Necklace Work

A week or so ago I picked up several bags of penne pasta at our local grocery store, brought it home, and dyed it in various colors to have it ready for necklace work this school year. 

To dye the noodles, I placed them in ziploc bags and added a few tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and several drops of food coloring.  I then double-sealed the bags and laid them out flat.  After about 30 minutes, I flipped the bag over.  Then I poured the noodles out onto waxed paper to dry.  Once out of the bags, it dried pretty quickly.  I am planning to dye wagon-wheel pasta as well.

I like to have a variation of necklace work out on the art shelf all year.  The children really enjoy it and it is great for developing fine motor skills.  Additionally, as children become more aware of patterns, it is a good patterning activity.

Here is the necklace work for the beginning of the school year as it will appear on the shelf.  From the top, going clockwise, are:  apples punched from construction paper with holes punched in the center, red/yellow/green striped straws cut into small pieces (NOTE:  to prevent these from flying all over when you cut them, cut them inside a ziploc bag), pipe cleaners cut into thirds and wound around a pencil, colored pasta, and yarn bundles with plastic needles.  Throughout the year, I vary the items seasonally by using different colors and shapes.

I will place some small plastic baskets next to this work on the shelf.  To do the activity, the child takes a needle, yarn bundle, and some of each stringing item and places these into a small basket (leaving the round green divided container on the shelf).  They take their supplies to a table and string them to make a necklace.  There is some teacher involvement in this.  For example, a teacher usually needs to thread the needle (and I usually tied it to the needle so it wouldn't repeatedly come unthreaded) as well as tie the opposite end to a shape so all the pieces don't come sliding off.  Then, of course, the adult has to help cut the needle off and tie it to make the necklace.  If any of you have other ideas for making this more independent, let me know.  My only thought is to have several needles already threaded with shapes already tied on the ends.  However, I am afraid these would get really tangled in the container.

Here is a close-up of the needles I use.  I just got them in a package of four in the sewing section of Wal-Mart.

Comments

[Linny]

I blue tac a row of needles already threaded and tied off to the side of the cabinet. The child simply selects a needle and places it in their basket when selecting items to thread. Hope this helps you.

[Nila]

i love the idea of making bracelets some times..i should try that in my classroom too..thnx.

[vintage pendants]

Nice materials, but where is the result? I thought to see the beautiful necklace you are creating here. Anyway, it's good post, I enjoy of reading:)

[cheap carisoprodol]

I love your blog because I've a lot on this..

[Debmom4ca]

I like the idea of using a needle. It gives a more "real life" application to the activity.

[Andrea]

Another option, other than the glue, would be to pre-thread the needles and then stick them into some kind of big pin cushion so they are not in the basket. The pincushion and basket of supplies could be together on a tray for them to carry.

[Pecos Blue]

Great idea. Thank you.

[Lakisa]

Wow, I love the idea of using a needle. Thank you for the inspiration. I really enjoy your blog too. I've beeen reading about a month and have found the info to be tremendous.

[Neus]

Instead of using a needle, I cover the end of the thread with some scotch tape.

[Lindart]

I do this in my class too, but the pipe cleaner spirals are new to me and very cool!! Good idea to get a step up on the pasta dying, I must do that too. Also, I don't use the yarn, I use gimp, like a flat plastic thread, and I tie a pony bead at one end, and wrap it around my two fingers, then clip it with a child's hair clip -the kind that has teeth. The child can use this without a needle because the gimp is stiff, and needs no teacher help except to tie at the end of the process. The bundles are kept as you keep your yarn. BTW I even use the same bowl you do!! Also, try bracelets some months, just use shorter string.

[Shannon]

For Josh, I just dip the end of the yarn in glue and let them dry, usually overnight. The glue makes the end hard enough to easily string beads and pasta. This has been his favorite activity since we started with Montessori preschool. Also...he often makes snakes instead of necklaces. It uses less material and it appeals to his "boyness"!

Oh and, do you encourage the patterning? Or do they eventually just do it on their own after working with patterns elsewhere? He still has never made a pattern in a necklace. However, is great with patterning in other work...maybe he just does not need too?!

[Shannon]

For Josh, I just dip the end of the yarn in glue and let them dry, usually overnight. The glue makes the end hard enough to easily string beads and pasta. This has been his favorite activity since we started with Montessori preschool. Also...he often makes snakes instead of necklaces. It uses less material and it appeals to his "boyness"!

Oh and, do you encourage the patterning? Or do they eventually just do it on their own after working with patterns elsewhere? He still has never made a pattern in a necklace. However, is great with patterning in other work...maybe he just does not need too?!