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Clothespin Umpire

  • Motor Practice
  • Spelling
  • Grades 4-5
  • Grades 1-3

Hit it out of the park with this  Letter of the day craft and create a baseball umpire! 

Materials


1 Clothespin (Per Umpire)
Acrylic Paint
1 Fuzzy Stick
Paintbrush

Scissors

Instructions


Step  1.

Paint the bottom half of your clothespin gray.

Step  1.

Paint the bottom half of your clothespin gray.

Step  2.

From the top of the gray to the metal spring, paint the middle portion of the clothespin light blue.

Step  2.

From the top of the gray to the metal spring, paint the middle portion of the clothespin light blue.

Step  3.

Give your umpire a face and a hat at the top of the clothespin! Then, paint a white circle on the umpire to begin making a baseball.

Step  3.

Give your umpire a face and a hat at the top of the clothespin! Then, paint a white circle on the umpire to begin making a baseball.

Step  4.

Paint 2 curved red lines on either side of the white baseball to create stitches!

Step  4.

Paint 2 curved red lines on either side of the white baseball to create stitches!

Step  5.

Cut approximately 4 inches from a fuzzy stick and bend into a V shape. These will be your umpire’s arms! You can curl the end of one arm to create the “OUT!” sign!

Step  5.

Cut approximately 4 inches from a fuzzy stick and bend into a V shape. These will be your umpire’s arms! You can curl the end of one arm to create the “OUT!” sign!

Step  6.

Pinch your clothespin open and insert the arms evenly inside. You can bend the arms to symbolize “SAFE!” or “OUT!”

Step  6.

Pinch your clothespin open and insert the arms evenly inside. You can bend the arms to symbolize “SAFE!” or “OUT!”

Teacher's Corner

Step up to the plate with a spelling lesson in the letter ‘U!’

Lesson Objectives

  • Big League: Sharpen your students spelling skills to prepare them for bigger vocabulary words. Introduce them to diphthongs, like ‘ou’ or ‘ue,’ to familiarize them with larger words, like rescue, queue, and tissue!  
  • Rain Check: Crafts are the perfect rainy-day exercise — when students can’t practice their gross motor skills outside, shape their fine motor skills inside by working with clothespins, glue, and foam!

Follow-up Discussion

Set up a space with four squares in the shape of a diamond, like a baseball field. Separate the students in two groups, and have one student step up to home base — ask them to spell vocabulary words featuring the letter ‘U.’ If they’re correct, they move to the next base and another person steps up to plate. If they misspell a word, it’s 3 strikes and you’re out! Switch the teams after a couple of words, and continue playing until one team wins 5 (or more) home runs!