Co-schooling: Toilet paper roll mummy craft

If your kiddos attend public school, I highly recommend volunteering in their classroom if you can.

It's not something I ever thought about doing before my son started school. But now I know I will do it every year. Not just provide a snack or plates for a party, but being there in person.

I know it's difficult if you work outside the home like I do, but I just treat it like a vacation day. I put it on my calendar and take that day off.

I have to admit, the reason I decided to do it was because both at the beginning of 1st grade and 2nd grade, at the parent information night, NO ONE had signed up to lead a craft or game on holidays. All the snacks were taken. All the drinks and cups and plates. But not one name for a craft or game.

Shoot, I thought. I could do that.

I LOVE it. Last year, I led the Valentine's Day heart shaped pipe cleaner glasses. This year it was toilet paper roll mummies for Halloween.

Here's what it does for me: 

• Shows my kiddo in a tangible way I think what he does at school is important. 
• Shows his teacher I'm committed and involved and that I support her (helps when I expect  her to support me back). 
• Allows me to know his classmates and them to know me. 
• Makes me step outside of my comfort zone and do something new. 
• Extra time with my kiddo! 
• Makes the teacher and I part of the same team in a very real way. This team mentality is important on both ends. 
• I get to see his classroom environment. My kiddo's class did a "brain break" to the Dinosaur Stomp and to Book Chicka Boom. It was absolutely freaking hilarious!  
• I get an idea of what his teacher has to do day in and day out, and it makes me appreciate her more. 
• A day off of work! Bonus!

I got the idea for the toilet paper roll mummy from this site, but I changed it up quite a bit. For one, the self-stick gauze was WAY too expensive to provide for 18 kids plus they're older and better able to handle regular gauze. Plus I felt it needed more variety.

Materials:

• Several rolls of 2-inch gauze, the cheapie kind, cut in strips long enough to wrap several times around a toilet paper roll.
• One toilet paper roll per student. 
• Assorted googly eyes. I chose ones in different colors and sizes from Dollar Tree so the kids could mix it up. 
• Tape of some kind. I used gauze tape actually. 
• Construction paper circles cut to fit the bottom of the tp roll. 
• Construction paper mouths, pre-cut, or the kids could cut them.
• Construction paper arms, pre-cut, or the kids could cut them. 
• Glue. 
• Candy.

Steps:

1. Tape the circle on the bottom, tape well so candy doesn't fall through. 
2. Tape one end of the gauze at the bottom. 
3. Wrap gauze around to the top, overlapping it some each time around. 
4. Tape gauze at the top. 
5. Glue on eyes, arms and mouths. 
6. Fill with candy. 

We all had a blast! I loved going around and helping and encouraging individual kids. It's amazing when 18 pairs of eyes are on you. And when I pulled out the container of eyes - BAM! - I was swarmed by kids! Wowza!

The best part though was seeing how each kid put their unique touch on their mummy. Take a look.

My kiddo's cyclops with his favorite color, orange.

Hahahaha! Sad cyclops! This kid was so proud of it!

Hugging mummies! Girls made these, of course :)

Look, this girl had her purple-armed mummy put its hand on its hip.

Green eye and arm on one side, blue eye and arm on other side. Color-coordinated mummy. Oh, there's the hand-on-hip mummy in the background, hahahaha. I loved that.

These best buddies made theirs exactly the same!

That back one is the happiest, most colorful mummy I've ever seen.