Let's stick together!

"Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure" Bob Bitchin

     It is all about perspective. A field trip....well that is just an adventure waiting to be had! So why not really make it fun, as well as create a sense of community, and add a little safety bonus by providing an additional way to "keep track" of students. This can all be done with one little activity. As you read on, you will find a plethora of uses for this one little activity....Any guesses? 

     Well....before we embarked on our adventure to the Bailly- Chellberg Homestead, we took a day and made tie dye shirts in class. This was what we were all to wear on the day of our upcoming adventure. 

     Thinking about this, I believe this is a fabulous idea. It is a fantastic way to show a couple of different things that would prove to be very useful when taking students on a field trip. 

Tie Dye T-Shirts

Shows that everyone belongs "together." 

We are a group.

Easier spotted should one decide to wonder.....

Promotes anticipation (before adventure activity)

Promotes community, unity "We belong together."

Shows individualism in a group (same shirts as a whole, yet each shirt is uniquely different)

Shows creativity

I have never tie dyed anything before so this was a mini adventure all on its own. I can see how this can get addicting as there are many different techniques (see tutorial link below) that can be used creating many different results. 

Click below...

Different Tie Dye Techniques/Tutorials

This before field trip activity is a great way to integrate several subjects. A creative teacher could use this before field trip activity as a spring board for many different lessons. It can be used as a great introduction activity for these lessons, as well as serve a purpose with the field trip. 

Subject Integration....All from Tie Dying T-Shirts....

• Art and Science: creating something unique that is the students own. Mixing colors can be talked about, light and dark, complimentary colors, primary colors, different dying techniques, predictions, hypothesis, experimentation...
• Language Arts: Predictions, reading instructions, following multi-step instructions, compare and contrast, cause and effect, sequential steps, retell how to tie dye or retell how to do a technique...
• Writing: Write steps in students own words, response writing (reflection about process and shirt), use interactive notebook to journal about it....
• Math: create graphs and charts about students who only chose certain colors, who chose only two colors, three, etc., lights, darks, preferences, sizes, amounts of dye used, steps involved, first, second, third, measurement....
• Social Studies: When was tie dye the most popular, what era, what was going on in the world, who was tie dying, what attitude is attached to tie dye and why, where did it originate, what's the purpose for our group doing this activity, what does it promote, what does it mean to belong to a group, community......

Maria and I getting our shirts ready with a pre-soak....We always have fun!

                                                                         

I used several colors and created my own random technique, here, there, and everywhere...It was so much fun and when that dye hits that brilliant white shirt...oh its  "sheer joy!"

And the finished product!!

There was not one shirt among us that was identical to another, yet it was easy to tell that we were all a group and that we were all together.....

Randy and Mike...great shirts!

Clare and Wendy....See the difference in their shirts?

Kasey, Jen, Syd, Mike, Lynnette, Maria, Wendy, Randy (he is part of the group, even though it looks as if he is going off in his own direction. It was his birthday..... and I don't know what Krystle is doing haha, a Clare. Look closely at the shirts that you can see, all different, but easy to see we are all in a group together :)

And this is for Krystle and Randy......

But....

Quotes and images found on Pinterest