Making Mobiles

I just know that you want to make a craft for your kids.  I mean, can you think of a better way to spend your day than cutting, tying knots, and gluing shapes while the kids look on?
Just kidding!
So now you know how I spent my day. We (I mean I) made a mobile.

They did turn out really cute though, and the kids just love them.
Here is what I used:

We (I mean I) made two mobiles. We decided to make mobiles to match the kids' bedrooms. I bought a wooden dowel rod from Michaels, grabbed the first saw I could find in the garage, and proceeded to clumsily cut the rod into four pieces. I am glad that Dean was not around to see my hack job, literally.  Later, he informed me that that particular saw has big teeth on it, thus was not a good choice for cutting something so small. Anyhow...

After spending forty four hours cutting construction paper shapes, I called the kids back to the table. Here is where the word 'we' actually holds some truth. We had to arrange all the shapes into four groups, then arrange each group into a line. Aubrey chose to arrange her shapes in a pattern, first by color, then size. Here was an opportunity to learn about patterns!

Next, I tied the clear jewelry wire (fishing line would work great too) to a needle, and the kids threaded the four rows of shapes onto four pieces of wire. My five and six year old loved doing this, but it proved to be too difficult for my three year old who succeeded only in poking his finger.  While they were doing this, I was tying the dowel rods into a + shape and wrapping them with ribbon.  I used hot glue to hold the ribbon in place. Then I had to use a dab of hot glue to hold each shape in place on the wire.  The wires were then tied to the dowel rods, the wooden shape hung above the rods, and voila!

 Now I have some recommendations. DO NOT make an airplane mobile. Unless of course you are planning to do the cutting while the kids look on, or you have an older child that can cut difficult shapes. You can also try tying knots instead of using the hot glue. Another alteration: you can use a wire hanger instead of dowel bars, bend the bottom up so you have one long line to wrap with ribbon. Leave the hook unwrapped. You can use sticks from the yard, and hang pictures or leaf shapes. Get creative.
Oh, and don't forget to have fun! Even if you are doing most of the craft! :)