Mobiles are a form of kinetic sculpture. Mobiles may be hung indoors or outside, and make a great decoration for a multi-sensory garden.Mobiles are cousins to wind chimes, which also rely on breezes, but instead of making sounds, they simply spin, flutter, twirl, flap or wave. Mobile parts can be suspended by string or wire, or they can be balanced on one another to provide additional spin, whirl and wave.
Instructions
1. Using the Resources section at the end of this article, find printables or images from your favorite children's books--or better yet, make your own. Place each printable onto a piece of shirt cardboard and glue down, pressing well to ensure a good bond. Color the printable pages to match the illustrations in your favorite books. For example, Winnie-the-Pooh would have yellow fur; Clifford would be red; Pippi Longstocking would have red braids sticking out sideways from her head. Once your printables have been colored, cut them into interesting shapes. Young children can trace around cookie cutters, pot pie tins or plastic cups to get shapes. Attach a length of satin ribbon to the back of each shape with masking tape. Vary the lengths used for each shape. Mobiles are more interesting when they are not perfectly symmetrical and the attachments are not all on the same level. If desired, add glitter to the edges of your shapes.
2. Cut dowel rods into shorter pieces using a hand saw. This should be done by an adult. Sand dowel rod ends to prevent splinters. The top piece should be twice as long as the pieces for the next level down. Pieces for a third level should be half as long as pieces from the second level. Find the center of the piece for the first level of the mobile. Tie a length of gold cord to the center of the rod using a lark's head knot. Run the ends of the cord through a 1-inch diameter metal O-ring and secure with a double half hitch knot. See the Resources section at the end of this article for a video demonstrations of each knot.
3. Attach printable shapes to the mobile using a lark's head knot. Each shape should be about a third of the way from the opposite ends of the first level rod, and directly below the connecting lines to the next two or more levels. Each shape should flutter and spin freely without bumping into another shape.
4. Wind a 3/4-inch satin ribbon around each rod to cover it, securing at the ends of each rod with a double half hitch knot and a bead of clear silicone adhesive. Be sure to use adequate ventilation, opening a window and running a fan on high. If you can smell fumes, you do not have adequate ventilation.
5. Hang your mobile using a cup hook screwed into the ceiling, or hang it outdoors. Enjoy your "favorite books" mobile while you read! Add book reviews to your mobile by gluing lined paper to a shirt cardboard and cutting it into shapes. Reviews can be written before finishing the mobile or afterward. Young children who are not yet able to write on their own can dictate their reviews to older children.
