you ever feel like you have to close your classroom door, pull down the shades, creep around like a Navy Seal and prepare a statement of defense in advance to do an art project these days? 

Folks - it's a crime. Not doing the art project, but feeling like that when 

KIDS NEED ART. 

Last week, with the doors open and the window shades up... I let my kids make candy corn word family mobiles at our art center (which is one of my weekly literacy centers). Yep, I said it. I let them paint, use shaving cream, playdoh, ink dot bottles, play foam and sometimes I let 'em touch the markers. The project they do at the art center is always an opportunity to practice something we are working on, but at least my paint is not getting crusty in the cupboard.

This is my sample.  

I used the at family, 

but I invited students to use any short a word family.

 My students LOVED making the mobiles and were only slightly disappointed when I told them they had to leave them at school so I could hang them up.

  I'm only 4'11", so the mobiles hanging all over my room don't hit me in the head. I thought I saw the fire marshall shake his head at them when he was visiting last week, but he didn't say much so I think I'm safe for now. I won't keep them up for long because I can only handle thing dangling from the ceiling for a couple weeks the kids want to take them home.

Considering that I fell asleep in the chair at the hair salon tonight, I probably should go to bed.  Oh, how I love Fridays!