Ballet Crafts for Kids
Dance teachers and parents can promote a love for ballet with dance-themed crafts. Mobiles and other room décor projects can help kids learn about famous ballerinas, and handmade books can teach kids about popular ballet performances. However, not all craft projects need to have an educational purpose. Projects such as a custom photo frame can help a young dancer remember her favorite performance.
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Ballerina Mobile
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This bedroom decoration will inspire any girl who loves dancing. Use a search engine to find photos of famous ballerinas on the Internet. Try keyword phrases like "photos of famous ballerinas" or "popular ballet dancers."
Select five photos that feature vibrant costumes, illustrate unique poses or depict a scene from a well-know ballet. For example, you could find a photo of Anna Pavlova dancing the role of the Dying Swan in "Carnival of the Animals" or Margot Fonteyn dancing the role of Princess Aurora in Tchaikovsky's "The Sleeping Beauty."
Paste these photos into a desktop publishing program. Re-size each image so it is between 3 and 5 inches wide and no more than 6 inches tall. For the best effect, each photo should be a slightly different size. Print two copies of each photo. Glue matching photos together, back-to-back, and laminate them. Punch one hole in the center top of each photo with a tiny hole punch or scissors.
Cut five pieces of monofilament string between 6 and 15 inches long. Staggered lengths look best. Thread one piece of monofilament through the punched hole and tie a knot to secure it.
Download two identical photos of ballet slippers from the Internet. Glue slipper photos back to back. Laminate the sheet and punch five holes at the bottom and one hole at the top of the image. Tie each ballerina photo to one hole. Attach another piece of monofilament to the top hole. Hang the mobile by taping this monofilament to the ceiling.
Favorite Ballet Book
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This is another way to use those ballet photos obtained from the Internet. For each child, you will need a blank journal, colored pencils, a glue stick and photos of famous ballet performances.
Ask kids to glue ballet photos in their journal, dedicating one or two pages for each performance. They can also write basic information about each ballet’s plot, characters, musical composer and other facts. Add photos from your child's own performances along with notes about performance dates, roles danced and other memorable tidbits of information about the experience.
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Themed Photo Frames
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Children can embellish a photo frame to match the theme of their performance. For example, if the child danced in "The Firebird," she can glue red, orange and yellow marabou feathers around the border of a plain wooden frame. If she danced in "The Nutcracker," glue plastic gum drops, candy canes and other artificial Christmas candy to the frame. Plastic candy is usually available in a craft store's tree decorating aisles beginning in July. After embellishing, add a photo of your child in costume before her big performance.
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References
- “The Dancer’s Book of Ballet Crafts”; Christina Haskin; 2007
- Enchanted Learning: Mobiles You Can Make
- Crafty Noodle: Ballet Desktop Photo
