Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Kristie Grier/Times Leader Staff Writer
Don Carey/Times Leader Staff Photographer
Thursday, January 27, 2000 Page: 1C
Third grade was pretty much like I remembered.
Boys and girls are friends. Everyone listens to the teacher.
Kids still count the minutes until lunch. And the chance to paint, trace
and create styrofoam bumble bees with visitors is a welcome reprieve from
class.
What surprised me the most was the spelling bee we moderated held students’
attention among a crowd that couldn’t get the Game Boys out of their backpacks
fast enough during recess.
While the paint on the day’s craft was drying, third-graders at JFK
Elementary School in Exeter spelled their hearts out, and they didn’t even
know prizes were up for grabs.
The hum of healthy competition filled the air.
“Let me try another word – I know I can get it.”
“I know that one, I know that one.”
And when the tougher words narrowed the competition to two finalists, the
winner and loser accepted their ranks with equal dignity.
As we left, recess had begun. Some 8-year-old hands were maneuvering Game
Boy buttons, but in another corner a group of girls belted out “You’re a
Grand Old Flag.’ ”
Old favorites never fade.
Materials:
Styrofoam balls
1 large cut in half
2 medium
Acrylic paints: orange, yellow, black
Foam craft sheets: (1 each) green, yellow, white
1 yellow 1-inch pompom
4 pipe cleaners: 2 black, 1 red, 1 white
2 wiggle eyes
2 straight pins
toothpicks
glue
black marker
Directions:
1. With the help of an adult, cut one large styrofoam ball in half and
paint it orange. Paint two medium-sized balls yellow. Set to dry.
2. Trace and cut one flower from yellow foam sheet, two leaves from green
and two wings from white sheet.
3. When dry, glue orange half to center of foam flower base. Then glue
leaves on opposite corners of flower. Stick two toothpicks 1-inch apart
halfway into each yellow ball. Push one ball firmly into the other (it helps
to angle the top ball so that the bee doesn’t tip over) so that they are from
bottom to top: orange, yellow, yellow.
4. Wrap two black pipe cleaners around the middle ball, curving the end of
each and inserting them into the ball. Then, with the help of an adult, use
two straight pins to attach white wings to middle ball.
5. Glue eyes and pompom nose to top ball. Use bit of red pipe cleaner for
mouth, or draw mouth with black marker. For antennae, bend white pipe cleaner
into v-shape, curl each end toward the middle and insert bottom of “V” into
top of head.
Editor’s Note: Do-it-yourself is a monthly feature that appears on the
Thursday Family Page. Times Leader newsroom artist Mindy Mendicino and page
designer Kristie Grier work with the Newspapers in Education coordinators to
set up classroom visits throughout the area. For more information about this
program, contact Kristie Grier at 831-7327 or Myra Ward at 829-7207.