inspired by history

African American Heritage month inspired us to find a project related to an African American inventor Jan Matzeliger, who invented a machine to attach the sole of a shoe to the shoe. It increased manufacturing by over 300%, cutting the price of a shoe by 50% across the USA in the late 1800s. The kids had fun and the staff also made their own and we went around the room and each shared about our creature.

We took a standard sheet of paper and each kid did a crayon rubbing of the sole of their shoe. Then we cut them out and decorated/designed them with crayons, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and feathers to make a creature. Some made different types of animals, imaginary characters. We then glued them to a larger piece of paper and had them create the place where their creature lives.