Christmas "Stained Glass" Project

Here is a great project that I do with my class at Christmas time. It is easy, but looks impressive and the children have fun making it. I call it my "Stained Glass" project because it looks like a stained glass window.

Here are the steps to follow for making one of your own.

Begin by choosing a picture that you like. It can be any picture that would look good in a window. Often people make color by code pictures for Math or language activities. These pictures work well. The picture I have chosen is actually one I use for Math. I just removed all the questions and the color code so that the children could choose their own selection of colors.

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The next step is to copy the picture onto a piece of transparency film.

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Each child is given a transparency picture to color. If they are using washable markers, it is important that you turn the picture over when mounting it or it will possibly wash off if it gets wet. ( I don't know about other places, but here we get a lot of wet weather at this time of year and raindrops get onto papers and projects that kids haven't put away properly.)

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While my students are coloring their stained glass, I prepare the background. I use a piece of card stock. You can use cereal boxes, or other material, but I didn't have time to collect the needed material this time.
Cover the card stock with aluminum foil. If you crinkle it, you get a better effect as the light bends when it hits the different wrinkled parts. When I showed my students the effect, with and without the crinkling, they preferred the crinkling.
I tape the foil in place on the other side of the card stock.

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Place the transparency on the foiled covered card stock and then attach it with tape.
On the back of the card stock I add a piece of Christmas writing done by the child that has been printed on Christmas paper. Then I put 2 holes in the top and add a ribbon so it can be hung.
If you don't want to mount it on foil, the transparency can be displayed as is in a window, or on a mirror.

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I hope you enjoy this activity. I would love to hear how it works for you.